Speak Essay

The novel, Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, describes the trauma that high school student Melinda Sordino faces after being raped at a summer party. During the incident, Melinda called the cops, causing everyone at the party to get in trouble and shun her. Melinda didn’t tell anyone her secret, as she was emotionally damaged and mortified, and she really began to crumble as more and more time passed with her having the secret bottled up. By comparing Melinda’s behaviors and emotions throughout the beginning/middle and end of the novel, it is seen that there is an improvement in the way Melinda feels and acts during the end of the book rather than the beginning because she let out her secret, and people gained their respect for her again. Overall, Speak illustrates how keeping in the wrong secrets can break a person, but setting them free can make a person. 

Towards the beginning/middle of the novel, Melinda is overwhelmed by her memories of being raped, and she develops an immense fear of Andy Evans, the senior who raped her. When the guidance counselors at Melinda’s school, and her parents, notice how Melinda isn’t doing well, they ask her if there is anything wrong, but Melinda shrugs them off, keeps the secret in, and continues to feel vulnerable and sad. As the secret stays put, Melinda’s self-esteem is deteriorating at a rapid pace. “I have no friends. I have nothing. I say nothing. I am nothing.” Here, we are shown just how terrible Melinda is feeling, and how low her self-esteem has dropped. Being raped has had an extreme, negative effect on Melinda’s stability, and not getting the help, love, or support that she needs has had its costs on Melinda, as seen in this line. But, this is because Melinda never tells anyone her secret in the first place, so she put the matters of controlling her thoughts and emotions into her own hands. Additionally, Melinda discusses how she thinks her family perceives her. “I bet they'd be divorced by now if I hadn't been born. I'm sure I was a huge disappointment. I'm not pretty or smart or athletic. I'm just like them- an ordinary drone dressed in secrets and lies. I can't believe we have to keep playacting till I graduate. It's a shame we just can't admit that we have failed at family living, sell the house, split up the money, and get on with our lives. Merry Christmas.” This quote portrays another example of how Melinda is trapped in her own maze of negative thoughts and feelings, and this has caused her to assume horrible things that were never told to her. Also, it’s interesting to see how Melinda believes that her family is “playacting”, and that this has badly impacted her family while Melinda is sort of playacting by pretending to other people that nothing is wrong when Melinda is being consumed by the fears and troubles she is facing from being raped. As I look at how Melinda trudges through depression during most of her school year, I feel terrible for her that she had to be faced with any of her bad experiences in the first place. The way Melinda feels in the beginning/middle of the novel demonstrates how keeping in her secret starts to break her.

On the contrary, the end of the novel showed a different Melinda, one who opens up, faces her fears, and stands up for herself. Now, Melinda begins to realize that the rape doesn’t have to encompass her thoughts, and she figures out just how important and relieving sharing her secret is. “When people don't express themselves, they die one piece at a time. You'd be shocked at how many adults are really dead inside—walking through their days with no idea who they are, just waiting for a heart attack or cancer or a Mack truck to come along and finish the job. It's the saddest thing I know.” Melinda is noticing how expressing yourself and speaking your emotions is vital to living a happier, healthier life. She is understanding how heartbreaking it is to know that people live their own lives feeling worthless. Furthermore, the novel shows an extreme breakthrough in Melinda’s life by describing a second incident with Andy. There was a time when he tried to rape Melinda again, but, instead of letting it all happen, she help a piece of glass to his throat and yelled, “I SAID NO!” at the top of her lungs to express that she would not tolerate being raped because it damaged her. Afterwards, an old friend of Melinda’s, named Nicole, rushed over with the rest of her lacrosse team to help and support Melinda. Speaking up for herself and getting her dark secret out there has benefitted Melinda in great ways, and it has shown her that it is necessary to help yourself, even if that means doing something that your fear, like sharing a big secret. 

The essence of the story is about secrets and how powerfully they can affect a person. Keeping a secret bottled up can really damage you while releasing it can lift a huge weight from you. The novel also deeply explores the issue of rape, which is an extremely sickly problem that hurts and emotionally scars people. Melinda’s encounters with the issue help the reader learn about the importance of not only letting out your secrets, but letting yourself be safe and to stand up for yourself. It is vital to live comfortably, and Speak emphasizes this. By looking at Melinda’s transformation, we can notice that letting the truth free is one of the best things that can happen to a person.