Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson: A Literary Analysis

Henry Brook Adams once said, “A teacher affects eternity; he/she can never know where his/her influence stops.” SPEAK and The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds are two intriguing books that focus on important lessons and tell intriguing stories. SPEAK teaches the reader to stand up for themselves and to speak up no matter how much strength it involves. The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds shows the reader how one felt happy while living in hard environments with rude people. These two books compare and contrast in interesting ways that are extremely noticeable to the readers. The book SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson is very problematic and realistic. When the protagonist, Melinda Sordino, got raped, it turned her whole world upside down. Her friends turned against her because they didn’t know what happened. She was also
In SPEAK, Melinda’s mentor is Mr. Freeman, the art teacher. He has a comforting personality, that makes Melinda want to tell him the truth. An example of when Mr.Freeman provided a safe space for Melinda was when he offered her a ride. He picks Melinda up to take her to the mall in a very welcoming car on the coldest day of the year, which also provided a safe space to talk freely. In the book Melinda thinks, “It is a blue Volvo, a safe Swedish box” (pg. 121). The book ends with her opening up to Mr.Freeman and she says, “Let me tell you about it”(pg.198). Tillie also has a mentor, her mentor is Mr. Goodman, also known as her science teacher. He is good to Tillie because he only wants the best for her. Two examples of when he cared for her was when he gave her the rabbit and marigold seeds for an experiment. He also called her house to make sure she was okay because she hadn’t turned up to school lately. He gave her the two things for her experiment because he knew that she was clever and that she needed something to keep her