Speak Comparison essay
Compare and contrast mini essay
The novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson and the poem Alone by Maya Angelou are very similar but different in some ways. The novel Speak is about a young girl named Melinda who is raped at a party the summer before she starts high school. Throughout the book Melinda is afraid to speak of the incident and becomes silent and speaks to no one. The book is about Melinda finding herself and overcoming the fear and learning to speak out. Throughout the book Melinda becomes more and more isolated because of the incident, which brings up thoughts about the poem Alone. Alone’s author feels alone and needs a community to thrive off of.
Isolation and soul searching are two of the main comparisons in the novel Speak and the poem Alone. In the texts, both authors feel isolated and alone. For example, in lines 7-10 the author of Alone states “no one she believes can make it alone”. In Speak, the narrator, Melinda, feels isolated and feels like she no longer has friends. On page 111 she tells the reader “ no Rachel, no Heather, not even a silly, geeky boy who would like the inside girl I think I am.” This excerpt gives the reader the impression she is alone and feels like no one not even the weird kid likes her anymore. Both Melinda and the author of Alone find themselves doing a little soul searching. Melinda has to find who she truly is and let it out in order to speak and get over her fears. Alone’s author tells us in lines 1-4 that they are “laying and thinking about themselves and finding their soul”, just like Melinda found herself doing.
The most visible contrast between Speak and Alone is that in Speak Melinda is afraid of what people will think or what they will say, while in Alone the author never explains their feeling of loneliness to the reader. Throughout Speak Melinda keeps pulling away from civilization and the author of Alone expresses to us that “ no, nobody can make it out here alone”. This author wants people
The novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson and the poem Alone by Maya Angelou are very similar but different in some ways. The novel Speak is about a young girl named Melinda who is raped at a party the summer before she starts high school. Throughout the book Melinda is afraid to speak of the incident and becomes silent and speaks to no one. The book is about Melinda finding herself and overcoming the fear and learning to speak out. Throughout the book Melinda becomes more and more isolated because of the incident, which brings up thoughts about the poem Alone. Alone’s author feels alone and needs a community to thrive off of.
Isolation and soul searching are two of the main comparisons in the novel Speak and the poem Alone. In the texts, both authors feel isolated and alone. For example, in lines 7-10 the author of Alone states “no one she believes can make it alone”. In Speak, the narrator, Melinda, feels isolated and feels like she no longer has friends. On page 111 she tells the reader “ no Rachel, no Heather, not even a silly, geeky boy who would like the inside girl I think I am.” This excerpt gives the reader the impression she is alone and feels like no one not even the weird kid likes her anymore. Both Melinda and the author of Alone find themselves doing a little soul searching. Melinda has to find who she truly is and let it out in order to speak and get over her fears. Alone’s author tells us in lines 1-4 that they are “laying and thinking about themselves and finding their soul”, just like Melinda found herself doing.
The most visible contrast between Speak and Alone is that in Speak Melinda is afraid of what people will think or what they will say, while in Alone the author never explains their feeling of loneliness to the reader. Throughout Speak Melinda keeps pulling away from civilization and the author of Alone expresses to us that “ no, nobody can make it out here alone”. This author wants people