Summary Of Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson

“In order to escape accountability for his crimes, the perpetrator does everything in his power to promote forgetting. If secrecy fails, the perpetrator attacks the credibility of his victim. If he cannot silence her absolutely, he tries to make sure no one listens.” - Judith Lewis Herman
Melinda school peers call her "squealer", because she alerted the police during a summer party after she was sexually assaulted by Andy Evans. Since then she has ascended upon deep depression in which she has blockaded everyone out.
While she does exhibit some obvious signs, such as cutting her wrist with a paperclip, much of Melinda's depression is interior and is not fully understood by anyone yet, including herself. Her lip chewing habit acts similar
All because she called the cops even if she did “speak” no one wants to hear. As time passes, she becomes completely unattached to the world and stops talking altogether. Only her art class offers any amenity and “soul”as stated in the novel.Through her work she is finally ready to accept what happened. She was raped by an senior, a guy who still attends Merryweather High School and is still a threat to her.Laurie Halse Anderson depicts ,sexual violence can have psychological, emotional, and mental effects on a victim. Damage that has been placed can take years of recovering and healing.Situations like these aren’t ones you forget about the next day or in a week.Sexual assault scars have long lasting effects.Someone has to wake up everyday knowing that this has happened to them.Various victims blame themselves for what happened as if it were their fault or wrongdoing.Victims are left paralyzed living in fear that it will happen again.Effect’s like this can cause a person to drift or exclude theirself away from people that can help. Therefore,these effects aren’t always easy to deal with, but with the right help and support assault can be