Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Laurie Halse Anderson´s 1999 Speak is a fiction novel set in current Syracuse, New York. Protagonist Melinda Sordino is a round and dynamic character who learns that with time she can accept what happened to her. In August, before Melinda´s first year of high school, Melinda calls the police when she is at a party. When Melinda´s friends and peers discover she broke up the party and got people arrested, she gets deserted and bullied. Over the course of the school year, Melinda´s past unfolds. When Melinda reveals her rape to her ex-best friend Rachel, her attacker comes to rape her again. Andy, the rapist, is caught by the lacrosse team and the story of Melinda´s rape is spread throughout the school. The traumatic events that Melinda experienced caused her to change dramatically. Her change and the conflicts/traumas she experiences help develop the main theme illustrated in the novel, which is depression. Melinda exhibits the behavior of a depressed person throughout the novel. One of the turning points in the novel is when Heather says she doesn´t want to be friends anymore. This makes Melinda realize that she has no one and this brings out the theme of depression. If a person doesn´t have a friend to fall back on (like Melinda), they can fall into depression (or a deeper depression) and have a hard time getting out of it. Everyone needs a friend, especially during tough times.

A Beach Thanksgiving

Kristine stood across the street from her parents´ beach house. She watched the jet-black, cloudless sky and white stars. Her eyes moved to the yellow porch light, which showed only a faint outline of the house. The light faded into darkness like some of the stars in the night sky. She looked at the seemingly never-ending two-lane road. The road was empty and held no sign of life. Kristine listened to the ripple of wind in her ears. She heard the muffled sound of a deer rustling in the foliage. As the ocean breeze blew across her face, she smelled salt from the ocean and pumpkin pie baking in an oven. The smell of the pumpkin pie was so strong she could almost taste it. The frosty air nipped at her skin. After she pressed her palm to the ground, she felt the soft arctic sand and the pricks of the beach grass. Kristine felt content. As she walked inside the house, the bright stars against the black night sky stayed in her mind.

Oregon Salmon Placement

Kristine stood at the edge of an icy creek. She watched the clear stream ripple over the black rocks. The white fog in the air made the dark green trees almost invisible. Kristine´s biology classmates gathered in cliques and adorned black trash bags and white gloves. She listened to the giggles and inaudible chatter of her classmates. Blue jays chirp to the unseen rising sun. Water trickled in the creek. The smell of rain was fresh in the air, but was overcome by the pungent smell of rotting, headless chinook salmon. Kristine could almost taste the decaying salmon. The salmon smelled as bad as skunk cabbage. Her skin was slapped by the chilly wind. Her nose started to run from the cold. She pressed her bare hand against the ground and the frost on the dirt bit her fingers. She felt nervous and excited all at once. As Kristine walked away, the smell of rotting salmon stayed in both her mind and nose.

Ocean Waves

Kristine watched the sun rise over ocean waves. Black and white speckled sandpipers followed the shoreline. She looked at a dark gray sky and the bright, white sun that tried to fight through it. Seagulls sat in groups and a few occasionally fight over razor clams. Kristine was alone and no one was in sight. The sound of the ocean crashing and seagulls squawking was barely audible over the wind in her ears, which made a loud rippling noise. The smell of the salty air mixed with the slight fishy odor of partially eaten razor clams and dungeness crabs decaying. Kristine tasted her pungent black coffee, which heated her up inside. The frigid, numbing air hit her hands and face. Kristine was content. As she pressed the palm of her hand to the ground, she felt damp, wintry sand from the morning dew. She picked up a handful of sand and it softly slipped through her fingers. The sand was as soft as fleece. Kristine brushed off the damp sand that stuck to her hand. As she walked away, the sound of the ocean beating on the sand stayed in her mind.

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