Ruzicka 7

English 9

18 October 2004

And When you Speak...

Speak, written by Laurie Halse Anderson is about a troubled teenage girl. As Melinda Sordino, the main character in the novel, grows to high-school age, she gets drunk at a party, raped, and basically ignored and neglected by her family. Melinda is helped through her year by art class, her janitors' closet, and Rachel blowing off Andy at the prom, among other reasons. Thankfully, by the end of the story she recovers from her first and completely ruined year of high school.

Art class, Melinda's favorite, helps her through her first tragic year of high school. To Melinda, art class was important because it was something she enjoyed and was fairly well at. Mr. Freeman seemed to slightly care about Melinda therefore she didn't mind participating in class. Melinda enjoyed her main project, the tree. Art was finally something...