The Meaning Behind the Words: First Speak Book Post

     Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson  is about this girl named Melinda. She entered school as a outcast, and doesn't have much friends. All the rest of her friends have left her, joining different groups, leaving her all alone. She doesn't speak up much and hides her thoughts to herself, as the best way to not get involved in more trouble. The title of this book really interprets the meanings to this book. This book is called Speak mainly because that is what Melinda needs to obtain. The ability to speak up for herself and be more social around others. The ability to speak is as the means to having the ability to protect herself from harm.
   
     In our discussion, we discussed about the importance of the art class. We talked about how art is were she could really express herself and her thoughts out. We also notice that art in the only class she has a A in. I think that it means that she feels like home when entering art class. Art is when she doesn't have to speak up, but just draw. She gets assigned to draw a 'tree'. She job is to express what it is and express its true attentions and feelings as you look at the painting. The teacher also said that this word 'tree' will guild you through your future. As we discussed more about the meaning of the tree, we thought that the branches represent the experiences that she builds up and the life struggles that she goes through. And as the branches and the tree grow, it would grave toward the more brighter to her goals. Since in art class, she keeps drawing different trees, it represent the changes that is happening in her life and her affections. The tree and art class has a lot of meaning towards her high school life.

      There are lots of questions that needed to be answered which are still unknown. The question to why she doesn't speak much. We think that the reason she doesn't speak is because we think that in the past when she spoke up for herself, something really bad happened. And from that incident, it always leads her back to those memories, leaving her quiet.

     We also talked about how Melinda want to treat her friends as objects, as something that she could throw away when she doesn't need them. We thought that this is not her true intentions, and we could identify that she really wants someone who she could really trust and talk to. Her friend such as Heather, has a big influence to her days back them. I noticed that she would look back to Heather as what she used to be like. She is upset at herself as she goes through all these changes and always filled her mind with negative words. I think that Heather will be able to change Melinda's future and change her back to her original self.