In the beginning of the novel, Melinda is traumatized. She is often alone and chooses to separate herself from the world because of her life in high school. For example, in “Welcome to Merryweather High” at her first day of school Melinda thinks, “I’m clan less. I wasted the last weeks of August watching bad cartoons. I didn’t go to the mall, the lake, or the pool, or answer the phone.
Her only solution at this moment is to be alone. Bullying does not only happens to Melinda but other people. It was the day of the pep rally; Melinda was not so exited as her only friend Heather, she was scared someone gets next to her and claims her about what happened in the summer party, .and it happened, to girls got next to her and claim her about it. “The girl pokes me harder. “Aren’t you the one who called the cops at Kyle Rodger’s party at the end of the summer?” .
Melinda does not even like her but it the only girl that doesn’t know about the party. She wouldn’t lose her friends if she just told the truth. Most of all is that Melinda is hurting herself. “Its easier not to say anything…no body really wants to hear what you have to say”(9). Because of this she is slowly rotting away.
As Alyson was taking drug with her boyfriend she started to become an addict. The drugs started to change Alyson’s behavior and she turned from the good responsible girl to the bad one. She dropped out of school and her drug addition started to affect her family because she no longer cared about her family anymore. Alyson’s relationship with her sister also started to decline. Alyson started to argue with her sister more often than before.
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson has the potential to shape a reader, this is because it tells the story of a girl named Melinda who cant speak up about the horrible thing that happened to her. This lack of communication leads to a break down of her relationships and it is only because of the attention of a great teacher that she began to heal. Melinda is greatly affected by what happened that unforgettable night at the end of the summer before her freshman year. When enters the 9th grade she has no one to talk to because all of her old friends now hate her. At this point people already start to bad for Melinda.
Back from Madness Video Assignment Naomi – Schizophrenia * Naomi appeared to be abnormally comfortable discussing her difficult past struggles with psychotic disorder and her hard childhood living with two mentally ill parents; perhaps downplayed the severity of her disorder. * Claimed to hear voices constantly throughout the day, which interfered with her daily living, as seen when she explained that she sometimes could not distinguish the real people’s voices from those that originated from her mind. * Naomi explained that the voices she heard became more negative during times when she experienced stress and worry. She believed the voices and stress created a “downward spiral” for her. * Had a nervous breakdown after returning to college, prior to finals.
At age 16 my aunty dropped out of high school and her life has been a living hell ever since. The age requirement to drop out of high school should remain the same because at 16 the part of the brain, called the Frontal Lobe, which controls decision making, isn’t completely developed. “Students who receive poor grades, who repeat a grade, or who are over-age for their class are more than likely to drop out.” (Do Something) Students who receive poor grades are likely to not care, get upset, or do something about it. Getting bad grades really affects you when you put so much time in that subject. If you don’t do the work, how do you expect to get good grades?
Like when Tara, Kristen and Keesha were looking at the magazines, Keesha didn’t understand why skin and bones were attractive to Kristen. Kessha also didn’t understand why Tara could never walk with her to or from school, Keesha just thought that her friends were weird until their conditions got out of hand and she got worried about them. *Donna’s influence on Tara was surprisingly good. Considering that Donna is more of a “wild child” and Tara is a “goody-good” I think they balance each other out. While Donna was smoking, stealing or having sex Tara was getting “lost in her mind”.
At most times it consists when one is being bullied. In Laurie Halse Anderson’s novel, Speak, Melinda isolated herself because everyone treats her like she is nothing. She is always by herself and when when that happens her mind starts to wander in bad places of the brain. In the book Melinda hides the fact that she was raped by Andy Evans even though it still haunts her. "I just want to sleep.
The Late Great Me was a book about a teenage girl named Geri that was an average looking girl that did not really excel in anything. She had a brother that got all the attention at home and at school she was one of the “freaks” and only had two friends. One day Geri met a boy named Dave who later got her into drinking alcohol with him. She really enjoyed it and thought it made her feel very good as it would be an escape for her from her sad reality. At home her mother would always be very distant and would constantly talk about her past as a teenager and how popularity is very important which would get even worse later in the book to the point where she totally isolates herself from people and gets sent to an institution.