Character Analysis Of Trustos In Laurie Anderson's 'SPEAK'

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David Petrakis By: Madison Crawford He's smart, helpful, brave, and knows how to take action. I call him the good guy. In Laurie Anderson's teen novel SPEAK, David Petrakis is one of the only people who don't hate Melinda Sordino (the main character) with a passion. He is the one loyal, smart person Melinda has on her side who is willing to lend a helping hand. When David is first introduced into the story he is taking a stand against Mr. Neck, their biggated, small minded, American History teacher. “David Petrakis is never, ever in trouble. He is the kid who wins perfect attendance records, who helps the staff chase down bugs in the conputer files of report cards.” (Anderson 56) Going against the teacher is obviously out of the normal.…show more content…
Taking a stand means nothing if the knowledge isn't present. As David is talking to Mr. Neck he says, “The Constitution does not recognize different classes of citizenship based on time spend living in the country. I am a citizen with the same rights as your son, or you. As a citizen, as a student, I am protesting the tone of this lesson as racist, intolerant, and xenophobic.” (56) He's smart and knows his stuff. As I mentioned before, practically everyone hates Melinda. David is one of the only people who hasn't been a jerk to her and doesn't look at her like she's a freak. “Sometime he smiles at me.” (109) Of course this makes Melinda feel a bit better. “...maybe I'm growing on him.” (109) He's a good guy. With David's help, Melinda finds her own way to present her extra-credit assignment in Mr. Neck's class. He has no problem doing what needs to be done and what he feels is right. “David's parents have hired a big, nasty, expensive lawyer. He is threatening to sue the school district and Mr. Neck for everything from incompetence to civil rights violations.”

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