Speak - Blog # 3

Blog #3: As I read further on in the novel the author slowly began to reveal the major issue. Throughout the novel the author would make the readers unaware of what had really happened until the end of the book when she revealed the major issue. All we knew was that, Melinda had experienced many things because of the issue, for instance she had lost all her friends, she gained this reputation that no one wanted to be apart of, and she would often spend all her time alone so she would not have to confront all the bullying. In the novel she never told anyone what had happened, she hid it from everyone even her parents. Melinda began associating with her ex-best friend that once ignored her in the beginning of the novel and then one day when they were both sitting in the library Melinda finally spoke of the big issue. She had told Rachelle that when they attended the end of the summer party full of beer and seniors which Rachelle had to blackmailed her older brother into taking them something horrible happened. A guy had came over to talk to Melinda and he continued to flirt with her. Melinda was a little drunk and she could tell he was too, and she also had a feeling he consumed other things as well. Melinda felt a sense of excitement because she thought in her mind that she could start off high school with a boyfriend. He began to kiss her but then things took a turn for the worse. Melinda no longer felt like she had any control of what was going on. He was on top of Melinda and she tried to say no but nothing would come out of her mouth, she was frozen. That night Melinda had been raped. After it had happened Melinda immediately called the cops not wanting to end the party but because she was terrified. The guy that did this to her was never caught but then when Rachelle started to date him Melinda felt like she needed to say something. That is the reason why she had told Rachelle, but the worse part was Rachelle did not believe Melinda, she just accused her of being jealous. The guy that did this to Melinda found out what she had told Rachelle and he tried hurting Melinda once again but this time he was caught and he wasn't going to walk away from it this time. After this incident had happened and everyone learned the truth this got better for Melinda and she no longer had that reputation, she no longer had to hide because of the bullying and she had all her friends back!

Question: If the same issue had happened to you where you were raped, would you handle it the same way Melinda did or would you handle it differently? If you would handle it differently, explain what you would do.

     

Speak - Blog #2

Blog #2: In the novel 'Speak', the main characters name is Melinda. In the summer something terrible happened to her which caused her to loose all her friends including her best friend. Melinda then met another girl named Heather, who resently moved to her school but she thinks the only reason Heather talks to her is because she has no idea what happened during the summer. Unfortunately Heather realizes that Melinda is a little strange and she has a bad reputation she no longer wants to be apart of, so therefore that leaves Melinda with no one to associate with once agian. Melinda also spends a lot of her time on her own. At home her parents constantly fight which forces her to stay in her room so she does not have to take part of it. At school she hangs out in an old janitors room so she does not have to  associate with anyone or listen to them say things about her. In the beginning of the novel Melinda herself made a statement that she is an outcast. I believe this because she spends all her time by herself, she doesn't talk to anyone, she won't even confront her old friends to solve their problems, and she has basically distanced herself from everyone. She is also very depressed and because of that she inflicts pain on herself (cuts herself), to try to forget about all the terrible things surrounding her. Melinda's personality is more on the negative side rather then the positive side and therefore I think that is why her personality traits are the way they are. 

Question - If you were depressed like Melinda would you seek help or would you just keep it to your self? If your answer was keep it to your self explain why? 

Speak - Blog # 1

Blog #1: In the summer something happened, something terrible. Students in her school give her nasty looks and ignore her like she is a shadow. She started grade nine and right away she felt like she didn't belong. Everyone wear different clothes than her and she could tell they didn't come from the Eastside Mall. She was a total outcast. This book is called Speak. It is about a girl that had something terrible happen to her in the summer. She no longer talks to any of her old friends and they just give her weird looks and ignore her. Her best friend that once knew everything about her and shared everything with no longer talks to her anymore. She began high school not being able to talk to anyone or hang around with anybody. 

Question: If your old best friend that once knew everything about you started to ignore you like you didn't exists, would you confront her/him and ask them what their problem is and try to fix the issue or just ignore her/him back and forget about them?