Speak Synopsis and Conflict Summary

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is a novel about a girl who lives in Syracuse, New York. After getting raped by a senior over the summer, Melinda Sordino is starting off her freshman year of high school with no friends, and many enemies. This puts her in an uncommunicative state for most of the story. Throughout the book, Melinda grows immensely from this trauma by finding her voice, becoming more comfortable with herself and her peers, and most importantly reinventing herself.

Over the course of the novel, Melinda finds her voice by making new friendships and resolving past fall-outs. In attempts of resolving issues with her ex-best friend Rachel, Melinda strikes up a conversation with her, making sure to tread carefully. “She looks at me without expression. I try on a smile, size medium. ‘Hey,’ I say. ‘Hmm,’ she responds. No lip curling, no rude hand gestures. So far, so good.” (180). This text supports the idea that Melinda is trying to tackle this obstacle with a positive mindset.

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Melinda wants to tackle all her problems one at a time. Befriending Rachel will make it so Melinda has someone on her side; someone to root for her. Melinda doesn\'t really have much support in her life so having someone who is there for her will help her open up. Another example of Melinda finding her voice is when she reconnects with her old friend, Ivy. On the last day of spring break, Melinda decides to head to the mall. As she is riding the escalator down to the central fountain, she spots Ivy.

“Ivy moves so I can sit next to her and hands me the sketchbook.” (145).

Re-connecting with Ivy not only gave Melinda someone to lean on for help(,) but also helped Melinda feel more confident in herself. In the past, she had struggled with speaking up and using her voice. Rebuilding friendships helped Melinda gain confidence within herself.
Melinda grows immensely by becoming more comfortable with herself and her peers. A great example of Melinda becoming more comfortable with her peers is when she gets close with David Petrakis.
“David: ‘Maybe I’ll call you.’

Me: ‘Maybe I won’t answer.’ Chew, chew. Blowbubblepop. ‘Maybe I will.’ ” (159). In this quote, you can see that David and Melinda are communicating in a fun and friendly way. Melinda is usually very withdrawn and not at the moment. Here we see her loosening up and joking around with David. Near the end of the book, Melinda becomes very confident in her ability to manage her depression. “I’m on a roll. I’m rocking. I don\'t know what it is; standing up to Heather, planting marigold seeds, or maybe the look on my Mom’s face when I asked if she would let me redecorate my room. The time has come to arm-wrestle some demons. Too much sun after a Syracuse winter does strange things to your head, makes you feel strong, even if you aren’t.” This is a huge step for Melinda. The fact that she notices this growth within her is growth in itself. She mentions that the sun in Syracuse makes you feel strong, even if you aren’t. I interpret this as Melinda’s pessimistic side telling her that she is weak and that this strength that she is feeling has nothing to do with her. Here we start to see her optimistic side drown out her pessimistic side. Melinda experiences tremendous self-improvement by obtaining more confidence and opening up with her friends.