MELINDA SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson
by Tyler Santosuosso
1. THE CONNECTION
1.1. All of the 5 basic needs are connected in a way, but they all come back to survival.
2. Melinda's life is not being lived in a good way. She may be alive, but she is not thriving. It is not healthy to live the way she was.
3. LOVE AND BELONGING
4. Melinda was best friends with Rachel. Until Melinda called the police the night of the party. They stopped talking after this.
5. Melinda's parent never show they care about her. The only way she could communicate them was through sticky notes.
6. "‘I can't believe you. You're jealous. You're a twisted little freak and you're jealous that I'm popular and I'm going to the prom and so you lie to me like this. And you sent me that note, didn't you? You are so sick’" (Anderson 184).
7. Melinda knew she had a reputation because she called the cops that night. People didn't like her afterwards.
7.1. "'Aren't you the girl who called the cops at Kyle Rodger’s party at the end of the summer?’” (Anderson, 27)
7.2. “‘My brother got arrested at that party… I can’t believe you did that. A--hole.’” (Anderson, 28)
7.3. "...and here I am in the middle of a hostile crowd that hates me for what I had to do." (Anderson, 28)
8. "IT" or Andy Evans has left a mark of himself with Melinda. This mark is what made her who she is throughout the novel, reserved, lost, and frightened.
8.1. "It feels like the Prince of Darkness has swept his cloak over the table. The lights dim. I shiver." (Anderson, 90)
8.2. "I am a deer frozen in the headlights... Is he going to hurt me?... Why can't I scream, say something, do anything? Why am I so afraid?" (Anderson, 161)
9. POWER
10. All of Melinda's old friends stop talking to her. They all had a group where they belonged except her.
11. How it made Melinda feel:
12. - no one cared about her
13. - she had no one
14. - it didn't matter what happened to her
15. Melina didn't feel like anyone would care or believe that she was raped. Therefore, she didn't speak up about it. She felt like no one would be there for her.
15.1. "Mother: 'She's jerking us around to get attention.’ Me: [inside my head] Would you listen? Would you believe me? Fat chance.” (Anderson, 144)
16. SURVIVAL
17. Because Melinda doesn't have the other basic needs, she doesn't have survival. This is why she gets depressed. She doesn't know how to survive anymore.
17.1. "I open up a paper clip and scratch it across the inside of my left wrist.. If a suicide attempt is a cry, then what is this? A whimper, a peep?" (Anderson, 87)
18. SURVIVAL
19. DEPRESSION
19.1. "It is easier not to say anything. Shut your trap, button your lip, can it. All that crap you hear on TV about communication and expressing feelings is a lie. Nobody really wants to hear what you have to say." (Anderson 9)
19.2. DEPRESSION = :( NO FREEDOM DUE TO SOCIAL WALLS
19.2.1. Why is this related to FUN? With depression, it is hard to experience actual fun.
19.2.2. Why is this related to FREEDOM? Due to the fact that she was raped, she had some mental walls in her life.
19.3. ....
20. FREEDOM
20.1. Seeing freedom you may think, "Melinda had her freedom." She did physically, but not mentally.
20.1.1. "Sometimes the chains that prevent us from being free are more mental than physical." -anonymous
20.2. Melinda #1 and #2 were like her split self in a battle between each other. There is no freedom in this state since there is always unrest.
20.3. Being raped held her back. She had mental chains on.
20.3.1. chains like these... but not literally