Speak

          Many people are faced with traumatic experiences that leave them emotionally unstable. In the

book "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson, the main character Melinda is sexually assaulted at a party

and she calls the police. Her traumatic experience left her scared and she wouldn't speak out about the

incident. She lost all of her friends and she was constantly being bullied. The author wants people to

speak out about their problems and not bottle them up.


          In the novel, Melinda starts failing classes because she doesn't feel secure about herself. One

example of this was when the school was having a meeting about the new mascot. Melinda attempted

to run and hide in the janitors closet for the rest of the day, but her new "best friend" Heather saw her

and dragged her to the assembly. This shows that Heather really wants to expose Melinda back to

reality and that she really wants Melinda to focus on her classes and not fail school. Another example

of this was when Melinda woke up too late and missed her bus. Instead of walking the trek to school,

she skipped it all together and went to the mall. This shows that she doesn't like school at all and she

feels that there are other ways that are better to spend your time. The final example of this was when

Melinda retrieved her report card. The only class she got an A in was art. All her other classes she got

Cs and Ds. This clearly shows the lack of effort and dedication she puts into her schoolwork.


          As well, Melinda doesn't face her trauma. One example of this was when Melinda and her

parents were placed in a meeting with the principal. "Why won't you say anything?" says Melinda's

mom. This shows that she is unwilling to speak about the traumatizing event that occurred. This also

shows that she knows if she says anything, she will be in even more trouble. Another example is

when in the school assembly, girls are pulling on her hair and being very mean to her because she

busted the party. Although everyone is being so rude and nasty to her, she still won't speak up about

her big problems. This shows that she is too scared to tell anyone as well, because she is being bullied

and she would rather live with her problems. The final example was when Melinda was being very

mean to her science partner David Petrakis. He was just trying to help her conduct an experiment

where they had to cut apples. Melinda screamed at him because she claimed she knew what she was

doing. This shows that Melinda needs to talk to someone about her problems and not unleash a wave

of anger on someone just trying to help.


            Another key element that contributes to Melinda's problem with blending into society is her

attitude. One example of this was when she was with Heather and they were talking about the

musical. "We are nobody." Melinda says. This shows that Melinda is very pessimistic and she doesn't

believe she can accomplish things that are in fact in her reach. Another piece of evidence is that

during Heathers model shoot, Melinda is thinking about how she can never be a model. "I like

cheeseburgers too much to be a model." This shows us that she is looking on the downside of her

chances instead of all of the good things in her life that could make her a model. The final piece of

evidence is that when Andy comes over to the Martha's table, Melinda gets up, shudders, and walks

away. The shows us that Melinda has a very strong dislike for Andy.


            All in all, Melinda has suffered just from doing he right thing. Her old friends left her and hurt

her more than the traumatizing experience did. As long as Melinda can find the help she needs, then

she can express her feelings and return to her old life.

     Teens are faced with challenges every day. In the book The Fault in our Stars by John Greene, main character Hazel is faced with the challenge of lung cancer. Hazel is not optimistic about the cancer and she lets it bring her down. Augustus Waters is Hazels boyfriend, and although he has cancer as well, he try’s to live life to its fullest extent. These characters perceive the world very differently.  

While Hazel is dreaming about what she wants to do, the other people in her life are turning her dreams into reality. Hazels favorite book is An Imperial Affliction, and she has always dreamed of meeting the author because she needs to know the ending. The book ends abruptly and she has the urge to find out what happens to the characters. After meeting Augustus, she told him about this. He emailed the author and the author arranged a meeting with the two characters. Another example of this is when they reach the author Van Houten. He is drunk and annoyed that they are in his house. Instead of getting mad and leaving, his assistant takes them to the Ann Frank Memorial Museum. Another example of this occurring was when hazel was trying to help Augustus feel better about dying. She was sitting around with him, but Augustus came up with the idea to go to the sculpture of bones.

     Augustus does odd and crazy things, while Hazel is very conscious about what she does. One piece of evidence is that Augustus makes his friend egg his exes house because she broke up with him. She broke up with him because he had his eyes surgically removed and she couldn’t deal with it. Augustus was mad because she said "Always", meaning that she would stay with him forever. Augustus helped relieve his friend of the pain of breaking up with his girlfriend and he felt much better afterward. This was a very nice thing because Augustus knew that he might be caught, but he knew it was worth it to help a friend in need. Another piece of evidence was when Augustus would put a cigarette in his mouth and say that the cigarette does “not give the killing item any power”. He does this to show that he knows the cigarette has the capability to kill him but he doesn't give it the power to. This was impactful to me because Augustus is living on the edge and he is well aware of it. One piece of evidence that Hazel is more self conscious is that when Augustus is driving recklessly, she tries to stop him because she is very nervous he may crash. This is important because it shows the two different characters lifestyles.

     All in all, These two characters contrast and compare in many ways. Their relationship is a perfect balance because Hazel controls Augustus, and Augustus makes Hazel do fun and exciting things.