Her last name, sordino, is an italian word that can be translated as deaf. She is very observant and notices every small detail. Melinda sordino is a character from the book speak, who has so many things to say but can not figure out a way to do so by herself. Speak book summary, by laurie halse anderson allen cheng. As a traumatized adolescent girl who has been sexually assaulted. The major problem of this study is to reveal the coping behavior of melinda sordino reflected in laurie halse andersons novel speak. Melinda mel sordino is the main character and narrator of laurie halse anderson s 1999 novel speak. Melinda s personality somewhat coincides with her physical appearance. Melinda sordino is raped at a summer party before her first year in highschool. At last, she is able to tell her mother the traumatic event openly. A large part of her dark sarcasm stems from her emotional pain and trauma. Melindas characterization when she is speaking up shows her taking action. By the novels end, melinda has begun to come out of her shell, opening up to her art teacher and to her former friend, ivy. Melinda attended the party with her friends and was very excited about the upcoming school year.
August before her freshman year, melinda and her closest friends attend a party with seniors and beer. She is funny and perceptive, and has the ability to be both cynical and empathetic towards both her peers and the authority figures in her life. The pictures relate to characters, setting, themes and other things that i can picture in my mind as i read this book. The nonverbal communication of melinda in laurie halse grin. Melinda s character traits in the novel speak by laurie halse anderson, melinda sordino is entering her first year of high school. He is a flat character whose motivations and background arent explored. Speak is a novel written and published by laurie halse anderson in 1999. As the story unfolds, readers and melinda learn that shes only one of andys. The protagonist melinda sordino shows growth and uses characterization to reveal her emotional growth. Melinda sordino is the depressed, teenaged narrator of the story. Melinda doesnt have and doesnt want access to information about andy. Speak, published in 1999, is a young adult novel by laurie halse anderson that tells the story of high school freshman melinda sordino. In late 1996, i woke up from a nightmare, thinking about the character who would become melinda sordino in speak.
Melinda sordino is the main character of the book speak. In the novel, melinda hangs up a poster of maya angelou in her makeshift janitors closet hangout. Melinda sordino the protagonist of speak, melinda begins high school and the novel traumatized by a rape that occurred at the hands of upperclassman andy evans at a party the summer before. Shes only fourteenyearsold, and shes dealing with one of the worst things that can happen to a person. Freemans art class, which will be the silver lining in the cloud that is her school life. Melinda has a terrible secret that causes her personality to. Melinda sordino, the antagonist and narrator of the novel speak written by laurie halse anderson, is faced with isolation because of the trauma she experiences with her rape, the fact that her rapist attends her school, and because she is shunned by all of her peers. Melinda is very perceptive and bright, but her vision is sometimes clouded by her suffering. Rachelrachelle melindas best friend since elementary school, she is at the party where melinda is raped. Tips to elevate your hybrid or virtual sales strategy.
You also see hints as to what has caused melinda to be isolated and view herself as an outcast. What are some character traits of melinda in speak. Due to her trauma and inability to tell anyone about what happened, melinda spirals into a dark depression. Apr, 2009 what are some characteristics of melinda sordino in speak. She is 15 years old and is beginning her freshman year at merryweather high school. The objectives of the study are to analyze the character of melindasordino based on individual psychological analysis developed by alfred adler. All that crap you hear on tv about communication and expressing feelings is a lie. Nov 01, 2014 melinda sordino is the main character of speak along with the narrator of the book. This is the only point in the book in which there is a complete disregard for grammar rules. Aug 12, 2016 the first physical description of melinda emphasizes her lips, which are in bad condition because she is continually biting them. However, melinda s poor grades keep her from joining the team. Everything we learn about the character is filltered through her. Her life is completely changed as the memories of this horrible summers night haunts her and affects her deeply.
The objectives of the study are to analyze the character of melindasordino based on individual psychological. The speak quotes below are all either spoken by melinda sordino or refer to melinda sordino. Makes you understand to not judge people if you dont know what happened to them. Melinda sordino suffers through her freshman year at merryweather high school in silence. The summer before starting high school, she was raped by a senior student, andy evans.
Since shes also the narrator, everything we learn about the other characters is filtered through her. Essay about laurie halse andersons speak 1277 words bartleby. Melinda sordino she is a sophomore in merryweather high school, syracuse, new york. Melinda sordino may remain silent on the outside but she is a very observant, though hurt individual on the inside. Anderson instead writes melinda s account of the rape in the same way that her memory would construct it. The protagonist of speak, melinda begins high school and the novel traumatized by a rape that occurred at the hands of upperclassman andy evans at a party the summer before. How to describe the main characters from speak pen and. Melinda sordino, the narrator of laurie halse andersons novel speak, is a 14yearold rape survivor who is deeply confused about how to process her trauma. Character list and analysis melinda sordino cliffsnotes.
Speak 2004 kristen stewart as melinda sordino imdb. In these first sections of speak, you meet melinda, and through her description of her classmates and teachers, you gain a sense of their character as well as her own. She attended an endofsummer party where she experienced a traumatic event, and called the cops. Her last name, sordino, is an italian word that can be. Melinda is a smart, intelligent student and person but after what happened in the summer, her visions and goals are clouded by judgement and her own personal suffering. Maya angelou the novel speak details the life story of melinda sordino, a freshman in high school, and how both the traumatic and happy events of her life shape her character. Traumatic events are not stored in a normal, linear fashion. Melindas characterization declines and then improves. The factors that helped melinda recover literature essay. The cops busted the party, so everyone is mad at melinda. She is very shy, anxious, an outcast, and insecure. Melinda sordino is the protagonist of the novel speak by laurie halse anderson. She quickly sees the division of cliques in high school and humorously describes the teachers based on their quirks. What are some characteristics of melinda sordino in speak.
In the book speak, by laurie halse anderson, melinda sordino is forced into the worst. Instead, she uses sarcasm, nicknames, and nailbiting to distance herself from the pain she feels. The remainder of the student body dislikes her for being a snitch. Her abuse has made her cynical such as thinking she is too old to celebrate halloween despite her schoolmates dressing up, as well as no longer believing in santa, though she is very secretive about it. Protagonist melinda sordino is a depressed teenager who people want to write off, forget, dismissinitially this includes even the reader.
In this book speak, what are some characteristics of melinda. See more ideas about this book, girls bedroom paint, teenage girl bedroom diy. The author of speak, laurie halse anderson, positions the main character melinda very clearly towards communication in the beginning of the book with the. Description of character melinda sordino is a year old, ninth grader studying in merry weather high school. With kristen stewart, elizabeth perkins, richard hagerman, allison siko.
Dec 17, 2015 this board that has been created are images of the novel speak. In the novel speak by laurie halse anderson, melinda sordino is entering her first year of high school. This statement also aligns to a 1999 contemporary classic novel, speak, where a young freshman, melinda sordino, faces isolation and depression to an event that occurred over the summer, one that only she knows about. It was also made into a movie of the same name in 2004.
Melinda changes throughout the story and is a complex person therefor she is a dynamic and a round character. Melinda is lost, confused, and depressed trying to overcome her trauma, while her classmates bully her for calling the cops on a party. Speak book king county library system bibliocommons. Melinda sordino melinda is the protagonist of speak. See our topranked characters and read their profiles.
Speak book san antonio public library bibliocommons. In the summer before entering high school, melinda is invited to a party that changes her life. Melinda sordino is raped at a summer party before her first year in. Melinda, a high school freshman, is the protagonist in laurie halse andersons speak. She is shallow and cold and uses melinda when she needs her talents so as to become more popular among a clique known as the marthas. Connors, melinda s gym teacher, compliments melinda s basketball skills. Melinda sordino is depicted as a traumatized teenager who is ostracized during her freshman year of high school for calling the police to party after she was raped by an older boy named andy evans.
The first physical description of melinda emphasizes her lips, which are in bad condition because she is continually biting them. Speak is set in syracuse, new york, in the specific neighborhood and schoolmerryweather high schoolof melinda sordino in the present day character list. Melinda sordino, the protagonist of the novel, speak, narrates the story in which she is sexually assaulted at the beginning of ninth grade by a boy named andy evans. Melinda s attitude is one most teenagers will immediately identify with as the book introduces us to her with the kind of sardonic wit seemingly only teenagers know how to dispatch with such expertise. Take charactours quiz to get recommendations for thousands of characters, movies, tv shows, books, and games that are high matches for your unique personality. In the book, speak, melinda sordino, an incoming freshman at merryweather high, starts her year off with a terrible start. A couple weeks before school began, a backtoschool party was organized. Book summary character list and analysis melinda sordino andy evans. Melinda s only friend now is an outcast named heather, and her only positive experience is an art class in which the supportive, passionate, and creative teacher, mr. The characters ordeals were based on andersons own experiences.
In the book speak by laurie halse anderson, melinda sordino, the main character, is a victim of rape who doesnt speak up about what happened which leads her to become withdrawn, self alienated, and dead inside. After melinda calls the police at a party in august, her former friend group ditches her and disintegrates. Melinda sordino is a really shy teen, hiding from kids at school. Character qualities on the story speak by anna sandhu prezi. Shes only fourteenyearsold, and shes dealing with one of the worst things that can happen to. Her physical appearance is small and skinny, but always wearing baggy clothes. She is a new girl who befriends melinda at the beginning of the school year. Speak the stereotypical high school dream consists of attending crazy parties and maintaining many strong friendships and relationships, all while getting passing grades. Soon after that, andy comes to threaten melinda when he knows that she reveals the truth to rachel. The progression of melinda sordino melinda sordino, the main character in laurie halse andersons award winning novel, speak, is a 9th grade student attending merryweather high.
Neck and a whole bunch of other weird teachers like her english teacher of who she calls, hairwomen, because of her crazy, uncombed show more content. This lifestyle almost perfectly matches melinda sordino s, the main character in the book speak, by laurie anderson. Melinda became mute the moment she was traumatized after she was date raped. Her transition from middle school to high school is complicated by a misunderstanding which sends shockwaves throughout her existence. The story follows the experiences of social outcast, melinda sordino, during her freshman year at merryweather high school in syracuse.
We follow he through her first year of high school and learn that the source of her cynicism is that she was raped. At the party, melinda feels uncomfortable and out of place. Melinda sordino character analysis in speak litcharts. In a flashback it is discovered by the reader that melinda, mel for short, was raped by an upper classman during a party in the summer between 8th and 9th grade. After a blurred trauma over the summer, melinda enters high school a selective mute. Over the course of the book, melinda eventually finds the strength to open up, reveal her dark secret, accept what has happened to her, and is slowly able to start recovering from her trauma. She gulps down a couple beers before walking outside for some fresh air.
Character analysis of sordino in the book speak 932 words 4 pages. Throughout the story, she comes across new characters in. From the first moment of her freshman year at merryweather high, melinda knows that this is a big fat lie, part of the nonsense of high school. Shes stuck with a mean history teacher, by who she calls mr. The story begins with melinda sordino anxiously attending her first day of high school and watching her former best friends abandon her to join new cliques. At the party, she found many people participating in perilous behaviors.
Melinda sordino she is a sophomore in merryweather high school, sy racuse, new york. I actually made a banner if you want to look at it. Melinda sordino is, personally, the most interesting character in the book speak by laurie halse anderson. She is friendless, outcast, because she busted an endofsummer party by calling the cops, so now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her. She is terribly unhappy, because she is the victim of a vicious rape, and so spends her entire ninthgrade year trying to come to terms with what happened. Speak up for yourself we want to know what you have to say. How to describe the main characters from speak pen and the pad. Speak is a novel about melinda sordino, whos entering her freshma.
I also kind of left this hanging because if someone reading this poem hasnt read the book or seen the movie i dont want to spoil it for them. Melinda can be quite witty and eloquent in her own head, but now has trouble expressing herself to others. Aug 28, 20 in the book speak by laurie halse anderson, melinda sordino proved that anyone can overcome anything if they find their voice. What is a physical description of the character melinda in. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one. Speak tells the story of melinda sordino, a ninth grader at merryweather high school in syracuse, new york. I chose melinda as my character because she showed anyone can overcome any hardships on their own.
She also does poorly in school, and doesnt socialize very easily with other students. Jan 03, 2020 melinda sordino is, personally, the most interesting character in the book speak by laurie halse anderson. Melinda sordino truly changes and grows as a person throughout the novel. Character qualities on the story speak by anna sandhu. Character list and analysis melinda sordino melinda, a high school freshman, is the protagonist in laurie halse andersons speak. Melinda sordino is a freshman in high school grade 9.
This closet is abandoned it has no purpose, no name. Essay about laurie halse andersons speak 1277 words. Melinda starts her freshman year at merryweather high with no friends and a terrible secret. Author laurie halse anderson will adapt the text of her novel, a 1999 national book award finalist, and emily carroll. A blog dedicated to the main character in the book speak by laurie halse anderson. She is terribly unhappy, because she is the victim of a vicious rape, and so spends her entire ninthgrade year trying to come to terms with what happened to her. After accidentally busting an end of summer party due to a sexual assault, melinda is ostracized by her peers because she will not say why she called the police. After reading this book i learned about melinda s, the main character s mistakes. Character list melinda sordino she is a sophomore in merryweather high school, syracuse, new york. Kristen stewart in portrays the character of melinda sordino in the.
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