Speak Reading Response

Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, is about a girl, Melinda, who is outcasted and deals with many difficult obstacles alone. She does not confide in others about her problems because she has no one to go to. In the book, one major symbol is the tree from art class.

One thing the tree represents, is a constant in Melinda’s life. Everything is changing. For example, Heather, Melinda’s only friend, unfriends her. “‘We were never really, really friends, were we?’” This quote shows Heather trying to explain her side of why they should stop being friends. “But now I am desperate to be her pal, her buddy, to giggle with her, to gossip with her. I want her to paint my nails.” This quote shows Melinda realizing she really wants Heather as a friend and without her she is completely alone. However, the tree is always there and the project never changes. For example, “‘ On the paper you will find one word, the name of an object. I hope you like it. You will spend the rest of the year learning how to turn that object into a piece of art.’” This explains that the project remains the same, without change, the entire year.

Another thing the tree represents, is what seems to be the only thing Melinda has control over in her life. For example, Melinda can’t control what the entire school thinks about her. Almost everyone hates her because she called the police at a party, but no one knows why, they just hate her for it. “I have worked so hard to forget every second of that stupid party, and here I am in the middle of a hostile crowd that mates me for what I had to do.” However, Melinda gets to control every aspect of the project. “‘... you will sculpt it. You will sketch it, papier-mache it, carve it. If the computer teacher is talking to me this year, you can use the lab for computer-aided designs. But there’s a catch-by the end of the year, you must figure out how to make your object say something, express an emotion, speak to every person who looks at it.’” This represents the independance Melinda has for this project.

In conclusion, the tree that Melinda has to create for her art project, symbolises a constant in Melinda’s life that she has control over. This is important because Melinda’s life is constantly being turned upside down with challenging obstacles that she has no control over, but the tree is something that Melinda cares about and has full control over.