Curated set · answers marked
What traumatic event does Melinda Sordino, the protagonist, find difficult to discuss throughout the novel?
AA serious car accident that injured her best friend
BBeing sexually assaulted by an older student named Andy Evans at a party✓
CWitnessing a violent fight between her parents
DBeing falsely accused of cheating on a school exam
Rationale
The novel's main conflict centers on Melinda’s struggle to talk about the rape she experienced at the hands of Andy Evans during an end-of-summer party. This trauma leads her to call the police that night, resulting in her peers ostracizing her, and pushes her into a state of silence and depression throughout her freshman year of high school.
In Laurie Halse Anderson's novel Speak, what traumatic event does the main character Melinda Sordino have a hard time discussing throughout the story?
AA car accident that hurt her best friend
BBeing sexually assaulted by an older student named Andy Evans✓
CWitnessing a violent fight at a party
DThe sudden death of a family member
What traumatic event does the protagonist, Melinda Sordino, struggle to articulate throughout the novel?
AA car accident that injured her best friend
BBeing sexually assaulted by an older student named Andy Evans at a summer party✓
CWitnessing a violent fight between her parents
DBeing falsely accused of cheating on a school exam
Rationale
The main conflict in Speak centers on Melinda's struggle to express the sexual assault she experienced at the hands of Andy Evans during an end-of-summer party. Her silence and feelings of isolation throughout the novel are a direct result of this trauma, and her gradual journey to reclaim her voice is the heart of the story.