Flashcards for Speak

Andy Evans (IT)

Andy Evans, mostly referred to as "IT" in Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, serves as the main antagonist of the story.

character

David Petrakis

David Petrakis is a minor yet essential supporting character in Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak.

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Heather

Heather is a new student at Merryweather High who quickly attaches herself to Melinda Sordino as they start their freshman year.

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Ivy

Ivy is a minor yet significant supporting character in Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak.

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Melinda's Father

Melinda's father is a minor but symbolically important character in Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak.

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Melinda's Mother

Melinda's mother may be a minor character in Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, but she carries significant symbolic weight.

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Melinda Sordino

Melinda Sordino is a fourteen-year-old girl who narrates and leads the story in Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak.

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Mr. Freeman

Mr. Freeman is Melinda Sordino's art teacher at Merryweather High and serves as the most significant adult figure in the novel.

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Mr. Neck

Mr. Neck is Melinda Sordino's social studies teacher at Merryweather High and stands out as one of the main antagonists in the school system.

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Nicole

Nicole is a secondary character in Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, serving mainly as a social indicator within the strict clique dynamics of Merryweather High.

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Principal Principal

Principal Principal is a minor but symbolically important authority figure in Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak.

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Rachel Bruin

Rachel Bruin is Melinda Sordino's former best friend, and her rejection of Melinda creates one of the novel's key emotional wounds.

character

“My throat is always sore, my face is always red. I don't talk much.”

This quote is from Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, a groundbreaking young adult novel told through the eyes of Melinda Sordino, a ninth-grader who starts high school as a social outcast after she calls the police during an end-of-summer party.

Melinda Sordino · First Marking Period (early chapters)

“Rachel listens. I don't stop. I keep going until I've told her everything. She is crying. I am not.”

This quiet yet impactful moment occurs near the conclusion of Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak (1999), when the protagonist Melinda Sordino finally shatters her prolonged silence and reveals to her friend Rachel what Andy Evans did to her — that he raped her at a party before ninth grade.

Melinda Sordino (narrator) · Fourth Marking Period

“My name is Melinda Sordino. I busted an end-of-summer party and now nobody will talk to me.”

This opening line is spoken by Melinda Sordino, the fourteen-year-old protagonist and narrator of Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak (1999).

Melinda Sordino · First Marking Period (opening)

“I am Outcast.”

In Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak (1999), the main character and narrator, Melinda Sordino, states "I am Outcast" early in her freshman year of high school.

Melinda Sordino (narrator) · First Marking Period

“I am not going to think about it. It was ugly and I survived it and I am not going to think about it.”

This internal monologue comes from Melinda Sordino, the ninth-grade protagonist of Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak (1999).

Melinda Sordino · Part 1 (First Marking Period)

“Speak up for yourself — we want to know what you have to say.”

This line is spoken by Melinda Sordino's English teacher, Mr. Freeman, in Laurie Halse Anderson's novel Speak (1999).

Mr. Freeman

“I need to find a way to show myself that I am not a coward.”

This quote comes from Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, a groundbreaking young adult novel narrated by Melinda Sordino, a high school freshman who faces isolation from her peers after calling the police during an end-of-summer party.

Melinda Sordino

“Let me tell you about trees. Trees know how to survive.”

In Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, Melinda Sordino, the traumatized teenage protagonist, starts to find her voice during art class through a reflection on trees.

Melinda Sordino (narrator)

“Art is when you hear a knocking from your soul — and you answer.”

This quote is from Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, a powerful young adult novel narrated by Melinda Sordino, a high school freshman who withdraws deeply after being sexually assaulted at a summer party.

Mr. Freeman

“It is my first morning of high school. I have seven new notebooks, a skirt I hate, and a stomachache.”

This opening line is voiced (in first-person interior monologue) by Melinda Sordino, the main character and narrator of Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak (1999).

Melinda Sordino (narrator) · First Day of High School (Part 1)

“I open my mouth and nothing comes out.”

This line is delivered by Melinda Sordino, the teenage protagonist and narrator of Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak (1999).

Melinda Sordino (narrator) · Part 1 (First Marking Period)

“IT happened. There is no avoiding it, no forgetting. No running away, or flying, or burying, or hiding.”

This important line comes from Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak (1999), told in the first person by Melinda Sordino, a ninth-grader who has been silently dealing with the trauma of being raped at a summer party before starting high school.

Melinda Sordino (first-person narrator)

Melinda's Lips / Mouth

In Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, Melinda's lips and mouth represent her silenced voice and the trauma that leaves her mute after Andy Evans rapes her.

Seeds and Growth (Biology Class)

In Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, the seeds and growth cycle that Melinda studies in Mr. Freeman's biology class reflect her own difficult journey toward healing and finding her voice after her rape.

The Janitor's Closet

In Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, the janitor's closet symbolizes Melinda's urgent need for a safe space amid a world that feels intimidating and overwhelming.

The Mirror

In Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, mirrors represent Melinda's shattered self-image and her battle with identity after her rape.

The Tree

In Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, the tree that Melinda is tasked with carving in art class serves as the novel's main symbol of trauma, survival, and healing.

The Turkey Bone

In Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, the turkey bone Melinda carves in art class symbolizes her repressed trauma and her delicate efforts at self-expression.

Unreliable Narrator

In Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, Melinda Sordino recounts her freshman year with a dry, detached tone that downplays her own trauma, making her a deeply unreliable narrator—not out of deceit, but from dissociation and a desire to protect herself.

Irony

In Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, irony serves as the novel's core wound.

Motif

In Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, the motif of trees — particularly Melinda's art-class assignment to depict a tree throughout the school year — serves as the backbone of the novel's emotional journey.

Imagery

In Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, imagery powers Melinda's inner world, fulfilling the emotional roles that her silenced voice cannot.

Tone

In Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, the tone is the novel's most compelling structural force, shifting from numb detachment to intense self-awareness as Melinda Sordino copes with the aftermath of her rape.

Stream of Consciousness

In Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, the stream-of-consciousness style reveals Melinda Sordino's trauma in a disordered way, reflecting her dissociation rather than through a straightforward confession.

Foreshadowing

In Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, foreshadowing is woven into Melinda's fragmented and evasive narration — she navigates around the traumatic event of her rape without directly naming it, and this ongoing silence hints that something profoundly unsettling is at the heart of the story.

Metaphor

In Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, the extended metaphor drives the novel's meaning, transforming Melinda's trauma into a language she's hesitant to voice.

Symbolism

In Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, the tree that Melinda has to sculpt in art class becomes a powerful symbol of her mental state and gradual recovery after her rape.

Extended Metaphor

In Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, the tree that Melinda works on in art class serves as a powerful metaphor for her psychological and emotional state throughout the story.

marking period

A division of the school year, usually nine weeks long, at the end of which students receive grades; used here as the novel's structural chapters.

noun · Chapter 1

outcast

A person who has been rejected or excluded by a social group, left without friends or belonging.

noun · Chapter 1

cliques

Small, exclusive groups of friends at school who stick together and shut others out.

noun · Chapter 1

suffocating

So oppressive or overwhelming that it feels impossible to breathe or function; used here to describe an emotionally crushing social environment.

adjective · Chapter 1

dissect

To cut open and examine a specimen in biology class; also used figuratively for being scrutinized or pulled apart by others.

verb · Chapter 1

mute

Unable or unwilling to speak; here describing a deliberate, trauma-driven silence rather than a physical inability to talk.

adjective · Chapter 1

heaves

Retches or vomits, or feels a strong wave of nausea; used to convey a physical reaction to extreme anxiety or distress.

verb · Chapter 1

janitor's closet

A small storage room for cleaning supplies; used in the novel as a secret hiding place where the narrator retreats from the social world.

noun · Chapter 1

extra credit

Optional school assignments done beyond normal requirements to raise a student's grade.

noun · Chapter 1

lab partner

A student assigned to work alongside another on science experiments; the pairing carries social weight in the novel's school setting.

noun · Chapter 2

pep rally

A school assembly held to build enthusiasm and school spirit, usually before a sports event; depicted here as a loud, alienating spectacle.

noun · Chapter 2

detention

A punishment requiring a student to stay after school hours, used here both literally and as a marker of the narrator's social standing.

noun · Chapter 2

suffrage

The right to vote in political elections; appears in a history or social-studies class context within the novel.

noun · Chapter 2

osmosis

In biology, the movement of water through a membrane; used figuratively to mean absorbing information or feelings passively, without conscious effort.

noun · Chapter 3

linoleum

A hard, smooth floor covering common in school hallways and cafeterias; its appearance signals the institutional, impersonal quality of the school.

noun · Chapter 1

homeroom

A short daily class period at the start of the school day used for attendance and announcements, not academic instruction.

noun · Chapter 1

principal's office

The administrative office of the school's head authority figure; being sent there signals serious trouble or disciplinary action.

noun · Chapter 2

semester

Half of the academic year; used here to mark the passage of time and the narrator's slow emotional progress.

noun · Chapter 3

art room

The school classroom dedicated to visual arts; serves as a sanctuary and a place of gradual healing for the narrator.

noun · Chapter 2

mascot

A symbolic animal or figure representing a school's sports teams, often worn as a costume at games and rallies.

noun · Chapter 2

ivy

A climbing vine that grows on walls; used in the novel as a recurring visual image tied to the narrator's inner world and art projects.

noun · Chapter 3

report card

An official school document sent home to parents listing a student's grades and teacher comments for a marking period.

noun · Chapter 2

counselor

A school staff member whose role is to support students' academic and emotional wellbeing; the narrator's interactions with one reveal her isolation.

noun · Chapter 3

trauma

A deeply distressing experience, especially a violent or violating one, whose psychological effects persist long after the event itself.

noun · Chapter 4

speak

To break silence and tell one's truth aloud, especially about a painful or shameful secret; the novel's central act and its title.

verb · Chapter 4