Martin Luther King once said, “ our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” Laurie Halse Anderson an American novelist made sure to make this point true in her book Speak. Melinda Sordino (the main character) was conflicted between telling her story about being raped or not. The night that it happened she was at a party with her friends. After she was raped she called the cops out of fear and confusion, but no one knew the reason why she did it. The day after nobody liked or talked to her, not even her best friend Rachel. Throughout the book, she becomes more and more closed up and outcasted from her classmates Some try to reach out to her like Ivy, while others just make fun of her. The new girl Heather is oblivious to what happened over the summer and befriends her, but Melinda wasn’t really interested in being her friend. Her problem was that she was afraid that no one would believe the real reason why she called the cop and think that she was lying just so that she could get some attention. In Speak, Anderson teaches readers that speaking up doesn't always …show more content…
One was that if you don't speak up then no one will know if you have problems. An example of this was when she was in the lunchroom and got potatoes splattered on her. “ Would he listen to I need to go home and change, or did you see what that bozo did? Not a chance, I keep my mouth shut ” (Anderson 9). Another example of this is when she is in a meeting with her parents, guidance counselor, and her principal about her grades, and why she has closed up. “ Mother: She’s jerking us around to get attention. Me: [inside my head] would you listen? Would you believe me? Fat chance” (Anderson 114). Melinda’s main problem was her fear, she was afraid of how people would react and think of her if she told her story. She didn't realize all the people who truly cared about her, and would try to help her cope with the