Everyone has a mentor or guardian, a person who looks out for you and guides you in the right path no matter what. In the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Mr. Freeman has many unique qualities that help him become a mentor to Melinda and all of his students. Mr. Freeman was able to impact Melinda and the rest of his students in a very effective way since their outcome was positive.
One way that Mr. Freeman proves his quality as a mentor is by his actions. He knows how to sympathize with students to create a friendly relationship.One of the most important qualities of a mentor is to be able to understand the other person’s comfort zone. Mr. Freeman quickly learns the environment that the students like to work in. After Mr. Freeman is done explaining the assignment, he proves his quality as Mentor by creating an environment that the …show more content…
Freeman shows his ability to be a mentor by the things he says. A mentor is someone who is able to say valuable messages to help you improve/move on in life. Throughout the novel, Mr. Freeman is able to impact many people just by saying statements that make people rethink their decision. When Melinda is digging through the globe to select her assignment for art class, she gets something that she doesn’t see as a challenge and tries to draw another. Anderson writes, “Tree? It's too easy. I learned how to draw a tree in second grade. I reach in for another piece of paper. Mr. Freeman shakes his head. "Ah-ah-ah," he says. "You just chose your destiny, you can't change that”(Anderson 12). Throughout the novel, Melinda focuses on perfecting the tree and learns how to channel her emotions into her tree. If Mr. Freeman never led Melinda in the right direction, she wouldn’t have any way to express her emotions. Mr. Freeman’s speech allowed him to steer Melinda in a positive direction. This shows that he was able to be a mentor to Melinda because he said was able to impact her thoughts and help her overcome depression by the