Speaking Up Is One of the Best Ways to Fight for Yourself

I finished the coming of age novel, "Speak" By Laurie Halse Anderson. The main character, Melinda, is a high school freshman at Merryweather High. She just got there and everyone already hates her. Her coming of age event was actually kind of tragic. She was raped at a party and called the police. Many of the students there got arrested for under aged drinking. No one was every willing to listen to her side of the story. Throughout the book, Melinda changes as a person. She goes from being quiet and reserved to being strong and willing to fight for herself.

At the beginning of the book, Melinda was very quiet and reserved, mostly because she was out casted. She was left by some of her closest friends and she changed in such a way that now she wouldn't talk to anyone and didn't communicate with others.

"I didn't go to the mall, the lake, or the pool, or answer the phone. I have entered high school with the wrong hair, the wrong clothes, and the wrong attitude. And I don't have anyone to sit with. I am an outcast." (4)

This shows me that once she entered school she was already discouraged and felt that she was going to be a failure at high school. Here, she shows low self-esteem and lack of self-confidence, but as the book continues she shows herself that she can be better than that and changes her whole attitude about school.

At the end of the book, Melinda was stronger and knew that sooner or later she would have to fight for herself. She went through so many things that made her stronger through this process we call maturing and it taught her life lessons about who she is inside, as a person.

"I don't know what it is; standing up to Heather... or maybe the look on moms face when I asked if she'd let me redecorate my room... Too much sun after a Syracuse winter does stuff to your head, makes you feel strong, even if you aren't. (180)

 This shows that she grew stronger over the time period of the whole school year. She became more self-confident over time and finally told her story, whether people wanted to hear it or not. This shows how she changed over time.

The details from this book lead me to believe that the author wanted to show us that youth is a tough stage in life, but that the only way to get through it is to buff up and fight for ourselves, or else we'll always regret the time we didn't speak up.