Laurie Halse Anderson Speak Summary

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What words could conceptualize a perforation into a neoteric world? Speak, written by Laurie Halse Anderson, artistically utilizes common vernacular and and develops a visual feast for your mind. Words written without any direction or feeling is nothing more than simple scribbles are blank paper if the combined effect has no description or emotion behind them. Anderson uses descriptive imagery, underlying tension, and jargon: innovative words to create extravagant descriptions in the book.
The book paints a scene with stimulating imagery to deepen the emotional effect on the reader. For example, Anderson writes, “A lump of potatoes and gravy hits me square on the center of the chest. All conversation stops as the entire lunchroom gawks, my …show more content…
For instance, Anderson states, “I try to pull them back and he squeezes so tight it feels like my bones are splintering… Maya Angelou looks at me. She tells me to make some noise. I open my mouth and take a deep breath” (194). These words project a feeling of emotional and physical strain and prepares the reader for what happens next. It uses Melinda’s inner reality of the poster coming to life and encouraging her to say something. When Melinda is literally trying to pull away Andy restrains her hands inflicting such pain that it feels like she is breaking into tiny pieces. Another tension inducing dialogue is when Heather tells Melinda, “We were never really, really friends, were we? I mean, it’s not like I ever slept over at your house or anything. We like to do different things…” (105). As Heather tries to find a reason to escape from Melinda, it results in a choking atmosphere making the reader want to intervene and take action. Even as Heather says this, it is clear that she doesn’t really have a good reason but feels she must extricate herself from the relationship and move away from Melinda. The tension within the book is essential to pulling the reader in and empathizing with the
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