Speak

 

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson

Title: Speak 

Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Anderson, L. H. (2011). Speak. Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR).

 

 

Grade Level: 9th

Pages: 191 pages

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is a contemporary realistic novel that follows the perspective of ninth grader, Mellie, who enters high school after a traumatic experience over the summer at a high school party. Mellie struggles to find her place in the school's social pecking order, while also having to deal with the toxic environment at home. Feeling that she is unable to express herself at home or at school, Mellie falls into self-destructive habits and allows her grades to fall.  However, with the help of her art teacher, she begins to discover her voice to speak out against her abusers and bullies in her life.

Possible Teaching Concerns: 

This novel is very explicit when it comes to abuse. Very early in the novel, there are themes of absuse mentioned in the narrator's past experience. This could be very triggering to some readers and it is important to note if teachers are going to teach this novel. There are also elements of self-harm through the novel. It is mentioned that Mellie hurts herself, and so do other girls in the school. Many of her friends (Heather) seem to struggle with eating disorders. There are several instances when the author decides to use rather crude and outdated language in the book.

Personal Reactions:

Personally, I find that this book was very moving, even though it address very sensitive material.  I don't think I would assign this book to the class and read it for a unit. I feel that would put too many students in an uncomfortable position if they found this material triggering and needed to come forward about it because of a past experience. Instead, I would probably offer it as a literature circle reading. Students could chose to read this book if they chose to, and I would be able to carefully moderator their progress throughout the book and give support on certain sections of the book. I think this gives me more control and awareness over the book's sensitive themes and how to communicate this to students in a safe way.

Canonical Work:

I decided to pair this novel with a couple of poems because of the heaviness of the material. I chose poems the talked about overcoming tribulation and trials and focused on the strength that people can find in themselves.  

"Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou

You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,

You may trod me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?

Why are you beset with gloom?

’Cause I walk like I've got oil wells

Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,

With the certainty of tides,

Just like hopes springing high,

Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?

Bowed head and lowered eyes?

Shoulders falling down like teardrops,

Weakened by my soulful cries?

Does my haughtiness offend you?

Don't you take it awful hard

’Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines

Diggin’ in my own backyard.

You may shoot me with your words,

You may cut me with your eyes,

You may kill me with your hatefulness,

But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?

Does it come as a surprise

That I dance like I've got diamonds

At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame

I rise

Up from a past that’s rooted in pain

I rise

I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,

Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear

I rise

Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear

I rise

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,

I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise

I rise

I rise.

 

 

This specific poem touches on racism, but I felt that the message was still very applicable when relating Speak. Throughout the novel, we watch Mellie struggle to find her voice and overcome her abuser. But in the end, she sees the strength that she has and rises above it. Not only is she able to confront her abuser, but she is also able to tell her story and rise from it. I chose this poem, because it focuses on themes of strength and hope that the narrator feels. These are feelings that I think apply to Mellie when she finally finds her strength to stand up and rise. 

"Fire" by Nikita Gill 

Remember what you must do
when they undervalue you,
when they think
your softness is your weakness,
when they treat your kindness
like it is their advantage

You awaken
every dragon,
every wolf,
every monster
that sleeps inside you
and you remind them
what hell looks like
when it wears the skin
of a gentle human

I have always seen Nikita Gill's poems on Pinterest and I saw this one and thought that it fit the themes of this books so well. It is a pretty short poem, but again, I think embodies what the readers see at the very end of Speak when Mellie fights back against her abuser. I think that every little girl needs to know that they are a warrior and that they can fight back. I love the empowerment that this poem offers and I think that it would pair well with the novel.