Speak

Melinda and David’s friend ship is good I think they like each other. No because heather was just using her to do her stuff for her and mean while David is not. I would probably do what she does which is not talk to anybody because it would hurt so bad I would just keep on living my life. No and no because I’m not really good at talking to adults about my problems but yeah I would just lay low I would talk to people but I wouldn’t show any sad or depressed emotions because I wouldn’t want anyone to find out that I was sad because they would be like what’s wrong and stuff like that and that’s what I hate so yeah I would just keep to myself then cry when no one is watching. I would keep to myself because I do not like people feeling sorry for me or having sympathy for me it bugs me when people worry about me so yeah I would just keep to myself and that’s why I don’t talk when people make fun of me because I really don’t care what anybody thinks of me and that’s the way I like it and it is going to stay that way!!!

Melinda's Ninth Grade

Melinda’s freshman year is way different from mine. Though I was not raped during the summer before my freshman year, I came into my freshman year with anger, bitterness, and I was kind of scared. I was specifically angry with a group of people that went by “ALP”. What it stands for, I could not tell you, but the ring leader, Terran, fought my older brother and then jumped my little brother.

ALP is the most popular group at N.S.H.S. Your either friends with them or your not, it’s real simple. After helping my little brother the group labeled me as a pussy and a “nana”. (someone who helps everyone “get better”) Most of the people I hung out with the year before didn’t want to be seen with me anymore. I was an embarrassment to them and the school, I guess.

Anyway, I didn’t isolate myself, but it was hard to cope with having no one to talk to. I was never really good at art, but I let myself become suffocated in my writing. Don’t get confused though, I was not the emo in the corner writing poetry, I just was quiet.
My freshman year was hard, but nothing compared to hers. I feel for her, it would suck to be in her shoes. So ya…

Speak

If I was on Melinda situation I would of handled the situation way different. Melinda has been through a lot of up’s and downs. On my point view I think Melinda could have done something instead of suffering. Well if I had gone through the same thing as she did, I would told someone about what had happen to me so I can get help. I think Melinda is a strong person for handling everything she went through. If Melinda would have talked to someone she could have got help and her whole life could have be different. Me personally I wouldn’t be able to keep it to my self I wouldn’t be able to handle what she went through. Well I also understand why Melinda didn’t really told no one about what happen to her because her parents aren’t there for her she doesn’t have no one to talk to, she has no friends and I don’t think she trust no one. I think Melinda feels lonely because there’s no one to talk to or hang out with, her best friends left her for some other group of girls. On the book I can see Melinda is scared on telling some body because she is scared of what people might think of her.

Speak

I think Melinda and David’s friendship is more a boyfriend, girlfriend relationship than just friendship because I think David wants to be Melinda’s boyfriend because he hits on her sometimes.

The ways Melinda’s friendship differs between Heather and David is with heather they never really were close and they were friends not lovers but with David and Melinda they are more boyfriend, girlfriend then they are friends.

I think David is a positive influence on Melinda because he is one of the only people that is nice to her and is probably the only one that actually wants to be her boyfriend so pretty much David is a positive because he gives Melinda hope.

When Mr. Freeman said “Breathe life into your art” I think he was trying to tell her to be creative and that he doesn’t want any boring pictures of trees he wants Melinda to think out of the box and be creative and when he says make it bend and give it twisted branches he is also trying to tell her to be more creative because there is no such thing as a perfect tree.

I think ways Melinda could apply thinking out of the box and being creative to her everyday life are instead of being scared and shy she could be outgoing and more proactive.

A Night to Remember

MELINDA’S EXPERIRNCE IN NINTH GRADE IS HORRIBLE. SHE HAS TO DEAL WITH DIRTY LOOKS, BAD NAME CALLING, AND STARES AS WELL AS COMMENTS FROM OTHER PEOPLE. SHE FEELS JUDGED BY PEOPLE WHEN THEY DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON. SHE GOT RAPED IN NINTH GRADE AND PEOPLE DON’T KNOW THAT, SO THEY COMENT ON WHAT A FREAK SHE WAS FOR CALLING THE COPS AT THE PARTY BUT LIKE I SAID THEY DON’T KNOW THAT.

MY EXPERIENCE IN THE FIRST YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL WAS SCARY BUT I ALREADY HAD FRIENDS WHO WOULD TALK TO ME. I DIDN’T HAVE TO DEAL FROM GLARES FROM PEOPLE WHO HATED ME, BUT I DID FROM THOSE WHO DID NOT KNOW ME. THE WAY I COULD RELATE TO HER WAS I WAS DIFFERENT FROM EVERYONE ELSE; I WAS IN FOSTER CARE AND THEY WERENT. THIS PUT ME IN AN AKWARD POSSITON TO WHERE EVERYONE LOOKED AT ME AS A CRIMINAL. AND THE WAY THAT’S IT’S DIFFERENT IS I DIDN’T GIVE PEOPLE A REASON TO HATE ME. MELINDA CALLED THE COPS, NOT BECAUSE SHE WANTED EVERYONE TO GET BUSTED, BUT BECAUSE SHE WAS RAPED. I NEVER DID ANYTHING BAD SO THAT PEOPLE WOULD HATE ME IN HIGH SCHOOL.

My 9th Grade Compared to Melinda's

My 9th grade compare to Melinda’s? Well if u really want me to compare it I will. But ill tell you what, your going to love it! At least compared to hers you will. But first I’m going to say where I went to school for 9th grade. I came to Summit High School for my 9th grade. And I tell you what its rare for you to hear I kid my age to say it, but I loved my 9th grade, not just that grade but all of them. I think the main big only reason why I liked it so much it’s because, out of all my school years Summit High has been the only one whom I really liked. Liked? Never mind ill take it back, I meant loved. No school could be compared to this one, well you can but, you just cant with the teachers we got the best teachers. So basically my High School years and 9th grade have been way better than Melinda’s. I mean hear in Summit just about everybody likes each other. Specially the staff’s, they really care for their students, and actually take the time to teach you the proper way! So my 9th grade has been awesome compared to hers…

I think that Melinda realizes that her friendship with Heather wasn’t really that good like she thought it was. I think Melinda was really sad when heather said that because now she doesn’t have anyone to hang out with and she doesn’t have a best friend to talk to or anything. Now that Heather said that their friendship is over and that they cant be friends no more it made Melinda realize that she really does want to be friends with heather and that she doesn’t want their friendship to be over. It makes her feel all sad and depressed and lonely because heather ditched her for the Martha’s and that made her feel like she wasn’t part of anything. It made her feel unwanted. It got her so depressed that she had to go and cry bout it in her lil closet. I think that Heather felt great full because Melinda didn’t fuss about it or do anything and she just let her go away from the table without anything being said. It made her feel good about Melinda that is why she wrote a valentines note to Melinda saying thank you for being so understanding bout it and being so calm bout it also.

I think Melinda realizes that heather was the only friend she had and she didn’t realize this until it was too late and now she doesn’t have anyone to gossip with and I think the ending of this friendship is going to make things way harder for Melinda and I think this ending of this friendship for heather means her getting in with the MARHA’S AND BEING SOMEWHAT POPular and honestly I think Melinda’s parents don’t have a clue what melinda’s problem is and the meeting they have with Melinda actually I think did more harm than help because she got in school suspension because she ditched school and I think the reason Melinda is drawn to the hospital is she is sick not physically but mentally mostly because she got raped but also because nobody likes her and they down talk her and nobody there is even nice enough to even acknowledge her so that’s probably the reason Melinda is so messed up in the head and the reason I think Melinda is more uncomfortable in some waiting rooms than others is she doesn’t like seeing people in pain and she was probably most uncomfortable in the surgery room because she saw people crying and in pain and it probably reminded her of being raped.

            Melinda had a pretty good relationship with Heather. Every thing was looking good at the beginning they didn’t really usually argue. I think Melinda like the relationship she had with Heater. One day Melinda saw Heather sitting with the Martha’s across the lunch room and Melinda got depress and mad. When Melinda saw her she went to go sit somewhere else she felt betrayed by her on friend. On one part of the book Heather goes up to talk to Melinda and that’s when Heather told her that she does want to be her friend no more. Melinda was really hurt and she though they had friendship. Melinda was telling her that real friends always stay together through good and bad times and she was depressed cause Heather wasn’t doing that. Heather gave Melinda back the brace late that she received from her and all Melinda did was go run to the janitors closet and hide from her problems. Melinda got really hurt by Heather comments cause Heather told her that she was a weirdo and a silent person. I don’t think Heather got affected by the breaking friendship, I think she just wanted to not been seem with Melinda or she was embarrassed of her. All Heather wanted was to joined the Martha’s and become more popular.

Melinda has realized that she has not really had any real friends at all since being in high school. Sure, Heather was nice to her and wanted to hang out from time to time, but when Heather realizes that she and Melinda are way different, she wants out of the friendship. Mainly because Melinda is a dark person, like depressed all the freaking time. All that Melinda really has time for anymore is her art, trying to find herself in a world that absolutely hates and despises her.

Heather wants to be a part of “the martha’s” and Melinda would like to continue in her silent ways and be left alone. She wants as little drama as possible. But when Heather decides to cut off their friendship, and she realizes it was kind of nice to have a friend. She wants friends but has absolutely no idea how to make them or keep them. It is actually a fairly simple concept after being through what she has been through. I think that her and Heather’s friendship was really good for her and also an eye opener. It is kind of sad.

I think that medina’s parents think that her problem comes from her friends that they think she has. They also might have thought that she was sleeping around and crap like that.

 Her counselor thinks it comes from her parents. He words that he says make me think that he is trying to refer to abuse an neglect from her mess up lazy white family her dad is mean to her an her mom nerves talk to her an plus no one knows that she got raped by Andy Evans that dirty little uneducated Caucasian male an deep down she wants to tell her story but she cant cause no one listens to her sad depressing thoughts that she has. Only of some good nice person would listen

 That meeting she had made things worse for at home an school cause there is two point of views from people about what really happen her parents treat her different her counselor treats different cause they all have a different thoughts or ideas on what is making her act a lot ‘different then what they  expect from her so they all treat her in all ways I honesty think she should tell them why she hates her school cause if she did maybe they treat her better an help her with her problems she is g=having so she doesn’t have to try an get intentions an deal with all this crap she is having. Any if she would speak up maybe she would be treated a lot better /we all know she is having a hard time with everything that is on her mind no one should have to see there rapist every  day at school like her there is a reason theirs laws

She realizes that she really needs a friend. It means that it was kind of nice having someone to sit by and stuff of that nature that’s how I was through out elementary and jr. high. It means that she is lonely and she wont have anyone to talk to again like me when I was younger it really sucks I guess that’s why I never ever tell any one about my problems. They think that she just has a problem she doesn’t talk much at all it hurt her cause it makes her realize that she has no friends. I think she has some problems expressing herself she needs to open up tell people stuff so that people can understand her and be her friend so she actually has some friends to hang out with it would be good for her self esteem if she expresses herself more like if she was on the basketball team and what not that way she could make more friends and be cool. So yeah if she expresses herself more she can totally gain more and awesome best friends.

Would They Believe?

The question is will she accept the help she really needs? The way I see things is that it is hurting her by avoiding the situation she needs help or to tell some body butt I guess she’s to scared  to say what is really hurting her. It’s hurting the problem because she’s not willing to get the help she wants. She’s afraid if she does tell somebody the truth would they believe her and do some thing about it and not ignore her for what she has to say to them about the situation. What has happened to her? They are asking if there is any family issues what they also ask is there is any thing else that they should know about. They are also worried about why has she has not talking at all and what’s up with her? She should say some thing because they could get hurt and affect her for the rest of her life. If she does not say anything thing when she’s older she’s going to =get these flash backs about the situation she has been in before. So she’s asked her self if she say what had happened would they believe her. That’s the mail thing that’s she is worried about. that’s why I think that’s the reason the she’s going to end up getting hurt or the wrong person will find out because what she said and what the people would think of her?

Feelings Toward Heather

            I think that the relationship for the both of them is/was hurting the both of them in different ways. The way it hurt Heather is the fact that she has to deal with the crap that she gets for hanging out with Melinda also the fact that she has to hear others making fun of her friend. The ways it has hurt Melinda is the fact that she knows that Heather isn’t a real friend she doesn’t stick up for her when people like the Marthas make fun of Melinda.

            I think that Melinda finally realizes that no-one at school truly likes her as a friend they would all choose another person over her. I think that the significance of the relationship is really nothing to Melinda what I mean by this is that she knew that Heather wasn’t a real friend they had nothing in common and she never sticks up for her.

            For Melinda I think that the end of the friendship means that it’s all over with Heather what I mean by this is that she is never going to be friends with Heather. And for Heather I think it means that she has new friends the Marthas.

Melinda's Thanksgiving

Look back on the section on Thanksgiving. What is going on emotionally in the scene with Melinda and her parents? How does Thanksgiving impact Melinda?

            I think that Melinda feels that Thanksgiving is more bad  than it is good because it shows that her family is unstable in her eyes. The reason why I feel like that is what is going on is because of the feelings that you get when reading this part of the book and also the thoughts that you get such as her parents argue a bit, and their non-understanding of what’s going on with Melinda and her being raped, and her inability to tell her parents.

            I think that the parent that Melinda most connects to in this scene is her father the reason why I think this is because of her inability to truly communicate with her mother and the fact that she just has a hard time connecting with her mother. This scene also shows how much respect that she has for her dad although he has a hard time being a good parent. I think that Thanksgiving ultimately hurts Melinda because of her actions after the holiday because of her pain that she shows through her artwork afterward.

Speak

         She is scared because all these things had to do with her getting raped, and stuff. Like she was smelling them or seeing the things that she was seeing or smelling when she was getting raped. I think she was very affected by the frog incidence because when the frog’s legs were split, or wide open she thought about back to when she got raped, and I think that is why the frog incidence frightened her. I also think she fainted because she was so overwhelmed by the thoughts of reliving the experience of being raped. This of what I thought of the book section that we read in class. It kind of pisses me off when I read or hear about someone a girl getting raped because I’ve had a lot of girl friends that have been raped and I just can’t stand it. This is what I thought about the whole thing.

Sancuary

            The janitor’s closet becomes a symbol for Melinda’s psychological state. How does the closet reflect Melinda’s mental state? Why do you think she is so happy to have found this place?

            The janitor’s closet, to me, represents her life, empty, unclean, lonely, and depressing. I think she realizes this when she first discovers this room. That’s why she can connect to it so easily. It’s cool to me that she has this, for me my sanctuary, which is my room, is constantly being used by many other people. That makes it so I can’t really relax without being interrupted by my foster brothers, my foster family, or even the people remodeling our house. She’s depressed and lonely. To me, that’s how the janitor’s closet symbolizes Melinda’s psychological state.

            Why she is so happy to have found this sanctuary is that it’s the perfect friend for her. The closet has been through everything Melinda has. Like being forgotten, made dirty/ defiled, depressing, lonely. They fit each other, and probably help each other. Like how she cleans it when it was dirty, the room helps her clear her mind. They keep each other company and out of trouble. Being by yourself you’re a different person. When your alone you have no one to impress, or please. No worry about anyone accepting you or making fun of you. It’s pretty nice. Those are my answers for the questions above.

THIS IS MY JOURNAL FOR THIS WEEK CAUSE YOU SAID SO.

It effects her mental state because she now has some place to get away from every body at school she is happy she found this place because she feels safe there its some where, where she can escape from the world. I think she fainted because she has reminded herself of the night that she got raped at the party the scene references that shes being reminded of getting raped at the party  I think she should tell her parents what happened at that party because im pretty sure they are going to fid out some time cause the whole entire school knows about it so its better to tell them yourself now then have them hear about it from someone else later because its just going to cause a lot of problems if her parents found out about it from someone else. Or she could keep it to herself because that’s what I would do well that’s what I always do I just forget about it usually until it comes back so I don’t know she can do either one of those things. And that’s all I have to say in this weeks blog slash journal.

MELINDA’S EXPERIENCES

To Melinda the closet gives her the feeling of being safe and this represents her mental state as her being hurt or being scared and she finds herself feelings safe in the janitor’s closet and I think for her this is a good find.  I think the way her physical state affects her mentally is she is scrawny and little and she thinks she isn’t very pretty so this makes her think she can’t stand up for herself.  I think she is scared of telling people what happened to her because she doesn’t have anyone that she is really close enough to talk to so she is kind of screwed because she isn’t close to her parents and she doesn’t have any real close friends.  Melinda’s experiences while working with her parents are really different because her mom is a really hard worker and is always busy and her dad is lazy and doesn’t do hardly any work at all he even made his own daughter do his work and that made Melinda really mad and the reason why Melinda doesn’t tell her parents about her rape experience is every time she tries she gets a lump in her throat its like she’s scared or embarrassed to tell anyone what happened.

MELINDAS THUG LIFE.

Melinda physical state reflects on her mental state because she’s always sad or depressed. Her mental state is very depressing she’s always talking to herself on her mind. Most of Melinda’s physical actions shows that she is sad, depressed, and mad. I think Melinda is scared of what people think of her or about what happen to her. She also expresses a lot of pain on most of her art class, for example the one tree she drew getting hit by lighting. One of her action that I think she shows pain is the one part were she looks at herself in t he mirror and she bites her lips and starts bleeding. Melinda is going through a lot pain on her mind cause she’s got no one to talk too, her parents are always working. Melinda fainted on her science class cause she was having flash backs from when she got raped. Like when they open the frogs legs she remember how it happen to her, so she got really scared and nervous. Melinda has gone through a lot of things in school and at home. Melinda isn’t really an open person, she keeps most of her thoughts on her head.

Story

I think that the closet/ fort is a place where she can relax. I think that it helps her to get out all of her emotions and thoughts out of her head. It also helps her to have a place of peace and to have a place to think to her self of what’s going on out in the world or just stuff like that. It gives her a piece of mind, a place where she can be alone and not be bothered by any one else. Its a place where she can be so that she doesn’t have to be so frustrated and nervous about telling people about what has happened to her in the past because she doesn’t want any one to know about it so its good to have a place where she can express it all without no one knowing about any thing or whatever. It is a very good place to be at because she doesn’t have to blame any one for her problems or for what has happened to her. I think that Melinda should keep going to her little closet she calls a fort, because she really needs to get her feeling out and it better because she doesn’t have to go through the whole acquired conversation in telling every one about what has happened because then it might ruin her relationship with her family even more and then that wouldn’t be a good thing so having a place all to your self is good.

The Frog and the Faint

I think she fainted because she couldn’t take it or and she thought back on when she was getting raped. The frog is her and when they open it from there she remembers about how they open her up an how she was a sleep an had no control of what was happening to her or she was drug up. From there she just can’t take it no more so she passed out to promptly till she got up an in to a different place I think it reflects on all that happen to her how she. how she think she has zero control were all it takes is the courage to speak up an tell everyone what really happen to at the party an why she called the cops in the first place an how everyone looks at her is rude cause they don’t know what really happen to her on that day everyone knows her as the girl who snitch at the party. To me she is the girl with no voice that’s has a story to tell but doesn’t not have the courage to do it and or the honor.

The frog could reusable a lot of things to Melinda. To me it respibles the things she went threw an how she related to be dead like the frog an it got to her an the human body acts an diffent ways and how her body responded is to pass out an not take cause it brought back a bad memory so it reacted an shut down she try’s to hide it all the time but when her eyes processed that image threw her brain it interpreted it to for get about it. the reality is she is going to have to face the things that happen to her one of the days she cant just hide under crap she got to overcome herself an her mindset.

Melinda Faints

I think Melinda faints due to traumatic stress and memories of seeing the frog get pinned down in the fashion in which it was. Although it was a simple science project, dissecting a frog, it was scary. It made a memory come back from when she was raped at the party that night. Having the frog’s legs and hands pinned reminded her of when she was held down and forced to do some pretty unthinkable things.

We never think about how even the simplest of things can trigger us into a relapse of how things from our past really did affect us. We pretend, as Melinda did, that everything is okay. That nothing ever happened. When in reality its not okay. We try to make all the pain from what happened go away by pretending its nothing. We pretend that it’s a simple black void that doesn’t need to be healed or filled with anything. When, in fact it does need to be filled.

When Melinda faints, I’m sure people think that its simply because she cant handle seeing the frog cut open. I guess you have to go through what she has in order to understand what she really went through. It’s easier to have compassion when you know what people have gone through and/or can relate.

Speak

The thing that I m righting about is that the drawing that Melinda drew in her art class from what I got from the tree being struck by lighting was when she was hurt really badly and caused lots of problems to her and some thing you can not heal for ever. She is hurt and of her past experience with other people not trusting them. It says that she was hurt. And will never be able to heal or trust from the pain that has a damaged a tree is her self and the way she lives a tree is healthy till some thing happens like the tree getting cut down or burned butt I under stand how she was a tree and was struck by lighting she got hurt when I mean hurt. She went to a party and was raped and she called the cops so lots of people don’t want to talk to her. So for example I was a tree at once butt I was not in that situation one thing that happen to me was I witness my cousin get shot in a chest at a party and I do fill guilty even dew it was not my fault and I have not told other people about that butt I do feel bad and lots of my family blame me for that one night and to what happen to my cousin so there’s things in our life the we can never be heal butt we just have to learn to cope with those things even though we can not get over that’s what makes us stronger in life. and I see why she does not tell any body its some thing very uncomfortable to some people to talk about so its so thought to deal with things like that.

Speak

                         A frog’s last leap to its story

When Melinda faints in biology class, it was not because she didn’t like the smell or was to weak to dissect but because ,while she was about to do her dissection she described the frog as being pinned back with its legs and arms open. She tells us how the frog smelled like dirt. and how she could feel the leaves on her body. We know that Melinda is telling the story of the night when she was raped, when she Sais the frog is dead and silent. She Sais this because that’s her she is describing her self to the frog because it fits her.

             I think that Melinda is a strong person, but she doesn’t have to be dead and silent like the frog. She can open up to her parents, heather, and the art teacher because they will help her but, she is to scared to open up and tell her story. Not only would talking to someone help ease her pain but it would also help so that other girls don’t have to go through what she went through especially if the ( IT) the person that raped her goes to her school.

Why do you think Melinda chooses to draw the tree being struck by lightning? What does

this say about her? How might this tree be a symbol of her psychological state?

I think the tree represents her happy, good self because trees look good and peaceful. The tree is her. But the lightning represents the things that kill the tree. Trees get killed by lots of things, fire, bugs, weather, and lightning. Some trees gain strength from these things and live on, while others don’t. So right now it’s hard to tell if Melinda will be strengthened or destroyed, since were so early in the story.

At the beginning she doesn’t take it so good, but now I see her slowly gaining ground by having a new friend,    Heather, and finding strategies to avoid all the people putting her down. So to me the tree represents Melinda. The lightning represents the trials and hardships that can put her down if she isn’t careful. Like I said she can either be strengthened by them or destroy her. What he’s thinking while she’s doing this that she’s accepting what’s going on and she knows it, but it’s hard for her to do it.

Her psychological state of mind is she is alone and she wants to give up because there is no way to tell everyone what happens. Everyone has this happen to them every once in a while. I hate this, like when I have weird dream and try to describe it to someone, but stop at the beginning and so on. But she has no idea of what to do, and everyone has the story wrong. So the emotions I would put under her is, seclusion, sadness, anger, overwhelmed, pretty much anything that goes along the lines of those emotions. And so those are the answers I have for the question above.

     I think that A great teacher is when they help you with your work if you need it and I also think that a good quality for a teacher is when they actually care about how their students are and how they care about their students grades. It doesn’t matter whether the teacher is fat or skinny or ugly or pretty, it just matters on the characteristics, on how they act like are they nice, sweet, mean, and don’t care about what you get in your grades or doesn’t care about how you are in class and just lets you fail just like that. Some qualities that I think students should have are being nice to the teacher and have respect for them because some of them mostly want you to pass and go on to a higher grade and pass the grade that you are in so that you can have a successful life when you grow up and to have a good job so you can support yourself and your family if you choose to have one. It’s a very good thing if the student does his/her work because then you can finish and do what you want to and then get a better grade then if you finish it later or some other time/day. Just being a person you have to be respectful to your peers and do what you have to do to succeed in life.

Pretty much Heather does all the talking in their relationship and Melinda just sits there and listens. I don’t think it’s a true friend ship yet it could be if they start telling each other a lot more stuff about each other. Because she wants a new best friend so he has some one to hang with so she is not bored. I’m not sure why but I think because she wanted someone to hang with.

 I think she is like able I would not hate on someone for calling the cops especially when it was for a good reason plus it teaches those kids a lesson that you should not party because if someone dies your not just going to sit there or keep on partying your going to call the cops I can guarantee that I know I would call the cops if I got raped by some dude at a party I went to.

Melinda does not have a very good relationship with her parents because they hardly ever talk and when they do its on notes and its usually telling one another where they are at or where to get food and stuff like that.

A Symbol of Meaning

i think melendia chooses a tree to get struck by lighting to show  wants to get stroke by lighting an dy slowly or it could also represent a broken heart instead of a crack in the heart it’s a lighting hitting a tree or she just is trying to show that she really hates drawing trees so she draws them getting destroy by lighting. Who really knows why she draws it I’ll guess we will have to find out but that’s my oppion.

Her drawings could have lots of meaning to her. I think that she really tick off that her teacher made them pick out of a broken earth globe an they way she reacted to him is like what is this you seruios what does tree have to do with anything but  her teachers response was what made her mad she must have been drawing the trees getting struck  by lighting cause she hates her life or the situiion she must be having at her first week at high schoolan the tree might be her an the lighting symybolizes her getting struck an getting dead in nature that’s whats her drawing ment to me

Someone To Talk To

         Melinda would connect with the art teacher because he wants them to put their emotions and their feelings into their art. He wants to know what story they tell in their way of art. Melinda doesn’t understand why drawing a tree is her destiny, but even the simple small things that don’t seem to matter is what truly makes us. The teacher would understand her story and her feelings. He’s an art teacher and as an artist I understand how you can put your emotions and feelings into it. Many people think that art is boring and that there’s no point to it, but I see the point of it. When you draw or do a type of art you see the story or background behind it we all tell a story and I can see when people write or draw what they were trying to tell or say even though they don’t realize it. The teacher knows that all his students need to find that talent and he teaches them by giving the simplest things like trees. He understands everyone and their stories.

         Melinda wouldn’t get along with Mr. Neck because he’s a football coach and he’s around dirty-minded boys all day. With Mr. Neck being a football freak he wouldn’t know how to connect with Melinda as to where Art Sais something, something meaningful and important. Melinda wants to let people know what happened to her that night of the party but she cant say it in football language but she can through art, and it is through art the Melinda ever got the chance to speak.

Speak

I would describe as a nice person but nobody knows that and they think she is a snitch and that’s the reason why they are mean to her.

I think the teacher the teacher she will bond with is the art teacher because he seems like a nice guy and Melinda wants a way to express herself so she will probably use this class to express the way she feels.

The teacher she dislikes the most is Mr. Neck because he knows her from before and thinks she is trouble and it’s only the first day of school and he is already giving her grief.

Melinda’s and Heathers do not have a real friendship because Melinda is using Heather to get friends because nobody likes Melinda so pretty much she doesn’t even like Heather but Heather is just being a friend to Melinda because she is looking for an actual friend she is not using Melinda.

Melinda has a bad relationship with her family because the way they communicate is stupid they use notes as a form of communication and the way I would compare this to Heathers family is Heather is really close to her parents and family so I would imagine that their communication skills are pretty good.

Melinda

The book speak is pretty interesting its about some girl name Melinda. The book is mostly about her life in High School, how she goes through humiliation because of her actions. Melinda has experience a horrible life experience, she has been raped on a party. At the party there was a lot of students from her school, so after she got raped she call the police. Many people at the party got arrested and everyone blamed Melinda without knowing what happen to her. Melinda has no one to talk to, her parents work all day, she try’s to avoid people at her school, she is a very quiet person. As Melinda continues to go to high school she meets a girl named Heather. Heather and Melinda becomes friends, Heather invites Melinda to come to a pep rally, Melinda really didn’t want to go but she went anyways. At the pep rally some girl they bumped into, One of those girls brother was at the party where the cops went to. Melinda didn’t know what to tell them, they didn’t what really happen to her and why she called the cops. Many of the time when Melinda is anxious she bites her lips till she starts bleeding. I think that the means that she feels like talking to someone but she doesn’t she keeps it to her self….

            I think that Melinda is drawing the pictures of the tree being struck by lightning to show how she feels about the abuse she is experiencing both inside and outside. Inside because she dealing with the emotions from being raped and from the emotions of her friends making fun of her. And outside through the physical and verbal abuse of her friends through being kicked, pushed around, and ignored also through being verbally assaulted. There’s also the fact that Melinda is struggling to find herself after being raped and is struggling to find a way to tell people.

            I think that Melinda is hurt in more ways than one because like I said she was raped and is struggling to find a way to tell people this, also her getting made fun of. She is also struggling to deal with loosing all her friends and this picture is representing that she wants to scream out her emotions.