Speak English 1

Speak Pages 29-72

Motifs

Mirrors

“I have worked so hard to forget every second of that stupid party … I can’t even look at that part of myself” (28). “I saw my face in the window over the kitchen sink and no words came out of my mouth. Who was that girl? I had never seen her before” (136).

Remember your Ratio: 1 CD :: 2 CM Melinda has been in school for two weeks and she is in bed, hiding from the world: “I get out of bed and take down the mirror. I put it in the back of my closet, facing the wall” (17). Remember your Ratio: 1 CD :: 2 CM While cleaning, Melinda covers the mirror in her janitor’s closet: “The first thing to go is the mirror; it is screwed to the wall, so I covered it with a poster of Maya Angelou” (50).

Melinda has been in school for two week and she is in bed, hiding from the world: I get out of bed and take down the mirror. I put it in the back of my closet, facing the wall” (17). Remember your Ratio: 1 CD :: 2 CM Your commentary must be thoughtful, avoid summary, and be twice as long as your CD. While cleaning, Melinda covers the mirror in her janitor’s closet: “The first thing to go is the mirror; it is screwed to the wall, so I covered it with a poster of Maya Angelou” (50).

Prey & Predator

What important scenes / moments fit into this motif? Please provide page numbers.

Prey / Predator 5 - “I … a wounded zebra in a National Geographic … a predator approaches.” [“There is a beast in my gut, I can hear it scraping away at the insides of my ribs.” - 51]

How does Melinda cope with what happened to her at the party? Coping in Speak How does Melinda cope with what happened to her at the party? Examples of Melinda Ignoring what happened to her Why Ignoring what happened doesn’t work Things Melinda does to make a positive change, & Face what happened to her

Melinda’s Coping Strategies Melinda Ignoring what happened to her:

Melinda’s Coping Strategies – Melinda Ignoring what happened to her: 3 - “I close my eyes.” 5 - “I bite my lip. I am not going to think about it. It was ugly, but it’s over, and I’m not going to think about it.” 14 - “I try no to dwell on it. It has to go away eventually.” 16 - “I have this halfway place, a rest stop on the road to sleep, where I can stay for hours. I don’t even need to close my eyes, just stay safe under the covers and breathe” 17 - “I get out of bed and take down the mirror. I put it in the back of my closet, facing the wall.” 20 - “I’m going to be completely, totally cool, like nothing has happened.” 28 -“I have worked so hard to forget every second of that stupid party … I can’t even look at that part of myself.” 28 - “I close my eyes. Breathe breathe breathe. Don’t say anything. Breathe.” 29 - “I inch forward in my seat and stare intently at the team. … I almost climb up the back of the kid in front of me. He turns and gives me a dirty look.”

Melinda’s Coping Strategies – Melinda Ignoring what happened to her: 42 - Alien abduction fantasy 45 - “I wash my face in the sink until there is nothing left of it, no eyes, no nose, no mouth A slick nothing.” 50 - “The first thing to go is the mirror.” 51 - “I want to leave, transfer, warp myself to another galaxy. I want to confess everything, hand over the guilt and mistake and anger to someone else. There is a beast in my gut, I can hear it scraping away at the inside of my ribs. Even if I dump the memory, it will stay with me, staining me. My closet is a good thing, a quiet place that helps me hold these thoughts inside my head where no one can hear them.” 52 - Asks her own math question (applies to her own situation) 65 - “The bell rings. I leave before he can say more.” (avoidant)

Melinda’s Coping Strategies Why Ignoring Doesn’t Work:

Melinda’s Coping Strategies – Why Ignoring it doesn’t work: 38 - “I sit in the back row, where I can keep my eye on everyone, as well as whatever is going on in the parking lot. I think of myself as the Emergency Warning System of the class. I plan disaster drills. How could we escape if the chemistry lab exploded? What if an earthquake hit central New York? A tornado? 39 - “I wear … smelly gray turtleneck and jeans. I just this minute remember that I need to wash my hair.” 51 - “Even if I dump the memory, it will stay with me, staining me.”

Melinda’s Coping Strategies Melinda making positive changes, & Facing what happened to her:

Melinda’s Coping Strategies – Melinda making positive changes, & Facing what happened to her: 72 - “I almost tell them everything right then and there.”

How does Melinda cope with what happened to her at the party? pgs. 29-72 Coping in Speak How does Melinda cope with what happened to her at the party? Examples of Melinda Ignoring what happened to her Why Ignoring what happened doesn’t work Things Melinda does to make a positive change, & Face what happened to her Hiding mirrors – Not facing what happened to her Not talking to people Not telling what happened to her – not naming it Not standing up to the girls at the pep rally She hides in the janitor’s closet Use names like “IT” – keeping detached from what happened She’s tired all the time; takes a lot of naps – avoiding the problem Has escape fantasies that allow her to either disappear and avoid what happened, or to pretend that it didn’t actually happen to her She senses that forgetting what happened won’t make it go away – she has been “stained” She no longer feels safe – envisioning disasters… She has no friends She gets depressed (Symptoms: she’s tired, her hygiene suffers)

Swallowing herself: “I pull my lower lip all the way in between my teeth. If I try hard enough, maybe I can gobble my whole self this way” (39). “I just thought of a great theory that explains everything. When I went to that party, I was abducted by aliens. …” (42). “I want to leave, transfer, warp myself to another galaxy” (51).

Maybe add a shortcut to the lit device pgs and add them to the end of this document

Maybe add a shortcut to the lit device pgs and add them to the end of this document