Speak is a story of a ninth-grader named Melinda Sordino, a rape victim. Throughout the novel, Melinda is in her own world of despair and physically cannot speak to others about her rape. As the novel progresses, she slowly starts to deal with the rape and finally accepts it and decides to move on with her life. In Speak, Anderson's use of rhetorical devices like allusions, symbolism, and metaphors and similes helps to create the texts depressed tone that later change to hopeful. Using allusions like Picasso's cubism and The Scarlet Letter help to show Melinda's internal pain. Picasso's art st...

• Word Count: 950
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School