Speak—Literary Journal Eight
Name______
As you read the novel Speak, you will keep a literary journal. For each section entry, you will: 1.complete a reading response 2. provide text examples to support emerging themes and 3. identify author devices such as figurative language. Be sure to look over the Literary Journal Rubric to familiarize yourself with the criteria for each part of the journal entry. Type your answers in complete sentences into this document and then submit to the dropbox. Please type your name on the line above.
Part 1. Reading Response: After reading pages 168-198, respond to the following questions. Use specific examples from the text to support your answers.
1. What does Melinda write on the bathroom wall? How is this significant?
She starts a thread about “Guys to stay away from” and adds Andy’s name as the first entry. This is one of her first steps in fighting back.
2. Why does Heather come to Melinda’s house? What is the result? Why is this an important step for Melinda?
She asks Melinda to help her with the prom decorations, and Melinda refuses. This is another step where Melinda is sticking up for herself and speaking out.
3. What steps has Melinda taken to improve her life?
She wants to redecorate her room, she is standing up for herself, she tells Rachel about Andy, and she is mentally preparing herself to “arm wrestle some demons.”
4. What happens when Melinda talks to Rachel? Describe the interaction between Rachel and Melinda when Melinda tells her about the rape. Did Rachel’s reaction surprise you? Why or why not?
Rachel is sympathetic at first, and then enraged when Melinda tells her it was Andy. She then doesn’t believe Melinda, and accuses her of being jealous of Rachel’s “popularity.”
5. How does Melinda compare her survival to the diseased tree? Explain the symbolism.
She feels that she is like the tree in that the tree was almost dead, but then, after a long period of dormancy, will come back to life. The struggle through which the tree went symbolizes Melinda’s struggle and rebirth.
6. Describe your reaction to the final confrontation between Melinda and Andy. What emotions did you feel before, during and after the confrontation and why?
She fights back and gains the advantage by using a piece of glass.
7. What happens in the resolution of the novel? If you were Melinda, would you feel optimistic or pessimistic about your future? Explain your answer.
Rachel makes contact with Melinda, and she comes to grips with the fact that the rape was not her fault. She says, “I can grow,” which is an inference again to the diseased tree. She finally tells Mr. Freeman about what happened the night of the rape which is a major step toward total healing.
Part II. Text Examples to Support Themes: After reading pages 168-198, identify specific examples from the text to support the emergence of the following themes (two examples per theme). What general observations about these issues can you make based on what is happening in Melinda’s life at this point? How are these issues affecting her? How do these issues affect teens? How do you know?
Isolation and Bullying: Observations-
1.
2
Dysfunctional Family Life: Observations-
1.
2.
Part III. Author Devices: Figurative Language: For each of the following, identify whether the example a metaphor or a simile, and list the two items being compared.
1. “My racket takes on a life of its own, a bolt of energy.”
Metaphor- the tennis racket/a bolt of energy
2. “I must look like a dog chasing its tail, twisting and twirling, trying to see the stains on my back in the mirror.”
Simile-Melinda/a dog chasing its tail
3. “I pry Heather out of Mom’s claws…”
Metaphor-Her mother’s clinging to Heather/claws
4. “A cold front blows across the library.”
Metaphor-A cold front/the librarian’s disciplinary look
5. “He sets to work pruning the deadwood like a sculptor.”
Simile-The arborist/a sculptor
6. “I crouch by the trunk, my fingers stroking the bark, seeking a Braille code, a clue, a message on how to come back to life after my long undersnow dormancy.”
Metaphor-Melinda’s struggle/undersnow dormancy