SPEAK STUDY GUIDE
1st Marking Period:
Q: What is the setting of this story?
A: Merryweather high
Q: Who is the PROTAGONIST, or main character, of this novel?
A: Melinda Sordino
Q: How does our protagonist communicate with her parents?
A: Notes on the fridge.
Q: What happens to the protagonist in the lunchroom?
A: She is hit with mashed potatoes, gets in trouble with Mr. Neck
Q: What assignment does Mr. Freeman (the art teacher) give his students? What does Melinda get? What does Ivy get?
A: To take a piece of paper and they must figure out how to represent the item on the
paper artistically. Melinda gets tree. Ivy gets clown.
Q: What ‘safe place’ does our protagonist find at school while escaping Mr. Neck?
A: An abandoned Janitor’s closet.
Q: Why won’t Melinda’s friends talk to her anymore? Why is everyone so mad at her?
A: She called the cops at a party at the end of summer.
Q: Who are “The Girls Who Have It All”?
A: Cheerleaders.
Q: Who are “The Martha’s”? What are they like?
A: They are a group that Heather decides to join. They dress perfectly and do
community service.
2nd Marking Period
Q: What does David Petrakis do in Mr. Neck’s class and why does it stun everyone?
A: He challenges Mr. Neck, then protests the class and walks out.
Q: Explain, in a few sentences, what happens at Melinda’s house on Thanksgiving:
A: Her mom forgets to thaw the turkey, then tries a few different ways to thaw it. Her
mom has to go to work and her dad hacks it up with a hatchet, then tries to make
turkey soup. He finally gives up too and they order pizza.
Q: What does David Petrakis do in Mr. Neck’s class in order to document “potential
future violations”?
A: Brings a tape recorder, then a camera, to document his teaching.
Q: What is her favorite present that Melinda receives for Christmas from her parents?
A: A sketchpad and charcoal pencils.
Q: Why does Melinda faint while dissecting frogs in biology class? What does it remind
her of?
A: It reminds her of her rape.
Q: Melinda is actually pretty decent at what sport?
A: Basketball.
Q: “She stood in front of the altar, shaking like a freshly caught trout,” is an example of
a______.
A: Simile
Third Marking Period
Q: When Melinda cuts school, where does she go?
A: The mall.
Q: How does the English class get punished for Rachel/Rachelle speaking up about
symbolism? What does Melinda learn about speaking up?
A: They have to write an essay on symbolism. Melinda thinks that you get punished
if you speak up.
Q: What does Heather tell Melinda at lunch? How does Melinda react to this news?
A: Heather doesn’t want to be her friend anymore because Melinda is depressed. Melinda is actually kind of upset.
Q: Who gives Melinda a card on Valentine’s Day?
A: Heather
Q: While at the hospital, Melinda says, “There is nothing wrong with me. These are really sick people, sick that you can see.” What does she mean by that statement? How might Melinda be ‘sick’?
A: Because she is sick inside, in her head. She feels bad for being able to see their
troubles and pain so obvious and out there.
Q: What does David invite Melinda to do? Why does she say no?
A: Come to his house for pizza. She’s too scared to say yes, she’s afraid something bad
will happen.
Q: We finally read about Melinda’s rape at the end of the marking period. Why do you
think the author waited so long to write about that night?
A: So we would see how that one night has affected her, even months later. So that
we could learn about Melinda first before learning about what happened.
Q: What do we learn about that night that we didn’t know before?
A: That Melinda was a little drunk, that after she called the cops Rachel slapped her.
4th Marking Period
Q: Who were the suffragettes?
A: Wanted the right for women to vote
Q: How does Melinda protest having to speak in Mr. Neck’s class?
A: She makes copies of her report, then writes her message on the board.
Q: What advice does David give Melinda?
A: That she needs speak up for herself.
Q: We find out that Melinda is pretty good at what other sport, besides basketball?
A: Tennis.
Q: What does Melinda write on the bathroom stall?
A: Guys to stay away from: Andy Evans.
Q: Heather asks Melinda to help her with decorating, and what does Melinda say and
do?
A: She says no, and stands up to Heather. Then she kicks Heather out of her room.
Q: What information about Andy Evans has been added to the bathroom stall?
A: That he is a bad guy, has tried to get with and/or possibly hurt other girls.
Q: “All plants are like that. By cutting off the damage, you make it possible for the tree to grow again. You watch—by the end of summer, this tree will be the strongest on the block.” How might this quote by Melinda’s Dad actually apply to Melinda?
Q: What happened between Andy and Rachel at the prom?
A: He got too touchy with her and she got mad, then they fought about whether or not he
raped Melinda, and she spent the prom with the foreign-exchange students. Andy got
drunk and passed out, then she burned all the stuff he gave her and left the ashes in
front of his locker.
Q: How does Melinda finally stand up to Andy?
A: As he is attacking her in the closet, she breaks the mirror and threatens him with a
shard of glass.
Q: Melinda finally starts to tell her story to who?
A: Mr. Freeman
IMPORTANT CONVERSATIONS:
David Petrakis: Listen, the suffragettes were all about speaking up. You can't speak up for your rights and be silent. I thought what you did was cool but you can't make a difference unless you speak up.
Melinda Sordino: Do you lecture all your friends like this?
David Petrakis: Only the ones I like.
Heather: I *hate* being a Martha. You were *so* right not to join. I mean all I am is their little slave. Ok, it was supposed to be me and Meg and Siobhan decorating the Holiday Inn for prom and now Meg and Siobhan can't do it and I'm totally screwed! Mel, you *have* to help me! They have some sales meeting in there until like three but then they'll let us start and I *know* we can do it!
[Melinda gives a blank stare]
Heather: You are *so* great! I owe you *big* time! What if I help you redecorate your room? I know, a nice seafoam green!
Melinda Sordino: [hesitates] No...
Heather: Ok, or... something *rich* like, like eggplant!
Melinda Sordino: No, I mean, I won't help you.
Heather: But you have to.
Melinda Sordino: No, I don't.
Heather: But why?
Melinda Sordino: [now angry] Because I was nice to you... in the beginning of school... when I didn't even like you. And you blew me blew me off! Because you're a self centered social climber! And you know what? I know what I wanna do to my room and it doesn't involve "eggplant". I think you should go!
Ivy: [about Melinda's art project] It's scary, like in a weird way, not "clown" scary, um how do I say this? It's like you don't wanna look at it too long.
Melinda’s recovery is reflected in the trees she draws, as well as in the tree in her parents yard. Melinda takes an interest in her yard in the spring, clearing out the dead material left by the winter. Her parents are pleased by this interest and her father has the dead limbs cut off of the oak by an arborist. Of the arborist, her father says, “He’s not chopping it down. He’s saving it. Those branches were long dead from disease…By cutting off the damage, you make it possible for the tree to grow again.” (p.187)