Melinda Sordino
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Melinda Sordino is the young narrator of Laurie Halse Anderson’s 1999 novel Speak.
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[edit] Character
Going into 9th grade at her new high school, Melinda Sordino goes to a party with three other friends and is raped by a senior, Andy Evans. This abuse forces her into silence and drastically changes her life and social structure. For the next year Melinda struggles to make and keep friends, pass classes and deal with what happened.
She finds solace in her art class, where she has a year long assignment of drawing a tree. Throughout the year she slowly creates a hidden room for herself in a closet, which is the setting for the climactic ending of the novel.
Throughout the year, several minor events led up to her admitting she was raped. These events include her parents giving her art supplies showing they care, her friend Heather leaving her and saying she needs therapy, seeing things written about Andy on the bathroom wall and cutting school one day.
For the majority of the novel, she refuses to admit to herself that she was raped, a fact that makes it hard for Melinda to heal and continue with her life. Melinda attempts to confide in her ex-friend Rachel, but Rachel doesn't believe her. Only when Andy confronts her about talking to Rachel and attempts to rape her again does Melinda fight back and break her silence.
[edit] Voice
Melinda is the first person narrator of Speak. She is very observant and notices every small detail. Her abuse has made her cynical, though she is very secretive about it. The cliques and social groups (or "Clans")at her school disgust her, a fact which she makes well known through her narration.
At times her voice seems to be just a stream of consciousness, having little or no start nor end. The sentence structure is often short and choppy, representing how Melinda is feeling at the moment.
[edit] Appearance
Melinda’s physical appearance is rarely described, except in the context of what clothing she is wearing and how her lips are chapped. Her mother buys her clothing, which she dislikes, and her lips are always bloody and dry from lack of use, and the fact that she bites them when she sees Andy Evans, or when something bad happens to her. It is assumed that she looks fairly average, as it is never mentioned that she receives extra attention because of her looks.
[edit] In Other Media
In the 2004 film version of the Speak, Melinda was played by Kirsten Stewert. Stewert, who has acted in Panic Room with Jodie Foster and Catch That Kid, was only 13 during filming. The film was a winner at the 2004 Woodstock Film Festival.
In Anderson’s 2002 novel Catalyst, Melinda appeared for a few pages, now in 10th grade. When a fellow student has a mental breakdown, she counsels her and helps her through the rough patch. It is stated that Melinda’s rapist, Andy, though found guilty did not go to jail.
