Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson Themes These themes

Speak By: Laurie Halse Anderson

Themes These themes will turn into essay questions on your quarter exam. 1. Strength of Character -Overcoming obstacles -Dealing with being an outcast 2. Growing Up 3. Conformity

Theme #1: Strength of Character “The true test of character is not how much we know how to do, but how we behave when we don’t know what to do. ” ~John Holt “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power. ” ~Abraham Lincoln “Sports do not build character. They reveal it” ~Matthew Campbell

Theme #1: Strength of Character • What is character? • What is your character? • If people knew your true character, would they still like you? • How can a person have a “strong” character? • What does someone with a strong character do when all of their friends turn against them?

Theme #2: Growing Up “Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional” “Growing up is such a barbarous business, full of inconvenience…and pimples” ~J. M. Barrie “As we grow better, we meet better people” ~Elbert Hubbard

Theme #2: Growing Up • What is “growing up”? When you say, “Oh, grow up!” to someone, what are you asking them to do? • When is a person grown up? • Are you grown up? How do you know?

Theme #3: Conformity “Don’t think you’re on the right road just because it’s a well-beaten path. ” “You don’t get harmony when everybody sings the same note. ” ~Doug Floyd “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect. ” ~Mark Twain

Theme #3: Conformity • In high school, is it better to fit in or to be different? • When in life might conforming be a good thing? When might it be better not to conform? • What does a nonconformist look like, do, or say? • In high school, are there truly any nonconformists?

Book Summary Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't even know hate her from a distance. The safest place to be is alone, inside her own head. But even that's not safe. Because there's something she's trying not to think about, something about the night of the party that, if she let it in, would blow her carefully constructed disguise to smithereens. And then she would have to speak the truth.

The Author: Laurie Anderson • Born October 23, 1961 in New York • Graduated Georgetown University in 1984 • Has two daughters • Speak was 1 st published novel (1999)

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