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Danaya Stokes

Ms.Gruber

English 9 - Period 4

19 November 2021

Speak Controversy

Laurie Anderson’s young adult novel “Speak” is highly educational for all high school

students and young adults alike. The book would be highly beneficial if “Speak” were taught as a

school subject because it discusses how to handle sexual violence, victim awareness and

recovery, and setting boundaries and healthy relationships.

Sexual violence is, unfortunately, a rather common occurrence. Victims usually do not

know how to handle or respond to the inflicted trauma. When Melinda was drunk and had been

taken advantage of in the woods, she became stuck in a state of shock. She calls the cops but was

stopped by a partygoer. She continued to walk home and go to sleep not telling anyone about the

incident. Melinda recalls, “I walked home to an empty house. Without a word.” (Anderson 136)

The moment shows Melinda in a vulnerable state and she is drunk, alone, and had just been

sexually assaulted a couple of mintues prior. This moment of distress for Melinda, and her not

knowing what to do with herself is showing how many victims will react to sexual violence. Not

knowing what to do, or who to turn to for help. It can be extermely stressful for victims and

knowing the proper steps to take, can help relieve stress.

Learning how to accept what happened after becoming a victim of sexual assault is not

easy; it is a difficult and tedious task. Working to recover from that incident can be an even more

difficult task, but not impossible. Melinda has a very tough time throughout the book working

through her trauma. With the help of friends and other sources, she is not only able to recover
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and speak out, but also grow and become resilient. Melinda realizes. “There is no

avoiding…...Andy Evans raped me in August when I was drunk and too young to know what

was happening. It wasn’t my fault…..And I’m not going to let it kill me. I can grow.” (198). At

this moment Melinda decides she will not let that her trauma determine who she will be or how

she is going to live. She accepts what happened to her and plans to work past it and recover back

to her old self. Not everyone’s recovery journey will be exactly like Melinda’s. Some of the steps

Melinda took may not be helpful to all. However, seeking help from friends, facing the abuser,

and speaking out about sexual violence. Could help sexual assault victims get the justice and

relativity they deserve.

Setting boundaries leads to healthy and well-mannered relationships. When Melinda gets

the impression that David is hitting on her, she knows she is not ready or comfortable with the

predicament. Because of this, she sets the boundary of no touching. Melinda thinks “But if he

touches me I’ll explode, so a date is out of the question. No touching. ”(159). At this particular

moment, Melinda doesn’t hesitate or stutter while saying this sentence. She sounded stern and

unwavering while setting this boundary. These two words of certainty “No Touching.” show

Melinda setting a boundary with her friend David because she is not comfortable with him

touching her. She is a good model for this situation because she is showing that it is ok to not be

comfortable with certain things. And she is showing that it is ok to tell people no to certain

things.

In conclusion, teaching this book in school can be highly beneficial for the students. They

would learn how to become aware of sexual violence, how to handle sexual assault if the

situation ever occurs, and that maintaining healthy relationships come with setting boundaries.
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