Both of her parents work long hours and she is often alone in the house, and when they are home, they don’t get along particularly well. There is a secret Melinda is keeping to herself. Their surprise and anger at her low grades indicate that she was once a much better student. She wants to cry. We assign a color and icon like this one to each theme, making it easy to track which themes apply to each quote below. In addition, though she never explicitly says it, her walking away shows her anger at them for not seeing through her behavior to the deeper problems causing it. Melinda nods and listens. For Melinda, Heather is a distraction from her own life as she shares none of Heather's enthusiasm or goals.Melinda finds another sanctuary in her discovery of the abandoned janitor's closet. Halloween also highlights the change in Melinda's personality and in her circumstances. She feels this way because she has no friends. She recruits Melinda for help. By employing this metaphor, Melinda avoids naming the problem, much as she avoids honest interaction with her teachers by nicknaming them.
This year, she is happy to be told she is not allowed out.Melinda's Spanish class serves as just another example of her loneliness at school.
You also see hints as to what has caused Melinda to be isolated and view herself as an "outcast." "Speak Part 1: Burrow - Nightmare Summary and Analysis". When Melinda hears Meg n' Emily n' Siobhan insulting her, Melinda understands that this is not a group that she too can belong to, even if she wanted to. She remembers last year when she went trick-or-treating with her group of friends. A librarian helps her out by writing her a late pass. Not affiliated with Harvard College.Part 2: Go ____ (Fill in the Blank)! "-"Prom Preparation"",Fourth Marking Period, Communication 101"-"Prowling"",Fourth Marking Period, Postprom"-"Final Cut"". Melinda is also not entirely comfortable at either location. There is someone that she has been avoiding, …
Neck in the lunchroom, Melinda flees to the Senior's Wing where she finds an abandoned janitor's closet. She wants to throw up.In these sections the theme of naming recurs through the school's ever-changing mascot, Melinda's experience in Spanish class, and her first sighting of IT. She decides it is the perfect place for her, so she steals some late passes from Hairwoman for future use.Melinda plans to tidy up her janitor's closet instead of going to a pep rally one day, but Heather snags her before she can escape. - Winter Break,Part 3: Death of the Wombat - Our Lady of the Waiting Room,Part 3: Clash of the Titans - A Night to Remember,From Wishbones to Wings: The Symbolism of Birds in "Speak".
Melinda finds an opportune moment to escape the cafeteria at lunchtime when.Melinda plans to decorate her closet during the Homecoming pep rally. Melinda reads Rachel's lips saying "I hate you" (1.11). Melinda's trees at this point in the book are so close to death that they cannot be saved, which is representative of how Melinda feels about herself. She cannot say this person's name, just calling him IT, because she is not ready to, which is part of her overall avoidance of what happened at the end of the summer.On the first day of high school, Melinda is nervous, apprehensive, and sick to her stomach. The closet image is also one frequently used with homosexuals. - Winter Break Summary and Analysis,Part 1: Welcome to Merryweather High - Heathering Summary and Analysis.Femia, Lisa.
IT smiles and winks at her and Melinda hopes it is a nightmare. Melinda's home life is reflective of her school life: both are lonely and quiet, and somewhat hostile.