The Hidden Symbols

The bottom of the wet grass covered the trunk of a tree that looks old and still filled with some type of surrender. The trunk twists out into many branches but one is filled with sadness and bending towards the cold, life-struck water below. All but that one is stretching for the warm comforting sun above with their branches filled with bright colors; cherry red and healthy, strong green leaves reach up for the goodness in life. This tree is Melinda; the girl filled with fear trying to overcome it with hope. Melinda is afraid to tell her gut wrenching secret even if she was protecting some of her “friends.” Planting small symbols is what the author of Speak is incredible and remarkable at; for each item in the book, like this tree, has a background, a story to tell, an important clue, and the tension of unraveling what happened the night of the party where Melinda called 911. These three numbers will change Melinda’s shy life and now she will have to choke it down and grow like the top of the beautiful, symbolic tree.


Each word has some type of symbol or mystery behind it. From the beginning of the book, you know something happened to Melinda that is disturbing although you just don’t know exactly what. All readers should notice that if you look at the author’s symbols close enough, you will discover the secret hidden beneath Melinda’s skin. The first symbol of the book that stood out the most was on page 5.
“I order my dinner at 3:10 and eat it on the white couch. I don’t know which parent was having seizers when they bought that couch. The trick to eating on it has to personalities: “Melinda inhaling pepperoni and mushroom” and “No one ever eats in the family room, no ma’am.” I chow and watch TV until I hear Dad’s Jeep in the driveway. Flip, flip, flip- The cushions revered to show their pretty white cheeks, then bolt upstairs.” Just like the couch, Melinda has two sides of her: “She wants to do the right thing and tell a counselor or at least her parents what happened that night” and “Although she can’t forget what happened she wants to hide and forget it ever happened.” Also at the end of this section, you realize Melinda is not close to her father at all for she runs up to her room and disappears for the rest of the night. Already, by just one paragraph you can shed a bright light through Melinda’s life and her unforgettable past.


Two large symbols that will affect the whole story happen on page 50.
“My parents commanded me to stay after school every day for extra help from teachers. I agree to stay after school. I hang out in my refurbished closet. It is shaping up nicely.” Melinda explains that her parents want her to get her grades up but Melinda doesn’t really care, “The first thing to go is the mirror.” The closet shows that Melinda is hiding and likes feeling secure unlike what she usually feels. It’s a place where she can get away from the world of doubt and fear; even when she is home, Melinda runs up to her room and locks herself in there for the whole night. Melinda just wants to forget what IT did to her. IT raped her. IT is Andy Evans. On page 194 the warm comforting closet turns into a place where she will never want to remember ever again but yet maybe it is, for she sticks up for herself finally in this small enclosed space.
“BEAST (Andy Evans): “You’re not going to scream. You didn’t scream before. You liked it. You’re jealous that I took out your friend and not you. I think I know what you want.” His mouth is on my face. I twist my head. His lips are wet, his teeth are against my cheekbone. I pull my arms again and he slams his body against mine. I have no legs. My heart wobbles. His teeth are on my neck. The only sound I can make is a whimper. He fumbles to hold both my wrists in one hand. He wants a free hand. I remember I remember. Metal hands, hot knife hands.
No.
A sound explodes from me.
“NNNOOO!!!”

I follow the sound punching off the wall pushing Andy Evans off-balance, stumbling into the broken sink.”
During this section, Melinda realizes that what happened was not something that will hurt her again and believes she can overcome what might happen by defending herself in this small closet space where she used to feel actually comfortable in.


The second symbol that caught my eye was on this page also. “The first thing to go is the mirror.” This is the first thing that comes out of Melinda’s half bitten mouth when she enters her hiding closet in the large school. Why the mirror? A small object but a large symbol explains that Melinda doesn’t want to look at herself, afraid to see what’s looking back at her; a lonely, blank, innocent shell that has nothing inside to be grateful for. Melinda doesn’t want pity, she wants to be courageous and live on with her expectations like being a good student like she was in the grade before. On page 125 Melinda is crowded by mirrors and realizes that if she wants to get over her past she needs to become the person she was before.
“I squeeze my eyes shut. Jeans that fit, that’s a good start. I have to stay away from the closet, go to all my classes. I will make myself normal. Forget the rest of it.” This part is a great thing yet she is trying to get rid of her past by covering it up. This is not healthy and readers from all over the world should realize this. Also she says that she will stay away from the closet but she doesn’t. That is when IT attacks her.
“I hit the wood against the poster, and the mirror under it, again. Shards of glass slip down the wall and into the sink…I reach in and wrap my fingers around the triangle of glass. I hold it to Andy Evan’s neck. He freezes. He raises his arms over his head.
Me: “I said no.”
At this part Melinda uses the mirror, looks at it and sees a different reflection. The girl who stared back at her used this mirror to get over her past, to move on. She wanted to be the girl in the mirror for the past year and finally, from this small, symbolic object she was able to.


Each book, if you can see them or not, has tiny symbols placed in specific areas that explain the book in a more unbelievable and interesting depth. This book shows that when something happens,you should always look at the bright side and try to overcome it. This book shows the mystery behind each word and relates to the readers in many ways. This book shows Melinda, a shy, scared girl filled with insecurity and wonder. She once was the sad branch that hung weakly over a river stretching for water. Now since she told her secret and overcame her fear by facing IT, she is the beautiful branches twisting up to the sky towards the sun.