Speak Group discussion

Think about the moments that Melinda is forced to talk. What is happening whenever she is forced to talk? What is the other person trying to do? Also, what happens when she is forced to say something? Is it good or bad and will it help her?

When Melinda is forced to talk she does absolutely nothing as if no one was speaking to her to begin with. She does not enjoy attention, in fact that is the last thing that she wants. Whenever she is forced to talk she either dodges the question, walks away or ignores the person asking the question. One example of Melinda dodging a question was the time when she was forced to present her presentation in front of the class, she photo copies her essay just to avoid standing in front of the class. On most occasions, the person talking to Melinda is trying to understand why she does not talk and tries to make her open up to them. When she is forced to say something she ends up remembering her rape experience, and ends up biting her lip or walking a way unheard and not accepting peoples attempts to help which is a bad thing. -------Jomo

wow i don't think i could top wat i said but i guess i'll at least try to say something. Well, when she speaks it like making me eat a can of sardines yuck! lol. anyway it's just not something that sounds like a good idea for her. Reading the book i know that she has lots of things to say that could explode out of her( not like it's not already exploding inside of her or implode, whatever). People talk to her because it's like that they know her or they are slowly succeding in getting something from her but really, honestly, they're not. The last question is pretty hatrd to answer. Like all teens she's pretty stubborn. In beginning, she doesn't say much and it's like no one was talking t her at all. In the end, there's a sign of releif and she's finally heard like a normal person with feelings, respect, etc.----------Brianna

I think when Melinda is forced to speak it is worse for her. It makes her want to speak less because she should be able to choose when she finally does speak up.