Speak—Literary Journal Four
Name__________________________________________________________________________________
As you read the novel Speak, you will keep a literary journal. For each section entry, you
will: 1.complete a reading response 2. provide text examples to support emerging themes and 3.
identify author devices such as figurative language. Be sure to look over the Literary Journal
Rubric to familiarize yourself with the criteria for each part of the journal entry. Type your
answers in complete sentences into this document and then submit to the dropbox.
Part 1. Reading Response: After reading pages 69-92, respond to the following questions. Use
specific examples from the text to support your answers.
1. Explain how Melinda feels about Christmas. How does she spend her Christmas Vacation?
Her parents don’t make a big deal out of it, so she feels let down. She is made to go to both her
parents jobs and help out because they don’t want her “lounging around all vacation.”
2. What athletic ability does Melinda reveal? How does the coach react and what is Melinda’s
response? Why do you think she feels this way?
She can shoot free throws. The coach wants to put her on the basketball team, but Melinda refuses.
3. How would you describe the relationship between Heather and Melinda?
Melinda is clinging to Heather just to feel semi-normal, and Heather is using Melinda to help her out
with decorating projects. They are co-dependent on each other, but there isn’t much more to the
friendship.
4. What happens to trigger Melinda’s suicide attempt? Do you think she really intends to harm
herself?
Andy Evans comes to her lunch table and toys with her while flirting with the other girls and the
table. He plays with her hair and hovers over her.
5. Who is IT? What effect does his appearance have on Melinda? What do you think has happened to
make Melinda react so intensely?
“It” is Andy Evans. His appearance repulses and terrifies Melinda.
Part II. Text Examples to Support Themes: After reading pages 69-92, identify specific
examples from the text to support the emergence of the following themes (two examples per theme).
What general observations about these issues can you make based on what is happening in Melinda’s life at
this point? How are these issues affecting her? How do these issues affect teens? How do you know?
Isolation and Bullying: Observations1.
2
Dysfunctional Family Life: Observations-
1.
2.
Part III. Author Devices: Figurative Language: For each of the following, identify
whether the example is a metaphor or a simile, and list the two items being compared.
1. My heart clangs like a fire bell.
Simile-Melinda’s heart/a fire bell
2. I try to swallow the snowball in my throat.
Metaphor- The tense muscles in Melinda’s throat/a snowball
3. Her skin is a flat gray color, like underwear washed so many times it’s about to fall
apart.
Simile- The color of her skin/underwear washed many times
4. All the anger whistles out of me like I’m a popped balloon.
Simile-the diminishing feeling of anger/a popped balloon
5. His room is Cool Central.
Metaphor-His room/Cool Central
6. Ms. Keen’s voice fades to a mosquito whine.
Metaphor-Ms. Keen’s voice/a mosquito whine
7. “Freshmeat.” That’s what IT whispers.
Metaphor-Melinda/freshmeat
8. It feels like The Prince of Darkness has swept his cloak over my table.
Metaphor-Andy Evans/The Prince of Darkness
9. The peanut butter molds to the roof of my mouth like a retainer.
Simile-The peanut butter in Melinda’s mouth/a retainer