Speak Socratic Seminar Questions for Analysis
A Socratic Seminar is a student-led discussion guided by open-ended questions about a book. The purpose is to achieve a deeper
understanding about the values or ideas in a book. The discussion is not about right answers; it’s not a debate. You are encouraged
to exchange ideas openly while examining ideas in a thoughtful manner.
Discussion Rules:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Don’t raise your hand.
Listen carefully.
Address one another respectfully.
Base opinions on the text whenever possible.
Give reasons or evidence for your statements.
Address comments to the group (no side
conversations)
7.
8.
9.
10.
Don’t interrupt others.
Share “air time” equally with others.
Stay on topic.
Be courageous in presenting your own thoughts and
reasoning, but be flexible and willing to change your
mind in the face of new and compelling evidence.
Directions: Once you’ve read the novel, read over the following questions. During class, we will hold a seminar in which the questions
will be discussed. The questions will not be discussed in any specific order, which means you need to come to class fully prepared.
While there are a total of 25 questions, you will be required to respond only 5 times during the course of the seminar. However, you
are encouraged to answer all of the following 25 questions in preparation for the discussion. Why? If the class begins the seminar and
students are enthusiastically responding, the discussion will go quickly and you may not have a chance to chime in with your highly
intelligent and well prepared response. Before you know it, there is a possibility that the 5 questions you prepared oh-so-well will have
already been answered! So, respond to all 25!
Remember— your responses, both verbal and written, will be graded; you will be assessed on thoroughness and insightful
analysis.
Your analysis will be assessed in the following manner:

25 points for your 5 responses during the seminar (5 points per response)
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25 points for your completed responses to the 25 questions (1 point per response)
While you prepare, remember you must:
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Be completely familiar with all characters
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Include page numbers with quotations to support your response
In response to the Laurie Halse Anderson’s view of the novel:
1. In a “Comment about Censorship” at the end of the novel, Laurie Halse Anderson states, “Contemporary young adult literature surprises some
people, because it is an accurate reflection of the way today’s teenagers talk, think, and behave. But these books must be honest in order to connect to
the teen reader. America’s teens are desperate for responsible, trustworthy adults to create situations in which they can discuss the issues that are of the
highest concern for them.” Respond to Anderson’s statements about teenagers and their desires for young adult literature. Do you agree or disagree
with her reaction to censorship? Justify your response.
2. In some versions of Speak, Anderson begins with a letter to the readers. In the letter, Anderson reveals that “Speak is the book I wasn’t going to write.
Why would I want to revisit the agonies of adolescence?” In your opinion, does Anderson accurately portray the “agonies of adolescence?” To justify
your response, provide specific references to the text.
3. On the author’s dedication page, Anderson states “To Sandy Bernstein, who helped me find my voice, and to my husband Greg, who listens.”
Anderson’s protagonist, Melinda, has been created so that she must find her voice and needs someone to listen. What characters does Anderson create
that help Melinda find her voice and listen to her? How do these characters impact Melinda as a character?
4. When asked how she captured the internal and external voices of high school students so well, Anderson responded that in order to “…get a sense of
the rhythm of high school speech, I spent a lot of time at Taco Bell and the food court at the mall. I also found a piece of Melinda’s voice in my own high
school experience. Emotions don’t change much from generation to generation. You just have to get the details right.” As a teenage reader, do you feel
Anderson did accurately portray the internal and external voices of high school students? To justify your response, provide specific references to the
text.
5. Anderson explains that “Speak is not just a book about rape. Speak is a book about depression… Today’s teens have to cope with massive amounts of
stress and conflict. Way too many of them understand the pain of not feeling like they can speak up.” If you were to classify Speak, what type of novel
would you argue it is? Can it be classified as just one type of novel? To justify your response, provide specific references to the text.
In response to Laurie Halse Anderson’s writing style:
6. Throughout the novel, Anderson continually utilizes figurative language in Melinda’s narration and internal dialogue. Argue whether or not the use
of figurative language impacts the overall feel of the novel. To justify your response, provide specific references to the text.
7. Instead of typical chapters, Anderson creates four parts to the novel that are divided into Melinda’s four marking periods of her freshman year.
Within these parts, there are specific sections that act as chapters. Argue whether or not the use of parts and sections benefits the story or distracts from
the plot. To justify your response, provide specific references to the text.
8. When Melinda refers to her teachers, she uses very specific names for each individual teacher. Has Anderson created different names for Melinda’s
teachers based upon their personalities or just Melinda’s perceptions of them? Analyze each teacher’s name in order to determine Anderson’s purpose
in creating each character. To justify your response, provide specific references to the text.
In response to relationships within the novel:
10. On page 35, Melinda refers to her parents as “The Parents”. Analyze Melinda’s relationship with her parents throughout the novel. Is the
relationship between Melinda and her parents static or dynamic? To justify your response, provide specific references to the text.
11. Melinda and Rachel (Rachelle) encounter many difficulties with their “friendship” in their freshman year. How much does Rachel’s relationship
with Melinda impact her decisions, thoughts, and actions? Analyze not only Melinda and Rachel’s relationship, but also Rachel as a character. To justify
your response, provide specific references to the text.
12. The second time Melinda introduces Ivy, she states, “Ivy is in this class. She sits by the door. I keep staring at her, trying to make her look at me.
That happens in movies- people can feel it when the other people stare at them and they just have to turn around and say something. Either Ivy has a
great force field, or my laser vision isn’t very strong. She won’t look back at me. I wish I could sit with her. She knows art” (10). While subtle in certain
instances, Ivy is able to help Melinda throughout her freshman year. Analyze the journey of Melinda and Ivy’s relationship. To justify your response,
provide specific references to the text.
13. When IT is first introduced to the reader, an entire section is dedicated just to him. Analyze the impact IT has on Melinda. Be sure to reference the
different instances in which Melinda encounters him, names him, and remembers him. Are her concerns and fears valid? Analyze IT as a character. To
justify your response, provide specific references to the text.
14. On page 12, Melinda is in Mr. Freeman’s class and while “Some people groan,” Melinda mentions that her “…stomach flutters. Can he really let us
do this? It sounds like too much fun.” Analyze Melinda and Mr. Freeman’s relationship. While he is her teacher, does he become more than that in her
life? Compare Mr. Freeman to the other teachers at Merryweather High. To justify your response, provide specific references to the text.
15. Melinda seems to enjoy Biology and one of the reasons is because of “… David Petrakis. Belongs to the Cyber-genius clan. He has the potential to be
cute when the braces come off. He is so brilliant he makes the teachers nervous. You’d think a kid like that would get beat up a lot, but the bad guys
leave him alone. I have to find out his secret.” (37) Analyze the understated relationship that Melinda builds with David throughout the novel. How
does David most impact Melinda’s journey? Analyze David as a friend in Melinda’s life. To justify your response, provide specific references to the text.
In response to quotations from the novel:
16. On pages 4 and 5, Melinda narrates her first day back to school. She initially notes, “I am Outcast.” After encountering several “ex-friends”, she
further details, “I stand in the center aisle of the auditorium, a wounded zebra in a National Geographic special, looking for someone, anyone, to sit next
to. A predator approaches…” In this extended metaphor, what is Melinda realizing about herself very early in the school year? Analyze the quote and
the analysis of Melinda in this moment. To justify your response, provide specific references to the text.
17. While Melinda is in the middle of the pep rally, her “…throat squeezes shut, as if two hands of black fingernails are clamped on my windpipe. I
have worked so hard to forget every second of that stupid party, and here I am in the middle of a hostile crowd that hates me for what I had to do. I
can’t tell them what really happened. I can’t even look at that part of myself. An animal noise rustles in my stomach.” (28) Analyze all elements of this
quote. How can it be seen as foreshadowing to Melinda’s memory that she will later share? Analyze other instances in which she refers to her fear and
guilt as an animal noise. To justify your response, provide specific references to the text.
18. After the pep rally, Melinda discovers that she has “…been painting watercolors of trees that have been hit by lightning. I try to paint them so they
are nearly dead, but not totally.”(30-31) To justify your response, provide specific references to the text.
19. In many ways, Melinda’s closet space acts as a sanctuary. She even mentions that it “… is a good thing, a quiet place that helps me hold these
thoughts inside my head where no one hears them” (51). The space, however, can be seen as a crutch for her to fall back on; analyze how the closet has
both its advantages and disadvantages for Melinda’s school year. To justify your response, provide specific references to the text.
20. In the section “Wishbone,” Melinda builds a sculpture that evokes Mr. Freeman to realize there is “…meaning. Pain” (65) in her creation. Re-read
this section and determine how Melinda’s sculpture can be seen as symbolic of her life and experiences. Additionally, what does Melinda’s reaction to
Mr. Freeman’s comment about the sculpture say about her fears? Melinda’s lips also become a symbol. Analyze both symbols and how they impact the
characterization of Melinda. To justify your response, provide specific references to the text.
In response to Melinda’s choices:
21. Melinda goes through a majority of her freshman year without telling anyone the reason why she has chosen to essentially become a selective mute.
Justify Melinda’s choice in not telling anyone for months about her pain, suffering, and experience. Based on the relationships she encounters
throughout the novel, has she made the right choice? To justify your response, provide specific references to the text.
22. In the section “Acting,” Melinda realizes that “The musical would be easy for me. I am a good actor. I have a whole range of smiles. I use the shy,
look-up-through-the-bangs smile for staff members, and the crinkly-eye smile with a quick shake of my head if a teacher asks me for an answer. If my
parents want to know how school went, I flash my eye-brows upward and shrug my shoulders. When people point at me or whisper as I walk past, I
wave to imaginary friends down the hall to meet them. If I drop out of high school, I could be a mine.” (33) Melinda seems to have mastered the ability
to fall into her role of being an outcast and does so with ease and skill. Has anyone noticed or seemed to care that her personality has completely
changed from the Melinda she was just last year? If they have, how are they attempting to help her? If they have not, is it that Melinda is skillful
enough to deceive them, or do they just not care? To justify your response, provide specific references to the text.
23. In her Spanish class, Melinda is taunted and bullied. Her response is “This is how terrorists get started, this kind of harmless fun.” Analyze her
response to her reputation; what is her point in her comment about terrorists? Do agree with her insight? To justify your response, provide specific
references to the text.
24. In a very “Melinda” way of doing things, she chooses to write on the bathroom stall about Andy Evans. What gives her the courage to, in such a
quiet way, speak up? Analyze this action and the response it gains from her female classmates. How is this action an avenue for Melinda to begin
changing her actions and thoughts? To justify your response, provide specific references to the text.
25. At the close of the novel, Melinda opens up and it is implied that she tells Mr. Freeman about what causes her to become so silent and secluded her
freshman year. Why does she choose to open up to him? Analyze the series of events in “Postprom” and “Final Cut” that lead to Melinda revealing her
most private emotions to her teacher. To justify your response, provide specific references to the text.