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Thursday, March 3, 2011
The Significance of "IT"....
Address the following prompts/questions in a thoughtful paragraph response:
I think that IT reminds me of the creature from stephan king's IT which is a creature that imitates your greatest fear. i believe that this is the same for Melida IT is her greatest fear. i think that IT adds to the mystery of the book why does Melida fear IT what really happened at that party. i think the author chose to include it because she wanted the air of mystery surrounding the seemingly normal teenage awkward years. this adds to our understanding of Melinda that she has a dark past that she is desperately trying to escape from and she hids herself amongst her high school peers in the hopes that her porblem will just go away and she wont have to face IT.
I feel as though it is what Melinda truly fears and hates. I think that even though It doesn't seem like he/she is doing anything wrong in the book, i am sure there is something he/she did in the past to make Melinda fear him/her. I think that it adds a certain kind of mystery and also suspense to the book. It adds suspense because you don't know if It is going to do something else or lay dormant waiting for the right moment....SPOOKY! I think the author chose to add the Concept of it rather than a name to forshadow or alude to a past/future event. IT definitely creeps me out.
I believe IT's significance is that IT had done something to her, probably at the party, that Melinda desperatly wanted to forget. IT's inclusion does make the book more interesting because we don't really know why IT is there. I think the author chose to include IT beause I think she had wanted to include something that athlough not unheard of, something that not everyone has gone through or something that not everyone is willing to admit. This adds to our understanding of Melinda because it seems to me that she;s just a regular teenage girl (ignoring her parents) who just wants someone to recognize her positively and to realize that something is off with her, and would want to help.
The character of “IT” adds mystery to the book and allows readers to question what occurred that gave Melinda such a negative view of him/her. The author uses the presence of this code name in order to build up curiosity in each reader waiting for the moment this person’s true identity will be revealed. Once “IT” was uncovered as a popular boy named Andy Evans, it became clear through his actions and words that he must be part of the reason she called the cops the night of the party, and is now tainted with a bad reputation, as well as friendless. In order to keep whatever painful memories of Andy Evans Melinda possess in the back of her mind, she stays invisible and chooses not to open up to anyone or speak of what happened in hopes that she herself will forget in time. For whatever the reason, Andy has had a major impact on the unhappy person Melinda has become.
I believe that the charcter with the code name of “IT” was added to this novel add suspence and mystery. Not only do the readers wonder who IT’s true identity, the readers wonder about the actions he was involved in. This secret puts a twist on this relatable high school student. This mystery inspires curiosity and meaningful thinking about what “IT” must have done to negitvely influence Melinda’s life. She seems to be deeply disturbed by an event with him and it began to connect to the night of the pary when she had called the cops. After building up Melinda’s disgust for this character, he was unmasked to be Andy Evans. Although the author hasn’t quite described his character, the impact on Melinda speaks a lot about the relationship. The image or reminder of Andy fumes anger, pain and unhappiness to Melinda. These emotions allow her to isolate herself and defend herself by being alone. These decisions were all built off the base that something with Andy Evans occurred at the part at which she called the cops.
The character It that the author used has something to do with a problem Melinda is facing. Wether the person is nice or not she is feared by him/her. This is causing melinda to stay unhappy throughout high school. The author left the character unnamed because i think he wanted to leave the reader thinking and keep the book as a page turner because when i saw this unknown character in the book i could not stop reading until the information was revealed. But this he/she unknown character for reason has put Melinda through a lot of emotional pain and for what ever reason she is know hoping she is invisible.
The character IT is Melinda's greatest fear and problem. The character IT adds suspense and mystery for the reader. In the beginning of the book, readers do not know his identity and his significance in the novel. Readers can assume that this character is involved and the incident at the party when Melinda called the cops. But he is a mysterious character because readers do not know what he did at the party and why Melinda decided to call the cops. The Character IT is the reason nobody Is friends with Melinda anymore on high school. Melinda is trying to avoid this character and forget what happened in the past.
I think that "IT" definitely adds mystery to the book. Readers are left hanging, wanting to know who "IT" is and why Melinda is so scared. I believe that Laurie Halse Anderson included IT in the book to add even more suspense and mystery. We all knew that Melinda was isolated, ignored, made fun of...etc.. but we never expected another shocking variable. Laurie Halse Anderson made IT so that the readers would be hooked wanting to know the truth. IT may be a teacher, a student, or even an old friend. The suspense of wanting to discover the identity, is a major literary element Laurie Halse Anderson effectively conveys. The character of IT adds to our understanding of Melinda, that maybe she's not what she's made out to be. Although she may be confined to her own mind, she's very opinionated and seems to be able to do anything. The fact that she is scared by IT makes me wonder if Melinda has been pushing the past behind her, reluctant to move on yet petrified to look back. -Sarah Murphy
In the book, i think that the concept "IT" adds mystery. It makes the reader think about how t relates to Melinda and why it is negativly effecting her. Melinda is very digustied with "IT" which just adds to the mystery and makes the reader want to know more. Once we found out that "IT" was Andy Evans, we could conclude that he has something to do with why Melinda called the cops that night at the party. From his actions and words we conclude that he probably took advantage of her. \ -Olivia
"It" adds a sense of mystery to the book. It makes readers wonder what this character did, that made Melinda lable him as inhumane. I'm guessing that this character had something to do with the night of the party and maybe "It" was the reason why she had to call the cops. Maybe Melinda felt that "It" is responsible for ruining her life by stripping all of her friends. Whebn we discover that "IT" was in fact an older student named Andy Evans, readers are able to comprehend that he is a boy. This sudden realization leads me to believe that Andy raped her! -Allison Fuerst
I belive that melindas greatest fear is "it" aka andy evans. i belive that melinda describes him as it, because she feels that what he might of done to melinda that day of rodriguez's party was enough to make her think that he is not human. which lead the readers to suspect that andy evans or "it" as melinda call him is the reason melinda is in her situation in the first place.
By not revealing “IT’s” identity, the author adds to the suspicion and mysterious atmosphere of the book. Because Melinda is characterized as an alienated, passive and internal character, Anderson’s decision to hide IT’s identity further causes the reader to wonder about the events which led Melinda to call the cops. Until IT is revealed as Andy Evans in the cafeteria scene, readers are unaware of IT’s gender. Despite this, we could assume prior to the “big reveal” that IT was a boy simply from Melinda’s thoughts and actions while around him. It was clear that Melinda and IT had engaged in some type of relationship, but the unknown gender of IT further heightened the mysterious atmosphere. Additionally, Anderson’s inclusion of Andy’s ‘code name’ further adds to the readers understanding of Melinda’s personality and character. As mentioned previously, Melinda is careless and lonely, and although she brought her alienation upon herself with her protective decision at the party, Melinda allows herself to relish in her secluded lifestyle. If it hadn’t been for her interaction with IT at the party, Melinda would not have lost her friends and satisfactory lifestyle. With such a lifestyle, Melinda most likely would have been able to remain optimistic and motivated in terms of her school work and relationships. For this reason, the author’s inclusion of Andy’s secret identity “IT” is significant because it allows Melinda to escape the events of the party, and feel comforted (to a certain degree) in her invisible world.
By not revealing who IT is readers want to read on to find out who IT is. It is clear that IT has ruinned Melindas freshman year so far and is the cause of her problems. IT has a big impact on her and she obviously is afraid of IT. The author uses this technique to keep the book mysterious and intersting so the readers don’t get bored. alexis tedesco
i think IT stands for melindas worse fears IT is the very hatred that is inside of her. Because of IT she is sad alone and is hated by many if not all of the students :(
i think the authoer included IT in this story because melinda herself has so much hatred for him that shes doesnt dare say his name. Melinda was ounce a popular girl, she went out to parties had friends and her life was great, IT is the reason for her being the way she is, for her isolation, selfhatred, and lack of motivation.
“IT” adds a sense of mystery and suspense to Speak; readers are left wondering and assuming who this terrifying character could be. I believe the author chose to include “IT” as a way for readers to interact and engage with the text. Whether it is alone or in a group, “IT” keeps readers on their toes and involved in discussion regarding what or who “IT” is. Our understanding of Melinda is enhanced by the existence and presence of “IT” around school and in her conscious. It is evident “IT” is related to Melinda’s reputation; if it wasn’t for him, Andy Evans, which readers find out “IT” is later in the book; Melinda’s life would have continued on to be one of happiness.
I think that IT reminds me of the creature from stephan king's IT which is a creature that imitates your greatest fear. i believe that this is the same for Melida IT is her greatest fear. i think that IT adds to the mystery of the book why does Melida fear IT what really happened at that party. i think the author chose to include it because she wanted the air of mystery surrounding the seemingly normal teenage awkward years. this adds to our understanding of Melinda that she has a dark past that she is desperately trying to escape from and she hids herself amongst her high school peers in the hopes that her porblem will just go away and she wont have to face IT.
ReplyDeleteChris Morris
I feel as though it is what Melinda truly fears and hates. I think that even though It doesn't seem like he/she is doing anything wrong in the book, i am sure there is something he/she did in the past to make Melinda fear him/her. I think that it adds a certain kind of mystery and also suspense to the book. It adds suspense because you don't know if It is going to do something else or lay dormant waiting for the right moment....SPOOKY! I think the author chose to add the Concept of it rather than a name to forshadow or alude to a past/future event. IT definitely creeps me out.
ReplyDeletethis is theos by the way
ReplyDeleteI believe IT's significance is that IT had done something to her, probably at the party, that Melinda desperatly wanted to forget. IT's inclusion does make the book more interesting because we don't really know why IT is there. I think the author chose to include IT beause I think she had wanted to include something that athlough not unheard of, something that not everyone has gone through or something that not everyone is willing to admit. This adds to our understanding of Melinda because it seems to me that she;s just a regular teenage girl (ignoring her parents) who just wants someone to recognize her positively and to realize that something is off with her, and would want to help.
ReplyDeleteThe character of “IT” adds mystery to the book and allows readers to question what occurred that gave Melinda such a negative view of him/her. The author uses the presence of this code name in order to build up curiosity in each reader waiting for the moment this person’s true identity will be revealed. Once “IT” was uncovered as a popular boy named Andy Evans, it became clear through his actions and words that he must be part of the reason she called the cops the night of the party, and is now tainted with a bad reputation, as well as friendless. In order to keep whatever painful memories of Andy Evans Melinda possess in the back of her mind, she stays invisible and chooses not to open up to anyone or speak of what happened in hopes that she herself will forget in time. For whatever the reason, Andy has had a major impact on the unhappy person Melinda has become.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the charcter with the code name of “IT” was added to this novel add suspence and mystery. Not only do the readers wonder who IT’s true identity, the readers wonder about the actions he was involved in. This secret puts a twist on this relatable high school student. This mystery inspires curiosity and meaningful thinking about what “IT” must have done to negitvely influence Melinda’s life. She seems to be deeply disturbed by an event with him and it began to connect to the night of the pary when she had called the cops. After building up Melinda’s disgust for this character, he was unmasked to be Andy Evans. Although the author hasn’t quite described his character, the impact on Melinda speaks a lot about the relationship. The image or reminder of Andy fumes anger, pain and unhappiness to Melinda. These emotions allow her to isolate herself and defend herself by being alone. These decisions were all built off the base that something with Andy Evans occurred at the part at which she called the cops.
ReplyDeleteThe character It that the author used has something to do with a problem Melinda is facing. Wether the person is nice or not she is feared by him/her. This is causing melinda to stay unhappy throughout high school. The author left the character unnamed because i think he wanted to leave the reader thinking and keep the book as a page turner because when i saw this unknown character in the book i could not stop reading until the information was revealed. But this he/she unknown character for reason has put Melinda through a lot of emotional pain and for what ever reason she is know hoping she is invisible.
ReplyDeleteBrian goldstein
The character IT is Melinda's greatest fear and problem. The character IT adds suspense and mystery for the reader. In the beginning of the book, readers do not know his identity and his significance in the novel. Readers can assume that this character is involved and the incident at the party when Melinda called the cops. But he is a mysterious character because readers do not know what he did at the party and why Melinda decided to call the cops. The Character IT is the reason nobody Is friends with Melinda anymore on high school. Melinda is trying to avoid this character and forget what happened in the past.
ReplyDeleteI think that "IT" definitely adds mystery to the book. Readers are left hanging, wanting to know who "IT" is and why Melinda is so scared. I believe that Laurie Halse Anderson included IT in the book to add even more suspense and mystery. We all knew that Melinda was isolated, ignored, made fun of...etc.. but we never expected another shocking variable. Laurie Halse Anderson made IT so that the readers would be hooked wanting to know the truth. IT may be a teacher, a student, or even an old friend. The suspense of wanting to discover the identity, is a major literary element Laurie Halse Anderson effectively conveys. The character of IT adds to our understanding of Melinda, that maybe she's not what she's made out to be. Although she may be confined to her own mind, she's very opinionated and seems to be able to do anything. The fact that she is scared by IT makes me wonder if Melinda has been pushing the past behind her, reluctant to move on yet petrified to look back.
ReplyDelete-Sarah Murphy
In the book, i think that the concept "IT" adds mystery. It makes the reader think about how t relates to Melinda and why it is negativly effecting her. Melinda is very digustied with "IT" which just adds to the mystery and makes the reader want to know more. Once we found out that "IT" was Andy Evans, we could conclude that he has something to do with why Melinda called the cops that night at the party. From his actions and words we conclude that he probably took advantage of her. \
ReplyDelete-Olivia
"It" adds a sense of mystery to the book. It makes readers wonder what this character did, that made Melinda lable him as inhumane. I'm guessing that this character had something to do with the night of the party and maybe "It" was the reason why she had to call the cops. Maybe Melinda felt that "It" is responsible for ruining her life by stripping all of her friends. Whebn we discover that "IT" was in fact an older student named Andy Evans, readers are able to comprehend that he is a boy. This sudden realization leads me to believe that Andy raped her!
ReplyDelete-Allison Fuerst
I belive that melindas greatest fear is "it" aka andy evans. i belive that melinda describes him as it, because she feels that what he might of done to melinda that day of rodriguez's party was enough to make her think that he is not human. which lead the readers to suspect that andy evans or "it" as melinda call him is the reason melinda is in her situation in the first place.
ReplyDeleteBy not revealing “IT’s” identity, the author adds to the suspicion and mysterious atmosphere of the book. Because Melinda is characterized as an alienated, passive and internal character, Anderson’s decision to hide IT’s identity further causes the reader to wonder about the events which led Melinda to call the cops. Until IT is revealed as Andy Evans in the cafeteria scene, readers are unaware of IT’s gender. Despite this, we could assume prior to the “big reveal” that IT was a boy simply from Melinda’s thoughts and actions while around him. It was clear that Melinda and IT had engaged in some type of relationship, but the unknown gender of IT further heightened the mysterious atmosphere. Additionally, Anderson’s inclusion of Andy’s ‘code name’ further adds to the readers understanding of Melinda’s personality and character. As mentioned previously, Melinda is careless and lonely, and although she brought her alienation upon herself with her protective decision at the party, Melinda allows herself to relish in her secluded lifestyle. If it hadn’t been for her interaction with IT at the party, Melinda would not have lost her friends and satisfactory lifestyle. With such a lifestyle, Melinda most likely would have been able to remain optimistic and motivated in terms of her school work and relationships. For this reason, the author’s inclusion of Andy’s secret identity “IT” is significant because it allows Melinda to escape the events of the party, and feel comforted (to a certain degree) in her invisible world.
ReplyDeleteAmy Carton
By not revealing who IT is readers want to read on to find out who IT is. It is clear that IT has ruinned Melindas freshman year so far and is the cause of her problems. IT has a big impact on her and she obviously is afraid of IT. The author uses this technique to keep the book mysterious and intersting so the readers don’t get bored.
ReplyDeletealexis tedesco
i think IT stands for melindas worse fears IT is the very hatred that is inside of her. Because of IT she is sad alone and is hated by many if not all of the students :(
ReplyDeletei think the authoer included IT in this story because melinda herself has so much hatred for him that shes doesnt dare say his name. Melinda was ounce a popular girl, she went out to parties had friends and her life was great, IT is the reason for her being the way she is, for her isolation, selfhatred, and lack of motivation.
“IT” adds a sense of mystery and suspense to Speak; readers are left wondering and assuming who this terrifying character could be. I believe the author chose to include “IT” as a way for readers to interact and engage with the text. Whether it is alone or in a group, “IT” keeps readers on their toes and involved in discussion regarding what or who “IT” is. Our understanding of Melinda is enhanced by the existence and presence of “IT” around school and in her conscious. It is evident “IT” is related to Melinda’s reputation; if it wasn’t for him, Andy Evans, which readers find out “IT” is later in the book; Melinda’s life would have continued on to be one of happiness.
ReplyDelete