Melinda Sordino is broken. She drifts throughout her first year of high school, failing her classes and being ridiculed by her peers. She might have remained broken, too, without the key aspects of her life that had inspired her to change. This takes place in the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. At the end of her eighth grade year, Melinda and her friends go to a high school party. Once there, Melinda gets drunk and is exploited by a senior, Andy Evans. The story focuses on Melinda's journey to recovery and how she overcomes her fear of speaking. Over the course of the book, three things in Melinda's life set her on the path to recovery. One of those things is the art class and the teacher in charge of it. Another is Melinda's lab partner, David Petrakis. Finally, there's an abandoned janitor's closet that Melinda discovers and puts to good use. These things are all critically important to Melinda as she navigates her way through her first year. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay On the first day of school, Melinda walks into her art class where she is greeted by the art teacher, Mr. Freeman. Mr. Freeman soon establishes himself as the only adult Melinda trusts: he teaches her to speak through art, to express herself in a way that makes Melinda feel safe. Even though Melinda speaks very little throughout the book, she couldn't have said more. This growth is evidenced by Melinda's art project of painting a tree for a year. Melinda's trees represent the healing (or worsening) stage she is going through. "I've painted watercolors of trees struck by lightning. I try to paint them so that they're almost dead, but not completely." (Anderson 30-31) Melinda represents how she feels damaged and broken, and “almost dead.” These trees are Melinda's way of thinking about herself and what happened. She may not realize it, but by painting these trees, she is letting the world know her pent-up feelings. However, Melinda isn't the only one trying to communicate through silence. Melinda's lab partner, David Petrakis, simply got up and left when a cruel professor lectured. “He says a million things without saying a word. I make a note to study David Petrakis. I have never heard a more eloquent silence. (57) The only difference is that David does not keep silent to hide his thoughts. He is the opposite: he defends himself and makes his opinions known. He helps Melinda give a presentation on the suffragettes without an introduction, but then tells her, "But you were wrong." The suffragettes wanted to speak out, to shout for their rights. You cannot defend your right to remain silent. It's letting the bad guys win. If suffragettes did that, women wouldn’t still be able to vote.” David convinced Melinda to try to truly speak out and make a difference in the world around her instead of living so passively. But this kind of massive change doesn't happen overnight. It needs to be nourished so that it can grow. One day, while running away from Mr. Neck, Melinda stumbles across an old abandoned janitor's closet. She quickly claims the space as her own and uses it as a retreat or refuge when things get tough. She decorates the room with objects that have meaning to her and feels safe thinking about what happened to her here. This closet protects Melinda throughout the story until she is completely healed.