Summary
Melinda ends up telling Rachael about Andy. She didn't believe her and got mad at her because she thought she was jealous of her. Rachael does eventually confront Andy about it and discovers the truth. Andy gets mad and attacks Melinda for ruining his reputation. She steps up and fights back instead of letting that experience traumatize her even further. At the end of the book it becomes clear that she has started the healing process because she decides to tell her art teacher about what happened to her over the year.
Quote
"IT happened.There is no avoiding it, no forgetting. No running away, or flying, or burying or hiding"(Anderson 198).
Reaction
this quote shows that Melinda has moved on and has accepted that what happened to her wasn't her fault. The symbolism in the story that Melinda started to change and accept what happened to her during the spring. It symbolizes the birth of a newer Melinda, one who can move on from the past and gain control of her life again.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Speak (pgs 121-160)
Summary
Melinda has finally revealed the big secret she has been hiding through out the whole book. All of her peers dislike her because she called the cops on a party the summer before her freshmen year. She called the cops because she was rapped by a senior name Andy. She never told anyone what happened and everyone just decided to ignore her.she still hasn't told anyone and now that Andy has shown an interest in her best friend Rachael she has to decide whether to help her ex-frirnd or just carry on like nothing ever happened.
Quote
" I just need to hang on long ebough for my new skin to graft. Mr.Freeman thinks I need to find my feelings. How can I not find them? They are chewing me alive like an infestation of thoughts, shame, and mistakes"(Anderson 125)
Reaction
This quote shows how melinda's silence has been harmful to her. she needs to talk to someone about what happens beefore it eats her alive.
Melinda has finally revealed the big secret she has been hiding through out the whole book. All of her peers dislike her because she called the cops on a party the summer before her freshmen year. She called the cops because she was rapped by a senior name Andy. She never told anyone what happened and everyone just decided to ignore her.she still hasn't told anyone and now that Andy has shown an interest in her best friend Rachael she has to decide whether to help her ex-frirnd or just carry on like nothing ever happened.
Quote
" I just need to hang on long ebough for my new skin to graft. Mr.Freeman thinks I need to find my feelings. How can I not find them? They are chewing me alive like an infestation of thoughts, shame, and mistakes"(Anderson 125)
Reaction
This quote shows how melinda's silence has been harmful to her. she needs to talk to someone about what happens beefore it eats her alive.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Speak (81-120)
Summary
In this section of the book things continue to go down hill for melinda. Her art teacher, one of the only people she is actually comfortable with is also becoming depressed. The boy she refers to as "it" spoke to her on more than one occasion. She seems to dislike him enough that she runs away from him, frequently tries to avoid him, and pukes when he tries to talk to her. She seems to be afraid of him. Maybe something happened at that party that she called the cop on. She still hasn't told anyone the secret she's been keeping through out the entire book. Her so called friend heather dumped her and decided that she liked her reputation more than she would lie to stay friends with melinda. Things just don't seem to be going good for her.
Quote
"I'm allergic to hornets. One sting and my skin bubbles with hives and my throat closes up"(Anderson 95).
Reaction
I found this quote to be very significant because the school changes their mascot to the hornets. The entire student body represents the hornets. Melinda is saying that she is allergic to the student body. She turned the new mascot into a metaphor for how she reacts with the other students at her school.
In this section of the book things continue to go down hill for melinda. Her art teacher, one of the only people she is actually comfortable with is also becoming depressed. The boy she refers to as "it" spoke to her on more than one occasion. She seems to dislike him enough that she runs away from him, frequently tries to avoid him, and pukes when he tries to talk to her. She seems to be afraid of him. Maybe something happened at that party that she called the cop on. She still hasn't told anyone the secret she's been keeping through out the entire book. Her so called friend heather dumped her and decided that she liked her reputation more than she would lie to stay friends with melinda. Things just don't seem to be going good for her.
Quote
"I'm allergic to hornets. One sting and my skin bubbles with hives and my throat closes up"(Anderson 95).
Reaction
I found this quote to be very significant because the school changes their mascot to the hornets. The entire student body represents the hornets. Melinda is saying that she is allergic to the student body. She turned the new mascot into a metaphor for how she reacts with the other students at her school.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Speak (40-80)
Summary
In this section of the book Melinda talk a bit more about her family life. From how she describes it, her family seems like its sort of falling apart. They don't even have a normal thanksgiving dinner, they usually order pizza. Her grades are slipping, shes a social outcast at school, he home life isn't the best, and she still has a painful secret she has yet to share with anyone, including the reader. The one thing that seems to be going right for her is her art class. She seems to enjoy it more than anything else in the book. Its her escape, the only thing that keeps her distracted from the disasters of the world around her. She puts a lot of effort into a project her Art teacher assigned to her class. So far shes done tons of different drafts of drawings and sculptures of s tree and she doesn't feel like she's quite gotten it right. Some how i have the feeling that the end result of the project will tie into her telling her secret.
Quote
" I just thought of a great theory that explains everything. When I went to the party, I was abducted by aliens. They have created a fake earth and a fake high school to study me and my reactions. This certainly explains cafeteria food. Not the other stuff, though. The aliens have a sick sense of humor." (Anderson).
Reaction
This quote really shows how Melinda is avoiding her secret. Rather than telling someone and facing it, shes making up excuses for it and avoiding the whole thing all together.
In this section of the book Melinda talk a bit more about her family life. From how she describes it, her family seems like its sort of falling apart. They don't even have a normal thanksgiving dinner, they usually order pizza. Her grades are slipping, shes a social outcast at school, he home life isn't the best, and she still has a painful secret she has yet to share with anyone, including the reader. The one thing that seems to be going right for her is her art class. She seems to enjoy it more than anything else in the book. Its her escape, the only thing that keeps her distracted from the disasters of the world around her. She puts a lot of effort into a project her Art teacher assigned to her class. So far shes done tons of different drafts of drawings and sculptures of s tree and she doesn't feel like she's quite gotten it right. Some how i have the feeling that the end result of the project will tie into her telling her secret.
Quote
" I just thought of a great theory that explains everything. When I went to the party, I was abducted by aliens. They have created a fake earth and a fake high school to study me and my reactions. This certainly explains cafeteria food. Not the other stuff, though. The aliens have a sick sense of humor." (Anderson).
Reaction
This quote really shows how Melinda is avoiding her secret. Rather than telling someone and facing it, shes making up excuses for it and avoiding the whole thing all together.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Speak (pgs 1-40)
Summary
The first section of this book is pretty interesting. A Girl named Melinda Sordino who is starting her first yea of high school. It kind of reminds me how i felt when I was a freshmen except I had at least one close friend at the beginning of the year. She doesn't have anyone she can really talk to. She does meet a girl named Heather who she sort of befriends but she doesn't really listen to her. They don't really have anything in common, they're complete opposites really. Another difference in our freshmen year experiences is that I went to a completely new school with completely new people, she's known the people at her high school for nine years. Something happened at a party she went to over the summer that caused her to call the cops so everyone hates for it. They torment her in the hallways and shun her when she attempts to reach out to them. Even all of her old friends don't want anything to do with her. I'm curious to fin out what event caused such a dramatic change in her life.
Quote
" THE FIRST TEN LIES THEY TELL YOU IN HIGH SCHOOL: 1. We are here to help you. 2. You will have enough time to get to your class before the bell rings. 3. The dress code will be enforced. 4. No smoking is allowed on school grounds. 5. Our football team will win the championship this year. 6. We expect more of you here. 7. Guidance counselors are always available to listen. 8. Your schedule was created with your needs in mind. 9. Your locker combination is private. 10. These will be the years you look back on fondly."
Reaction
This quote really stood out to me because most if not all of it is true. All of the time you'll hear that teachers are here to help you but not many students feel like that is true. They're is barely enough time to get to certain classes even if you don't stop at your locker. The dress code seems to only be enforced during the warmer months since the school feels like that's when students will try and defy it most. They say smoking isn't allowed on school grounds but we all know a few who've done it. They always say the school is going to win the championships but i haven't heard that we have yet. Certain classes expect more of you but there are those few classes, like language, where the teacher doesn't really expect to get a lot out of you. Sure the guidance counselors are always there to meet with you, but are they there because they want to listen or are they just doing their jobs. Our schedules , we don't have much of a say in those. Your locker combination is private unless you tell someone. Last but not least, for some of us these will be the best years of our lives. This is kind of disappointing because we're not really getting to live. We have a repetitive schedule that involves eating, sleeping, learning, and working. We follow this schedule for six out of the seven days of the week and on holidays we are forced to balance homework, projects and spending time with our families. I really liked this quote because of how much I could relate to it and how much it made me think of my experiences during my freshmen year and my experiences so far this year. I guess only good literature has the power to do something like that.
The first section of this book is pretty interesting. A Girl named Melinda Sordino who is starting her first yea of high school. It kind of reminds me how i felt when I was a freshmen except I had at least one close friend at the beginning of the year. She doesn't have anyone she can really talk to. She does meet a girl named Heather who she sort of befriends but she doesn't really listen to her. They don't really have anything in common, they're complete opposites really. Another difference in our freshmen year experiences is that I went to a completely new school with completely new people, she's known the people at her high school for nine years. Something happened at a party she went to over the summer that caused her to call the cops so everyone hates for it. They torment her in the hallways and shun her when she attempts to reach out to them. Even all of her old friends don't want anything to do with her. I'm curious to fin out what event caused such a dramatic change in her life.
Quote
" THE FIRST TEN LIES THEY TELL YOU IN HIGH SCHOOL: 1. We are here to help you. 2. You will have enough time to get to your class before the bell rings. 3. The dress code will be enforced. 4. No smoking is allowed on school grounds. 5. Our football team will win the championship this year. 6. We expect more of you here. 7. Guidance counselors are always available to listen. 8. Your schedule was created with your needs in mind. 9. Your locker combination is private. 10. These will be the years you look back on fondly."
Reaction
This quote really stood out to me because most if not all of it is true. All of the time you'll hear that teachers are here to help you but not many students feel like that is true. They're is barely enough time to get to certain classes even if you don't stop at your locker. The dress code seems to only be enforced during the warmer months since the school feels like that's when students will try and defy it most. They say smoking isn't allowed on school grounds but we all know a few who've done it. They always say the school is going to win the championships but i haven't heard that we have yet. Certain classes expect more of you but there are those few classes, like language, where the teacher doesn't really expect to get a lot out of you. Sure the guidance counselors are always there to meet with you, but are they there because they want to listen or are they just doing their jobs. Our schedules , we don't have much of a say in those. Your locker combination is private unless you tell someone. Last but not least, for some of us these will be the best years of our lives. This is kind of disappointing because we're not really getting to live. We have a repetitive schedule that involves eating, sleeping, learning, and working. We follow this schedule for six out of the seven days of the week and on holidays we are forced to balance homework, projects and spending time with our families. I really liked this quote because of how much I could relate to it and how much it made me think of my experiences during my freshmen year and my experiences so far this year. I guess only good literature has the power to do something like that.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Girl, Interrupted (155-192)
Summary
This section of the book goes back to the period where Susanna was in high school. She talks about how everyone around her has seemed to figure out life and where their place in it is and she is still stuck. She talks about how depressed she became because she felt like she was failing at life.
Quote
"One of the greatest pleasures of mental health (what ever that is) is how much less time i have to spend thinking about myself" (Kaysen 157)
Reaction
What lead Susanna to believe that she was crazy was how much she thought about herself. This is something that the average teenager does. Since this occurred in the late 1960's, they may have had different perceptions of what sanity and insanity was. Because she thought too much of herself Susanna thought she was crazy and then drove herself to insanity by attempting to kill herself. I don't believe she was crazy but instead i believe she was lost and needed some guidance to help her get her life on track.
This section of the book goes back to the period where Susanna was in high school. She talks about how everyone around her has seemed to figure out life and where their place in it is and she is still stuck. She talks about how depressed she became because she felt like she was failing at life.
Quote
"One of the greatest pleasures of mental health (what ever that is) is how much less time i have to spend thinking about myself" (Kaysen 157)
Reaction
What lead Susanna to believe that she was crazy was how much she thought about herself. This is something that the average teenager does. Since this occurred in the late 1960's, they may have had different perceptions of what sanity and insanity was. Because she thought too much of herself Susanna thought she was crazy and then drove herself to insanity by attempting to kill herself. I don't believe she was crazy but instead i believe she was lost and needed some guidance to help her get her life on track.
Girl, Interrupted (116-154)
Summary
In this section of the book Susanna's therapist dies. She had a connection with her therapist that the book emphasizes by talking about some of their sessions together. Though out the rest of the book Susanna questions her insanity. At the end of the section she says she has recovered her mental health meaning that she isn't crazy anymore.
Quote
"I can honestly say that my misery has been transformed into common unhappiness, so by Freud's definition I have achieved mental health." (Kaysen 154)
Reaction
I honestly think that Susanna was never crazy to begin with. She even mentions in the book that what she was diagnosed as has been taken out of the books and replaced with common stages of adolescents. I believe that she was just growing up and experienced emotions and confusion that many teenagers today experience.
In this section of the book Susanna's therapist dies. She had a connection with her therapist that the book emphasizes by talking about some of their sessions together. Though out the rest of the book Susanna questions her insanity. At the end of the section she says she has recovered her mental health meaning that she isn't crazy anymore.
Quote
"I can honestly say that my misery has been transformed into common unhappiness, so by Freud's definition I have achieved mental health." (Kaysen 154)
Reaction
I honestly think that Susanna was never crazy to begin with. She even mentions in the book that what she was diagnosed as has been taken out of the books and replaced with common stages of adolescents. I believe that she was just growing up and experienced emotions and confusion that many teenagers today experience.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Girl,Interrupted (pgs 77-115)
In this section, a lot has changed for Susanna. It seems like being stuck in a loony bin has finally driven her off the deep end. In the beginning of this section not much was changed. Georgina, Daisy, and Lisa were all themselves. It talked a little more about the nurses who from their descriptions seem almost as insane as the patients. Its hard to figure out who is sane and who isn't in this book, all the characters seem a little crazy. A new girl named Alice Calais was admitted into the same ward as the rest of the girls. At first they thought she was kind of boring, she didn't talk much but she would sit with the girls and listen to them. Then several weeks later she had a fit and started acting out. She was inconsolable, screaming and crying, she was out of control. The nurses sent her to maximum security,it's similar to being in a prison. You know what they say, it's always the quiet ones. After this experience Susanna changed. There was an incident where she tried to rip the skin of her hands off to make sure she had bones inside of her. The nurse was forced to sedate her.
Quote
"In a strange way we were free. We'd reached the end of the line. We had nothing more to lose. Our privacy, our liberty, our dignity: All of this was gone and we were stripped down to the bare bones of ourselves." (Kaysen 94)
Reaction
This quote explains just how horrible it was to live in the hospital. They didn't have many freedoms or rights. It was almost as if they were criminals in a prison. They were being tortured. Its ironic how this place was suppose to help them but I believe its driving them even father away from the little sanity they had. From here it can't get any worse, they've already lost everything including their minds.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Girl, Interrupted pgs 39-76
Summary
Things for Susana have stayed pretty much the same throughout this section of the book. Another girl was admitted into the institution and became friends with Lisa. Her name was Lisa also but they called her by her full name Lisa Cody in order to distinguish between the two. Lisa became jealous when Lisa Cody started to act just like her. She really changed when Lisa Cody was diagnosed as a psychopath just like Lisa. She then did things to try and get under her skin so she would stop. Lisa Cody couldn't take the pressure and ended up leaving the institution.
Quote
"she's a real junkie now. Lisa said smiling" (Kaysen 62)
Reaction
This is one of the most important quotes in this section because it shows what Lisa is capable of. I have a feeling that she and Susana may get into some sort of conflict later in the book. She seems like she manipulates people around her and Susana could be next.
Things for Susana have stayed pretty much the same throughout this section of the book. Another girl was admitted into the institution and became friends with Lisa. Her name was Lisa also but they called her by her full name Lisa Cody in order to distinguish between the two. Lisa became jealous when Lisa Cody started to act just like her. She really changed when Lisa Cody was diagnosed as a psychopath just like Lisa. She then did things to try and get under her skin so she would stop. Lisa Cody couldn't take the pressure and ended up leaving the institution.
Quote
"she's a real junkie now. Lisa said smiling" (Kaysen 62)
Reaction
This is one of the most important quotes in this section because it shows what Lisa is capable of. I have a feeling that she and Susana may get into some sort of conflict later in the book. She seems like she manipulates people around her and Susana could be next.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Girl, Interrupted pgs 1-38
Summary
Quote
"In the parallel universe the law of physics are suspended. What goes up does not necessarily come down; a body at rest does not tend to stay at rest; and not every action can be counted on to provoke an equal opposite reaction." (Kaysen 6)
Reaction
The way the second sentence in the quote is broken into 3 different thought puts more emphasis on the message the author is trying to get across. She is saying she entered a different world when she went to McLean hospiteal and in that world, she had to expect the unexpected. this quote is particularly significant because it foreshadows that surprising events will occur later on in the book. Events that the reader willl be surprised at because in her world, which we enter as soon as we turn to the first page, nothing follows the rules of reality.
This first section of the book is all about how the protagonist, Susanna Kaysen, ended up in a mental institution in Belmont Massachusetts. I found this intriguing because she is so close to home. She had only one fifteen or twenty minuet session with a psychiatrist before he decided to send her to the nut house. Out of Georgina, Lisa,and Daisy, three other patients at McLean Hospital where she is staying, she is one of the most sane. The craziest thing she has done is attempt suicide by an overdose on asprin. Georgina set herself on fire once and Daisy is anorexic and obssessed with chickens. At this point in the book it hard to tell why she is still a patient at the hospital when she seems prettty sane.
Quote
"In the parallel universe the law of physics are suspended. What goes up does not necessarily come down; a body at rest does not tend to stay at rest; and not every action can be counted on to provoke an equal opposite reaction." (Kaysen 6)
Reaction
The way the second sentence in the quote is broken into 3 different thought puts more emphasis on the message the author is trying to get across. She is saying she entered a different world when she went to McLean hospiteal and in that world, she had to expect the unexpected. this quote is particularly significant because it foreshadows that surprising events will occur later on in the book. Events that the reader willl be surprised at because in her world, which we enter as soon as we turn to the first page, nothing follows the rules of reality.
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