Party in Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson Essay Example

In today’s society, most teenagers think that attending parties is fun, which is true. Attending parties can also be good for your health. They are good for your immune system, reduce stress, sharpen your memory, help you sleep better, boost your mood, improve your organization skills, and much more (venuereport.com). What most teenagers don’t consider is what can go wrong with being at a party. Many mishappenings can and have occurred at parties, especially teenage parties. Unfortunately, most teenagers are still not very mature and are mischievous, especially when they are in crowds with their friends. You could even do something harmful yourself by being forced or peer pressured. In the book Speak, Melinda Sordino and Rachel Bruin go to a party and Melinda gets raped after getting drunk, then gets slapped for calling the police. Clearly for the teenage social experience, crowds are unpredictable and dangerous.

To begin, in the book Speak, Melinda and Rachel go to a party, to prove this, Melinda says “Rachel got us to the end-of-summer party, a cheerleader party, with beer and seniors and music. She blackmailed her brother, Jimmy, to drive us. We were all sleeping over at Rachel’s house. Her mother thought Jimmy was taking us roller-skating. It was at a farm a couple of miles from our development.”

At the party, Melinda drinks three servings of alcohol, fears she will vomit, then goes outside towards the woods just in case she vomits. To prove this, she says “I tasted a beer. It was worse than cough medicine. I gulped it down. Another beer and one more, then I worried I would throw up. I walked out of the crowd, toward the woods.”

The reason for this is unclear, it is not stated whether she drinks it out of curiosity, if she drinks it because other people were drinking it as well, or some other reason. She does not like the taste of it, but somehow still consumes three servings of it and gets drunk. There are a series of consequences Melinda faces after each event in this situation. First, Melinda goes to the party, then faces a consequence for going to the party, which is getting drunk, then faces a consequence of getting drunk, which is  fearing she will vomit, then faces a consequence of fearing she will vomit, which is having to go outside, towards the woods.  This proves my thesis because Melinda probably did not expect any of this to happen, it was unexpected/unpredictable. Like most teens, Melinda probably thought she was going to have fun at the party. Also, Melinda consumed alcohol which is dangerous. It is illegal to consume alcohol under the age of 21 in the United Stated and also puts your health at risk. It makes you more likely to have unsafe sex. Also, the risk of injuring yourself is higher when you are under the influence of alcohol. (Alcohol (for Teens) - Nemours KidsHealth). 

When Melinda is out in the woods, she runs into a senior named Andy Evans, and says this “A step behind me. A senior. And then he was talking to me, flirting with me. This gorgeous cover-model guy!” Then, Andy Evans says to Melinda “Where did you come from? You’re too beautiful to hide in the dark. Come dance with me.” They start dancing, then Melinda says this to herself “He tilted my face up to his. He kissed me, man kiss, hard sweet and deep. Nearly knocked me off my feet, that kiss.”

Melinda is very happy because she thinks that she will start high school because she says this “And I thought for just a minute there that I had a boyfriend, I would start high school with a boyfriend, older and stronger and ready to watch out for me.” Suddenly, Andy asks Melinda “Do you want to?” Melinda did not understand what he meant when he said this. Then, Andy puts Melinda on the ground. Melinda now understands want he meant, he is going to have sex with her. Melinda does not want to have sex. She tries to say no to Andy but can’t because he forcefully kisses her again. Melinda tries to say no by pushing her head away, but Andy puts his hand over her mouth. Then, Andy puts Melinda’s shirt up and shorts down and rapes her. This proves my thesis because what happened is unexpected/unpredictable for Melinda. Melinda thought that she was going to have a loving boyfriend that was going to protect her, but in reality, Andy Evans is a monster because of what he did. This also proves my thesis because having unsafe sex is dangerous. It is dangerous because it could lead to pregnancy, sexually transmitted diaseases, and even death (Alcohol (for Teens) - Nemours KidsHealth). 

After Melinda got raped, she goes back to the party in the barn and calls the police. Someone grabs the phone from her, listens, and yells the police are coming.  To prove this, Melinda says:

“The next thing I saw was the telephone. I stood in the middle of a drunken crowd and I called 911 because I needed help. A lady answered the phone.” The police lady asks Melinda “Police, state your emergency.” Melinda does not answer but instead bursts into tears. Melinda says this, “Someone grabbed the phone from my hands and listened. A scream—the cops were coming! Blue and cherry lights flashing in the kitchen-sink window. Rachel’s face— so angry—in mine. Someone slapped me. I crawled out of the room through a forest of legs.

Melinda crying shows that she is upset about  being raped. This proves my thesis because Melinda gets assaulted when she is slapped, which is obviously dangerous. Everyone was so quick to judge Melinda because she called the police. They should’ve known the full story before judging. Even her ex best friend, Rachel Bruin judges her without even asking her why she called the police. Someone even had the audacity to slap her after going to an illegal party where alcohol is being served to minors.