The Usage of Knowledge in the Manipulation of the Main Character’s Development in Laurie Halse Anderson’s "Speak"

Acknowledgements

There have been many people that supported me throughout the writing of this essay. First and foremost I would like to thank my best friend Johanna, who allowed me to read her copy of the book discussed in this essay. She was always there to listen to me when I needed to talk out loud to organize my thoughts. I would like to thank Teresa Schröder, with whom I frequently exchanged work, who answered any and all questions I had about the course and my essay, and who became a new friend. I would like to thank my good friend Wesley, who assured me that the language in this paper is acceptable, even after I had read it so many times that it stopped making sense. I would like to thank my family. My mom, who never hesitates to bring me tea whenever I sit at my desk at home, my dad, who always loves to read my work and give feedback and even my sister, who would periodically come into my room to distract me. Without you the writing process would have been much less fun. I dedicate this essay to everyone that had to suffer through my constant rants about the topic discussed in this essay. Thank you for pretending to care.

„I did then what I knew how to do, now that I know better I do better.”¹

This powerful quote by Maya Angelou can be related to many different aspects of life. It represents sound advice for anyone and encourages each of us to do our best. Angelou reminds us that our knowledge is ever evolving and that, even though we might have done our best some time ago, learning enables us to do even better today and in the future. This makes knowledge important for all instances in life, but especially when interacting with people. Steven Pinker is a renowned experimental psychologist and a professor of psychology at Harvard University. He researches the importance of knowledge in social interactions. He relates the concept of individual and mutual knowledge to the way humans communicate with each other. While individual knowledge is defined as the knowledge that one person has, separate from other people, mutual knowledge is the knowledge that is shared between people. That means that person A knows something, person B knows the same thing and they are both aware that the other knows. Pinker states that mutual knowledge is important in order to communicate effectively and without awkwardness. Common knowledge is the knowledge that is shared between all members of a social group. (Thomas, p.3) Relationships are built upon communication and therefore rely on mutual knowledge, especially when considering the boundaries and needs of each person involved in a possible relationship. If two people do not know enough about each other to be able to know how to behave around one another, the relationship is bound to fail. This phenomenon is so common that it has been picked up by various authors of modern literature. A lack of mutual knowledge is often used to create conflict between characters and tension in the story. The story becomes more interesting and the plot evolves when the mutual and individual knowledge of each character changes. In young adult fiction, authors use this to create realistic teenagers that struggle with communication and relationships. This type of storytelling is important for young adults because they can identify with the protagonists and thereby gain knowledge about serious topics such as relationships. A teenager’s knowledge about themselves and others shapes the way they experience the world and how they interact with other people. Family, friends, and teachers: every interaction has the potential to be unsuccessful and add another conflict to the plot of a young adult story. One great example for this is the young adult novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. In her novel Anderson details the struggles of Melinda Sordino, a teenage girl who starts her freshman year of high school after having been raped at a party the previous summer. Melinda does not feel like she can speak to anybody about what happened to her, so she struggles with her trauma alone. There is almost no mutual knowledge between Melinda and the people around her. She does not share the knowledge of what happened to her with her former friends Ivy and Rachel, or even her parents. Anderson uses the concept of individual and mutual knowledge to manipulate Melinda’s ability and willingness to form and maintain relationships, which is evident in Melinda’s interactions with her parents, Ivy and Rachel.

The first relationship that Anderson manipulates by giving the characters a lack of mutual knowledge is the relationship between Melinda and her parents. Early in the story Anderson makes it clear that the family’s communication is lacking, if not non-existent. (Anderson, p.18 HOME. WORK.) Melinda has not told her parents about what happened to her at the party. This is why their individual knowledge is that they have a daughter that is avoiding them because she is just being a typical teenager. When the interim report comes and they are made aware that Melinda’s grades are slipping they are angry and disappointed. Melinda, whose individual knowledge is that she was raped, does not care about her grades, so she cannot take her parents seriously. Instead, she compares their scolding to performance art and leaves the room quickly (Anderson, p. 39f. DINNER THEATER). Much like Maya Angelou, Melinda’s parents are doing what they know how to do, they just don’t know what’s wrong. Nonetheless, Melinda’s individual knowledge is that they are too preoccupied with their own problems to care about her. Instead of staying longer after school to get extra help from teachers like she’s supposed to, Melinda spends the extra time at school in an old janitor’s closet. She thinks that she is successful in avoiding and hiding from her parents. This changes when Anderson creates some mutual knowledge: Melinda’s parents give her art supplies for Christmas and tell her that they have noticed her drawing. Melinda now knows that her parents care enough to know that she likes to draw. Anderson also adds that Melinda knows that her parents are probably aware that she was at the party. (Anderson, p.75, WINTER BREAK) This shift in mutual knowledge is almost enough for Melinda to tell her parents about the rape, but the moment passes and she does not speak up. (Anderson, p.75, WINTER BREAK) Another major development in the relationship between Melinda and her parents is at the end of the second marking period, when Melinda self-harms with a paper clip. Her parents notice and the new mutual knowledge is that something is wrong, even though the rape is still Melinda’s individual knowledge. Anderson makes Melinda’s mother handle the situation with tough love, rather than understanding, thereby supporting and further engraving Melinda’s assumption that she could not talk to her parents about what happened to her. (Anderson, p.91ff. PREY) In the last marking period Melinda’s relationship to her parents improves. She still does not talk about what happened to her, but she communicates that she is not feeling well (Anderson, p. 164, HOME SICK), which therefore becomes mutual knowledge between her and her parents. When she starts feeling better due to some things that happened at school, Melinda cleans the front yard, impressing her parents with her newfound productivity (Anderson, p. 189, PROWLING). The family has a nice meal together, because the mutual knowledge changed: Everyone is aware that Melinda is getting better, even though the parents still don’t know what was wrong in the first place. They don’t actually find out in the book, but the way the story ends heavily implies that Melinda is ready to tell her story and the parents will find out as well. To summarize, Anderson uses individual and mutual knowledge to manipulate Melinda’s relationship to her parents throughout the whole book.

Ivy is another character whose relationship to Melinda changes when Anderson gives them mutual knowledge. In the beginning of the book, Ivy is nothing more than a former friend, who Melinda thinks is angry with her because Melinda had called the police after the incident at the party. Even though she is not one of the people that actively bully Melinda for breaking up the party she ignores her most of the time. The first real interaction between the two of them is at the end of art class, when Melinda stays behind to finish a sculpture made of turkey bones. Even though Ivy only comments that the sculpture is scary, she is present when the art teacher Mr. Freeman says that the sculpture has meaning and pain. Melinda leaves quickly, uncomfortable with the fact that her pain seems to have become mutual knowledge between herself, her art teacher and Ivy (Anderson, p.68, WISHBONE). Later in the story Melinda meets Ivy at the mall and they exchange some tips for their art assignment. (Anderson, p.147f., SPRING BREAK) Anderson uses the art class to create a connection, maybe not through mutual knowledge but at least through mutual interests. It is that same art class where Anderson first lets the two of them exchange some knowledge about Melinda’s rapist, Andy Evans. Ivy comes into the room when Melinda is approached by Andy Evans. She senses that something is wrong, stays until Andy leaves and then says that he is trouble, informing Melinda that she is not the only one who knows this. Melinda does not reply though, so the information only adds to Melinda’s individual knowledge and does not create mutual knowledge yet. (Anderson, p.163, THE BEAST PROWLS) However, this interaction is what prompts Melinda to tell her parents that she is not feeling well, so it does have an effect on the overall plot. (Anderson, p.163, HOME SICK) The most important moment in Melinda’s and Ivy’s relationship and possibly the whole book happens during art class again. Ivy accidentally gets marker on Melinda’s shirt, so the two of them go to the bathroom to wash it out. There, they talk about Andy Evans and eventually graffiti his name on one of the bathroom stalls, stating that he is a boy to stay away from. (Anderson, p. 174ff. LITTLE WRITING ON THE WALL) The graffiti becomes Anderson’s most powerful tool to manipulate mutual knowledge with. This interaction between Ivy and Melinda already causes them to have some mutual knowledge: Neither of them feels comfortable around Andy Evans. Anderson takes it a step further when Ivy shows Melinda the bathroom stall again a few days later, and there is a lot of writing beneath their graffiti, all agreeing that Andy is a creep. This knowledge is now mutual knowledge between many girls, which is the reason why Melinda feels well enough to eat dinner with her parents and clean out her hiding space. So, overall, Anderson uses mutual knowledge to help Melinda rekindle her friendship with Ivy. More importantly though, the graffiti that Melinda writes with Ivy’s marker is the tool that Anderson uses to make Melinda more able and willing to work on her relationship with Ivy, her parents and herself.

Finally, Anderson manipulates the plot through changes in knowledge in the relationship between Melinda and her former best friend Rachel. Anderson establishes their relationship in the very beginning of the story, when Rachel laughs at Melinda with her group of friends and even mouths the words ‘I hate you’ in Melinda’s direction. Anderson mentions that Melinda desperately wants to tell Rachel what happened, indicating that Melinda knows that creating mutual knowledge by sharing the information of what happened at the party is what she needs to do in order to fix their relationship. (Anderson, p.9, WELCOME TO MERRYWEATHER HIGH) For the majority of the book the relationship between the two of them does not change and Anderson just uses Rachel as a tool to further the plot in different ways. When the two girls are in the bathroom together, Rachel refuses to have a conversation with Melinda and blows her off before leaving with a new friend of hers. Melinda’s individual knowledge changes and she realises that she wants someone to hang out with at school so that she won’t “feel and look so stupid” (Anderson, p.25, FRIENDS). This realisation is important for the plot because Melinda starts hanging out with a new girl, Heather from Ohio. (Anderson, p.25, FRIENDS) Another instance where Anderson uses Rachel to manipulate Melinda’s individual knowledge happens during English class, when Rachel disagrees with something the teacher says. Instead of hearing her out the teacher ridicules her and gives the class extra homework. The whole class yells at Rachel, which is a call-back to Melinda’s peers’ reaction to her calling the police at the party. Melinda thinks “that’s what you get for speaking up” (Anderson, p.106, CODE BREAKING) and her individual knowledge that she should not speak up about what happened to her is vindicated. (Anderson, p. 106, CODE BREAKING) When Melinda finds out that Rachel has started dating Andy Evans at the beginning of the fourth marking period she is shocked. (Anderson, p.150, MY LIFE AS A SPY) At this point Melinda has already spoken to Ivy at the mall and is well on her way to recovery, but this new information throws her for a loop. She knows that she cannot keep her individual knowledge to herself any longer. Due to everything that has happened so far Melinda is convinced that Rachel would not believe her should she tell her what happened to her, so she decides to write a note instead. (Anderson, p.154, THIN ATMOSPHERE) Despite Melinda’s belief that creating this mutual knowledge will protect Rachel and make her stay away from Andy, Anderson does not let this shift in mutual knowledge affect their relationship yet (Anderson, p.162f. THE BEAST PROWLS). After writing the graffiti with Ivy Melinda feels she’s “on a roll” (Anderson, p.180, COMMUNICATION 101) and uses her newfound strength to approach Rachel during study hall. They talk about the fact that Rachel is going to prom with Andy and Melinda asks whether Rachel is still mad at her for what happened at the party. Rachel negates this and Melinda considers just leaving it at that, wondering if the two of them could become friends again. Anderson includes that Rachel has doodled her own and Andy’s initials on her wrist, which is enough to push Melinda to come forward with her story. Rachel seems to believe her at first, but when Melinda tells her that it was Andy Evans who raped her Rachel gets angry, calls Melinda a liar, and leaves. (Anderson, p. 183f. COMMUNICATION 101) Melinda is upset, but because the plot has evolved so far that Anderson does not want Melinda upset any longer, this is when she has Ivy tell Melinda about the additional writing beneath their graffiti so that Melinda will feel good about herself again. (Anderson, p.185, CHAT ROOM) The Monday after prom Melinda finds out that Rachel has broken up with Andy in the middle of the dancefloor. Anderson uses this fortunate development, as well as Melinda’s positive feelings towards the additional graffiti, to push Melinda to clean out the closet she has been using as a hiding space. There, Melinda is attacked by Andy Evans, who is angry because Melinda told Rachel about the rape. He tries to rape her again, but Melinda shouts and fights back. Some girls from the lacrosse team hear them and the story becomes common knowledge at school (Anderson, p.191ff. PREY). This is the biggest change in knowledge and therefore Anderson uses it to bring about the most radical plot development. Melinda is no longer bullied or socially isolated. Instead, some people even approach her and say they hope she’s okay, Rachel calls her and asks to speak to her, and Melinda finds the courage to tell her story to Mr. Freeman. (Anderson, p.195ff. FINAL CUT) In summary, the relationship between Rachel and Melinda does not change much until the very end of the book. Nevertheless, Rachel is an important character for Anderson to manipulate knowledge with. In the beginning Anderson uses Rachel’s actions to keep Melinda’s self-esteem small, and later she uses the relationship between Rachel and Andy to give Melinda incentive to finally tell somebody about the rape.

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¹ Harper, Shaun R. Race without Racism. p.14.