The novel “Speak” tells the story of Melinda who was going through a difficult period in her life. Melinda had to figure out who she was after being raped and attending high school alone. Melinda didn't feel like she could discuss anything with anyone, and this is represented in many of the symbols placed throughout the story. According to Melinda, symbolism is "like a code, penetrating into one's head and finding the key to one's secrets." Melinda made comments about herself and how she related to symbolism in her eyes. Melinda said that if she were a letter like the scarlet letter, she would be an S. "S for silent, for stupid, for afraid." S for idiot. Out of shame.” It is important to understand Melinda as she thinks she is and the importance of correlating her with other symbols. My goal is to discover what I believe the closet symbolizes throughout the novel "Speak" and how it relates to Melinda's growth as an individual throughout high school. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Melinda first falls into the closet while trying to run away from Mr. Neck. Melinda didn't do her homework and she tried to avoid him at all costs. She ended up going through the senior wing of the high school, where none of the freshmen usually go. That's when Melinda says she found "an old janitor's closet that smells like sour sponges." This statement made me understand that this closet was abandoned, and that no one even cared about its existence anymore. Just like Melinda, she didn't want anyone to know what happened and she wanted to be left alone. She wanted a place that belonged to her and that no one knew about. She wanted a place where she could truly hide from reality. Everything in the room was either broken, old, or no one thought it was important. These items included a “stained armchair,” an “old-fashioned desk,” a “collection of mops and brooms,” a “cracked mirror,” a “sink littered with dead cockroaches intertwined with cobwebs,” and “faucets…so rusty they’re not.” I’m not looking back.” All of these items were simply forgotten, just as Melinda wanted to forget what happened to her that night at the party. I found it interesting how they stated the "dead cockroaches hooked together with cobwebs" because it almost matches Melinda's thoughts going through her head. She's the only one who knows what happened and she doesn't really know how to deal with it. It's almost as if his thoughts are all mixed up in a ball and they can't be put into order. She thinks it's best to keep them to herself and that no one else will understand what she went through. This all really correlates with what the closet is to her and how it's "abandoned – it has no purpose, no name." It’s the perfect place for me.” Melinda really seems like there's really no purpose or anything she's doing that could ever make herself useful to anyone again. It's a place where she could think all her thoughts without others being able to know what she was thinking or what traumatized her. event occurred. Melinda says that "my closet is a good thing, a quiet place that helps me keep these thoughts in my head where no one can hear them." This makes me think that in his head, the closet was his place, his safe place, that no one knew existed. It was a place where she could run and be confident not to sayaccidentally something about the events of the party. Another passage from this same section of “Speak” was when she covered the mirror with a poster of Maya Angelou ( Anderson 50). I thought that was an important aspect of the closet because she didn't want to see who she was. Maya Angelou almost seemed like someone she could look up to or emulate. Melinda could also have used this photo of Maya Angelou to show that she wasn't alone. Maya Angelou was someone who was always there for her and didn't judge her, no matter what she had to say. It was almost like Melinda felt safe in that closet and now had someone with her, Maya Angelou, making her feel like someone had her best interests at heart. Melinda says, “I want to leave, transfer, teleport to another galaxy. » . I wonder if that's what Melinda is trying to do with the closet. This could be an area that allows him to escape reality or at least prevent other individuals from learning what really happened. No matter how hard she tries to escape what is happening, it still haunts her as she watches "horror movies playing inside [her] eyelids." This passage reminds us whatever efforts Melinda made to escape her reality; it will always come back if we don't confront it head on. As in the passage above, every time she closes her eyes, she is continually reminded of that night. Melinda ends up receiving a Valentine that was posted in her locker. She hoped it was from David, her lab partner, but it ended up being Heather. She felt “stupid” for believing that anyone would “love the inner girl” she thinks she is. She went into her closet, fell onto the brown chair and started biting her wrist and crying like a baby. She also began “banging her head against the cinder block wall.” Melinda began to feel that she had a connection with someone and that they truly began to love her for who she was inside. Her emotions eventually got the better of her and she ended up making multiple attempts to harm herself. This really shows that she wants to connect with others and be important in someone's life. Melinda really goes from a place where she wants to be alone to a place where she really wants someone to want to care. She wants to find that person who will want to know what happened, and that she cares enough to continue to love him after knowing the truth. After school, Melinda goes to her closet instead of taking the bus home because she doesn't. I want to have an agreement with everyone. She ends up tackling her Mayan poster, her cubist tree and her turkey bone sculpture, which are all things she loves. This closet looks more like his house than his actual house. Melinda says, “It feels safer in my little hideaway” as she falls asleep in her closet. She seems to suffer from insomnia at home, which may be a sign of depression. Melinda does not have a good life at home or at school. This is his true place of escape. Melinda starts trying to decide if she should tell Rachel what happened, so the same thing doesn't happen to her. As she goes to the closet to debate this question, she begins to realize that the closet is far too small. She starts pacing in the closet: “Stupid room. What a stupid idea to sit in a closet like this.” This is the first time she realizes that the closet becomes lonely and that she doesn't need to always hide. Melinda begins to realize that she needs to start communicating, 1999.