Colin Pope

[Colin Pope @ColinPope11]

@JacksonCFSUSD These are good differences in listening to respond and to understand. You might want to add examples from the book of what this looks like.

[Colin Pope @ColinPope11]

#tollgvms Melinda's parents are trying to listen to Melinda to respond, but they actually don't care about her troubles or worries. They just want to respond to them. Mr. Freeman, however, is listening to understand. He wants to help Melinda and know what she is dealing with.

[Colin Pope @ColinPope11]

#tollgvms Melinda and Mr. Freeman are both similar because they are in a state of sadness and depression. Mr. Freeman is drawing dark paintings and is not talking as much as before. Melinda is also choosing not to talk and is hiding herself from friends and family.

[Colin Pope @ColinPope11]

#tollgvms Melinda's parents had the right idea of telling Melinda to stop suicide, but they said it in a horribly wrong way. They should have talked to Melinda and asked her why she was cutting herself instead of being angry at her.

[Colin Pope @ColinPope11]

#tollgvms I think that parents should speak about their social and marital problems. Knowing what is going on in each other's lives is important in a good relationship with your parents. You could also learn from your parent's mistakes.

[Colin Pope @ColinPope11]

#tollgvms I believe that America should have a closed border policy. Without any restrictions, any person could come to America. That could include murderers, drug dealers, or terrorists. Opening the borders could be very dangerous.

[Colin Pope @ColinPope11]

#tollgvms Maya Angelou was added to Speak because she is very similar to Melinda. As children, they both got sexually assaulted and decided to exclude themselves from the world and people around them.

[Colin Pope @ColinPope11]

@t_deago I like how you said that people hide their pain. You should explain why Melinda's parents do not want to listen to her or acknowledge what she is going through.

[Colin Pope @ColinPope11]

@parisa_samadi I like the examples you used about Melinda being depressed. You could include an exaple about how ignoring people can lead to depression and suicide.

[Colin Pope @ColinPope11]

A8 #tollgvms Melinda's parents can not see what she is thinking or what she is dealing with, therefor do not care about what is actually going on. Ignoring people is usually what leads to suicides.

[Colin Pope @ColinPope11]

A8 #tollgvms Melinda is depressed and lonely because she always thinks of things badly. She doesn't like school, her old friends, or even her new friend, Heather. The reader can see this because we see her thoughts, unlike Melinda's parents.

[Colin Pope @ColinPope11]

A7 #tollgvms In addition, Melinda hides in a closet and says, "This closet is abandoned-it has no purpose, no name." (Burrow 26). Melinda feels sad and lonely, so she hides in the closet that is the same as her. This is like the song, because Pink feels lonely at age 13, too.

[Colin Pope @ColinPope11]

A7 #tollgvms Conversations With My 13-Year-Old Self by Pink is a lot like Melinda's life. The song says, "Your angry, I know this, and the world couldn't care less". (verse 3-5) This relates to Melinda because she is depressed and in pain, but her friends don't acknowledge her.

[Colin Pope @ColinPope11]

@JacksonCFSUSD I agree with you. You could include that people might think she is lying and would make fun of her, making her feel ore insecure about herself. #tollgvms

[Colin Pope @ColinPope11]

@EdwinAFSUSD I agree with you. Melinda probably thought she was weak. You could also include that people might make fun of her if she ever told anyone, especially her friends.

[Colin Pope @ColinPope11]

A4 #tollgvms Melinda probably thought to stay silent because she felt insecure and unhappy with herself. She probably felt that she was weak and if she spoke up, people would make fun of her. If she told, the experience would keep being relived, each time hurting Melinda more.

[Colin Pope @ColinPope11]

A5 #tollgvms After Melinda had called the cops at the summer party, her friends probably didn't trust her anymore. They probably thought she was an annoying snitch that told on her friends just to get her in trouble. After this, they probably stopped talking.

[Colin Pope @ColinPope11]

@XabierE1 I agree with what you said about what self harm is for. You should give examples about why Melinda uses self harm, like when her friend makes fun of her on the bus.

[Colin Pope @ColinPope11]

@gfelicisimo23 I agree with what you said about why Melinda uses self harm. You may want to show examples of why Melinda used self harm, like when her old friend was making fun of her on the school bus home.

[Colin Pope @ColinPope11]

A4 #tollgvms In the novel, Melinda tries to harm herself by making her lip blead. She does this to stop herself from talking to her former friend, who was making fun of her. Self harm can be used to stop yourself from doing things that may end up bad or forgetting about events.