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Campbell, Allie

Page history last edited by Allie Campbell 8 years, 9 months ago

 

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Allie Campbell

 

Major: Business management

What I hope to do with this class: to have a better understanding of American Literature 

 

         



Personal Online Presentation Material

 

Group Number: 2

Term: Villain 

 


Final Paper Material

Allie Speak Presentation

 


Class Work

2/10/2016

 

1. The main point of this article was to explain how we as a societies attention span has changed from a rather long to extremely short. As stated in the article we as society respond better to things such as tweets which can only be only so many characters which gets to the point quickly rather than a long drawn out article. I agree with this article because I know I much rather read something short and to the point with just as much meaning then something that beats around the bush and does not get to the point till the very end.

2.This article relates  to the stories in sudden fiction because it takes the concept of story stories and puts into perspective, what I mean by this is in the article it talks about how with these short stories it put the whole story start to finish in the length of about one page or less and that exactly what sudden fiction did. With these stories you get the whole story still with great detail and still manages to get its point across. 

3.In the Cannibals the author is trying show the change from people who aren't civilized who have their faces painted eating organs and once they are captured they are made to fit in with the culture of the Europeans. I think the author is showing that the Europeans are taking over the forcing their customs on the native people this same thing happened when Europeans came to America they forced the Native American into their customs by forcing them to tell time and go to school. I think by putting this story into a micro story she is forcing the reader to come to their own conclusion to what actually happening and also forcing the reader to us their past knowledge of history to form a conclusion.

4. In the story the narrator tells of how he is transporting drugs across the boarder with his "friends" for his boss how the narrator wants revenge on and in the end of the story the narrator is betrayed by his friends and his boss and is stabbed in the back left for dead. This is related to the situation between the Native Americans and the Europeans because the Native Americans took the Europeans under their wing when they arrived and taught them how to farm and live off the land and in return the Europeans staged them in the back and took their land and forced them onto reservations and forced their European culture on the Native Americans. 

5. In the past people were able to let lose go to the bar drink and have a good time that was common in cultures, in modern society people aren't as likely to go out to the bar drinking they are worried that it will change peoples perception of them and make them look as if they do not take life as seriously as they should.


Artifact for Speak 

https://www.loc.gov/item/2012641319/

"Do you think they should have found that woman guilty of being raped?"

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American Hero- An American Hero is someone who faces adversity and challenges that he or she overcomes and in return they become stronger because of it. 

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Close Reading 

" It is getting harder to talk. My throat is always sore, my lips raw. When I wake up in the morning, my jaws are clenched so tight I have a headache. Sometimes my mouth relaxes around Heather, if we're alone. Every time I try to talk to my parents or a teacher, I sputter or freeze. What is wrong with me? It's like I have some kind of spastic laryngitis. I know my head isn't screwed on straight. I want to leave, transfer, wrap myself to another galaxy. I want to confess everything, hand over the guilt and , mistake and anger to someone else. There is a beast in my gut. I can hear it scraping away at the inside of my ribs. Even if I dump the memory, it will stay with me, staining me. My closest is a good thing, a quite place that helps me hold these thoughts inside my head where no one can hear them." 

 

What I got from this was how rape takes such a huge toll on your life. Rape does not only effect you mentally but also physically. Melissa wants to tell the world what happened to her but she is so scared to tell everyone but  she has no one who will listen to her. Melissa feels like she has the weight of the world on her shoulders. This is detraining her physical wellbeing and her mental wellbeing. I think the author put this quote in here to show us what a person who has been raped is going thru.  

 

Great start. When you revise this close reading for the paper, consider ways to open the paragraph with a topic sentence that identifies your main point. For example:

 

Melissa describes the mental anguish of rape with strong, physical metaphors. Her language shows the reader the way the physical and mental sides of this violence collide within the mind of the victim.

 

Then you might identify specific metaphors or images that Melissa uses, like the monster stabbing her from the inside out. Is that monster an internalization of the act of rape with it's (multiple) penetrations? Does internalizing the monster suggest that Melissa has internalized the blame for this act rather than recognizing the guilt of her attacker?  

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Connection to my Artifact- 

My artifact connects to my book because my artifact show two men sitting in a bar and they say, "Do you think they should have found that woman guilty of being raped?" In my book everyone is so mad as Melissa for calling the cops on a party over the summer and they all take their hatred out on her. The reason why she called the cops is because she got raped and she wanted to tell the cops but she was scared of what others might say and also she was scared that everyone would blame her for being raped and found guilty for being raped.

 

Excellent connection! 

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Secondary Sources 

 

Petrak, Jenny, and Barbara Hedge. The Trauma Of Sexual Assault : Treatment, Prevention, And Practice. Chichester, West Sussex, England: Wiley, 2002. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 

 

Cuklanz, Lisa M. Rape on Prime Time: Television, Masculinity, and Sexual Violence. Philadelphia: U of Pennsylvania, 2000. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 

 

 Kittleson, Mark J., and Kathryn Hilgenkamp. The Truth about Rape. New York: Facts on File, 2005. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 

 

 Parrot, Andrea. Coping with Date Rape & Acquaintance Rape. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 1988.eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web

 

 Hall, Rob. Rape in America: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 1995. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost).web

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Name (paper): Allie Campbell

Name (reviewer 1): Matthew Mullins

Name (reviewer 2): Amanda Brown

American Literature I Final Paper Rubric

 

 

Satisfactory

Unsatisfactory

Comments

Organization

Strong thesis at the conclusion of the introduction to guide the paper.

Thesis connected and supported in all body paragraphs.

Thesis makes a strong argument about a single theme or idea using the primary text and artifact.

Discussion of the primary text and artifact is coherent and succinct.  

Thesis is vague or spread throughout the introduction and the paper.

Thesis is not clearly connected to all body paragraphs.

Thesis does not make a strong argument about the primary text and/or artifact.

Matthew's Review: The paper is starting off well, I just need to see more of a close reading and in depth references.

Close Reading

Analyzes the theme of the American hero in or through a primary text and artifact. 

Close reading brings the primary text and artifact together in meaningful ways.

Places close reading in conversation with secondary sources.

Summarizes and paraphrases evidence from the primary text to support the close reading (only using direct quotes when it is necessary to analyze the language).

Does not clearly analyze a theme from American Literature in or through a primary text and/or artifact.

Close reading does not relate the primary text and artifact in meaningful ways (although it may discuss both separately).

Does not situate close reading among secondary sources.

Primarily summarizes the text or quotes it (rather than analyzing it). 

Matthew's Review: I have read this book before. In your paper, I see things that are on the surface and nothing below that point. I would recommend adding in depth details (close reading) of what is going on in Melinda's life. Give the reader a history of rape in America, rape in the world and what is like from a middle school, high school and grown adults perspectives.

Support (Research)

Integrates support from secondary sources to support close reading.

Creates a clear conversation with secondary sources (without being overpowered by them).

Uses strong evidence from secondary sources. 

Summarizes and paraphrases evidence except when quotations are necessary.

Does not integrate support from secondary sources. 

Argument is either overpowered or disconnected from secondary sources.

Evidence from secondary sources is not clearly connected with the argument.

Uses unnecessary quotes from the secondary source. 

Matthew's Review: No support (yet.) :)

Pre-Writing

Completed all pre-writing activities on-time (including conferences and rough draft workshop)

Did not complete all pre-writing activities on-time.

 

Presentation

Addresses the main points of the paper in a succinct and engaging way.

Interactive and creative online presentation with text and visual elements (NOT a power point)

Does not address the main points of the paper.

Is not interactive or online.

Does not include text and/or visual elements.

 

 

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Rough Draft 

 

Speak is a novel that gives us a inside view of someone who has been raped and what they are thinking and going through. Melinda Sordino is a freshman at Merryweather high school in Central New York, she went to a party over the summer and while she was there the charter referred to as IT raped her Melinda ran out of the party and called the cops thus busting the party and getting many of the students that would be attending Melinda new high school in trouble for under aged drinking. Melinda will now go through thru hell in high school because everyone is mad at her for calling the cops but no one knows that she was raped. Melinda walks through the halls being hated and ridiculed by her classmate and she also has to see IT and IT will not leave her alone he keeps playing with her mind and her emotions. I think that if Melinda had a stronger family presence in her life then maybe she would not have been afraid to tell someone of her rape or she may have never been put in the situation where she was raped. 

 

 

Sound (voice and hearing) become symbolic of the physical (and psychological/emotional/sexual) trauma of rape in Speak.

 

Rape and Prime Time News.pdf  - Incorporate this by comparing/contrasting news representations and Speak's representation of rape (and their purpose/s).

 

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FINAL PAPER  

 

Speak

High school is a difficult time period for anyone, this is especially true for Melinda Sordino. Melinda enters Merryweather High School with all of her friends hating her and a reputation that she can not get rid of. Over the summer Melinda attended a party where a majority of her new found classmates where drinking. When Melinda arrived at the party a boy named Andy Evans shows an intreats in her, Andy proceeds to walk Melinda outside of the party and all at once Andy sweeps Melinda off of her feet to the ground and he proceeds to rape Melinda. When Melinda returns to party she finds a phone and she calls the police, when she is on the phone with the 911 dispatcher she can not get out the words to tell the operator that she had just been raped, a random teenager walks past Melinda and grabs the phone out of her hand and sees that Melinda has called the cops and they announces it to everyone in the party. When the teenagers are racing to leave the party before the cops come they walk past Melinda and say rude comments to her as well as hit her. Everyone knows who Melinda is when she enters the high school and they are all pissed off at her and want to make her freshman year hell. Melinda enters this world of hatred and she has no support what so ever, she has no friends and her parents pay little attention to Melinda until it comes to her school work and her failing grades. Melinda goes through the whole school year keeping the fact that she was raped bottled up inside of her and it tears her apart physically and mentally. Andy Evans also attends Merryweather High so she often sees him in the halls and in the lunch room. Andy often makes comments to Melinda reminding her of that night. Melinda participates in self harming rituals as well as attempts suicide. After her suicide attempt fails she starts to see that she needs to change her ways and not let everyone determine her happiness. Melinda finally gets the courage to speak up and when Andy attempts to rape her again in the closet at the school Melinda screams to the top of her lungs and she fights to Andy’s surprise. Melinda goes to her art teacher Mr. Freeman who she had became close to over the duration of the school year and she tells him about her rape and finally receives help. Throughout the novel Speak sound and voice exemplify and embodies the rape that Melinda suffered from. 

In this novel the author is constantly using the absence of speaking as well as the act of finally speaking up to represent the constaquestion Int battle that Melinda has with herself. One example of this is when Melinda has to go to the doctor and the doctor is examining Melinda’s eyes and Melinda says, “ The doctor stares into the back of my eyes with a bright light. Can she read my thoughts hidden there? If she can, what will she do? Call the cops? Send me to the nuthouse? Do I want her to? I just want to sleep. The whole point of not talking about it, of silencing the memory is to make it go away. It won’t. I’ll need brain surgery to cut it out of my head (Anderson, 82).” Melinda is so scared to tell anyone that she has been raped because she does not know if they will believe her, also she does not know what will happen to Andy if she tells on him. This passage is an exact representation of the authors attempt to symbolize the importance of Melinda not speaking. The author wants the reader to see the inner conflict that Melinda is constantly having with herself also it helps to build the charters dynamic and it helps to show the emotional process that Melinda is going through. Many men and women have emotional difficulties related to histories of sexual assault (Kittleson, 19). Melinda is really suffering from emotional difficulties as show in this passage because she thinks that she is so messed up that she need to go to a mental asylum or that the only solution to get over the hunting memory of being raped  is to have brain surgery and cut out the effect part of her brain. 

The most common reaction to sexual assault is fear. At the same time sexual assault itself, many victims experience intense fear- fear of being physically injured and even fear of being killed. For many victims, the fear response occurs again, after the rape, when one is confronted with sights, sounds, smells, and thoughts that remind them of the sexual assault (Petrak, 138-139). All through out this novel we constantly see Melinda having flash backs to the rape, different things trigger these flash backs such as the smell of Andy’s cologne or the smell of wet grass. This passage from the book shows us how the author understands what an actual rape victim goes through and also helps us relate to Melinda, “I can smell him over the noise of the metal shop and I drop my posters and the masking tape and I want to throw up and I can smell him and I run and he remembers and he knows. He whispers in my ear (Anderson, 86). The political cartoon presented displays todays prescription of the females role in regard to sexual assault. I think this cartoon also plays into the symbolism of sound because the two men are in a loud bar and they are talking about a woman getting raped and this is just small talk as if it is not important and has no meaning at all. This passage connect to this picture because the passage talks about the noise in the metal shop and how over all that noise the whisper that Andy said in Melinda’s ear was so loud, such as the small talk in the crowded bar some may hear rape as a whisper and others may here it as roaring scream. 

Rapists often appear as an average citizen and can be found in any community, at anytime (Hall, 73). Andy is a popular kid at school, all the girls find him attractive but no one knows he is a rapists. This passage talks about the lunch room and how girls at Melinda’s table were mesmerized by Andy and how they thought so much of him but we hear Melinda’s inner thoughts tell us otherwise. “ It feels like the Prince of Darkness has swept his cloak over the table. The lights dim. I shiver. Andy stands behind me to flirt with Emily. I lean into the table to stay as far away as I can. The table saws me in half. Emily’s mouth moves, the fluorescent light glittering on her teeth. The other girls move toward Emily to soak up her Attractiveness Rays. Andy must be talking too, I can feel the deep vibrations in my backbone, like a thudding speaker. I can not hear the words. He twirls my ponytail in his fingers. Emily’s eyes narrow. I mumble something idiotic and run for the bathroom (Anderson, 90).” This quote not only shows us that Andy is popular but it shows us how the author uses Andy’s voice to paralyze Melinda. When she hear his voice she can feel it in her back bone and it rings in her ears counseling out the sound of her own voice. When Melinda goes to say something her voice is so overpowered by Andy’s that her words come out as just a mumble. This is showing some progression in the character because she went from being completely silenced to being able to make a little sound and we start to see Melinda standing up for herself by removing herself from Andy’s possession. 

In many rapes and sexual assaults, the victim, or the perpetrator and sometimes both have been drinking (Kittleson, 31). A majority of rapes happen when alcohol is involved and you are in a party environment, this passage shows us what Melinda did after being raped, “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. All those visits from officer friendly second grade paid off. A lady answered the phone, “Police, state your emergency,” and I saw my face in the window over the kitchen sink and no words came out of my mouth. Who was that girl? I had never seen her before. Tears oozed down my face, over my bruised lips, pooling on the handset, “It’s ok,” said the nice lady on the phone.” This passage is the first time Melinda tells us as readers what actually happened. At this point in the book we are able to take everything a tie it all together. Also we see that after Melinda is raped she does not even see herself the same way anymore in fact she does not even recognize herself. This is also cuticle because we begin to understand why she does not talk, the absence of words in this passage is really what puts the rape into perspective. The rape truly left Melinda speechless. The 911 operator acts as the first person to show interest and support for Melinda and we will not see this again until Melinda becomes friends with her art teacher Mr. Freeman. 

The author not only uses the absence of sound to represent the rape, the absence of sound represents the unknown. Melinda has no idea what will happen if she tells someone she was raped. Will the believe her? This passage shows us the logic behind Melinda and she silence, “ Lawyers on TV always tell their clients not to say anything. The cops say the same thing: “Anything you say will be used against you.” Self-incrimination. I looked it up. Three-point vocal word. So why does everyone make such a big deal about me not talking? Maybe I don’t want to incriminate myself. Maybe I don’t like the sound of my voice. Maybe I don’t have anything to say (Anderson, 157). This shows us that Melinda has thought about telling people before now but she is scared of incriminating herself, she thinks that people will say that she wanted to have sex with Andy. She thinks it is better to keep her thoughts to herself because once she tells people she has been raped it will no longer be effecting her life but everyone around her such as her parents, her old friends, and Andy. Melinda does not like to tip the scales of life. She is very timid and shy, coming out and telling everyone she was raped would bring a lot of unwanted attention to herself. Also what if people say that she is making this all up, would she continue to pursue getting Andy in trouble? The idea that rape claims are more likely to be fabricated than claims of other crimes has been perpetuated in legal and popular cultures for hundreds of years (Cuklanz, 43). This is another reason why Melinda is not as willing to speak up. Rape victims have a hard time being heard because society and the media blow them off. 

The element of surprise, further enhancing the victims vulnerability, is often emphasized in quincy the unsuspecting victim is attacked by a masked intruder or someone they know and they throw them down and stifles her screams (Cuklanz, 33). This is exactly what happens to Melinda and the end of the book, Andy is pissed of because Melinda told Rachel to be careful around Andy because he raped her and Rachel told Andy what Melinda said and Andy attacks Melinda.  Andy says, “You have a big mouth, you know it? Rachel blew me off at the prom, giving me some bullshit story about how I raped you. You know thats a lie. I never raped anybody. I don't have to. You wanted it just as bad as I did. But your feelings got hurt, so you started spreading lies, and now every girl in the school is talking about me like I am some type of pervert. You’ve been spreading that billshit story for weeks. What’s wrong, ugly, you jealous? Can’t get a date (Anderson, 193)?” “The words fall like nails on the floor, hard, pointed. I try to walk around him. He blocks my way. “Oh no you’re not going anywhere. You really screwed things up for me.” He reaches behind him and locks the door. Click (Anderson, 193).” Andy truly uses the element of surprise to attack Melinda he also defiles her and makes her feel less of a person by calling her ugly and saying that she cant find a boyfriend. Through out this whole dialect Melinda says nothing, she is in shock, she is paralyzed with fear. Andy says that he never raped her but he is about to do it again. The absence of sound is key here because it shows Melinda’s venerability. Melinda is the victim she has been all along, Andy tries to make it seem like he is the victim but Melinda’s silence proves other wise. In most states, rape is sexual intercourse against a woman's will and without her consent. In other states, other sexual encounters also constitute rape. In some states, any forced sexual encounter with either a man or a woman is considered rape. Even if you did go to his house or you were drunk, if you did not give consent and or if you said no but sexual intercourse occurred it was rape (Parrot, 87). When Andy is saying he did not rape Melinda it is not sure he forced himself on Melinda, he asked Melinda if she wanted to have sex the first time and she never answered him this time he is forcing himself on to her and he is becoming more aggressive. The author progresses Andy’s character by the things he says and how he says them. At the beginning of the book Andy was ported as a cool character who used smooth line to talk to Melinda, towards the middle of the book Andy is still very flirty with his tone but he is seen as more of a womanizer. At the end of the book we see Andy’s true colors, he offends Melinda calling her ugly he yells at her, he becomes a demon. 

I think the most vivid representation of the symbolism through sound is in the following quote, “ Andy says , “ You’re not going to scream. You didn’t scream before. You liked it. You’re jealous that I took out your friend and not you. I think I know what you want.” His mouth is on my face. I twisted my head. His lips are wet, his teeth knock against my cheekbone. I pull my arms again and he slams his body against mine. I have no legs. My heart wobbles. His teeth are on my neck. The only sound I can make is a whimper. He fumbles to hold both my wrist in one hand. He wants a free hand. I remember I remember. Metal hands, hot knife hands.  No. A sound explodes from me. NNNOOO!!! I follow the sound, pushing off the walls, pushing Andy Evans off-balance, stumbling into the broken sink. He curses and turns, his fist coming. An explosion in my head and blood in my mouth. He hit me. I scream, scream. Why aren’t the walls falling? I’m screaming loud enough to make the whole school crumble.” This shows that Melinda is finally using her voice she no longer wants to be the victim. She is fighting back and she is going to be heard. Melinda is no longer scared of Andy or what anyone else thinks. When she screams she is letting out the cry to regain her life. She no longer wants to live in fear every time she walks the halls or is in the lunch room. Melinda want to regain the voice that she forgot she had. Melinda is not just regaining her voice for herself but for her family. 

In conclusion Speak uses voice or lack there of to symbolize the rape and depression after the rape. The author builds the character and the dynamic of the character by the way they talk and what they say or in Melinda’s case what she did not say. Melinda’s character uses the lack of speaking to show the inner conflict that she has with herself and also that shows us that our inner demons may take over our life but if we have the courage to speak out then we can prosper. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bibliography

 

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1999.Print.

 

Cuklanz, Lisa M. Rape on Prime Time: Television, Masculinity, and Sexual Violence. Philadelphia: U of Pennsylvania, 2000. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web.

 

Kittleson, Mark J., and Kathryn Hilgenkamp. The Truth about Rape. New York: Facts on File, 2005.eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web.

 

 

Parrot, Andrea. Coping with Date Rape & Acquaintance Rape. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 1988.eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web.

 

 

Petrak, Jenny, and Barbara Hedge. The Trauma of Sexual Assault: Treatment, Prevention and Practice. Chichester, England: Wiley, 2002. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web.

 

 

Comments (10)

Abigail Heiniger said

at 9:18 pm on Jan 23, 2016

Great job setting up your roster page! Welcome to the class!

cwcash@... said

at 3:41 pm on Feb 10, 2016

I agree with your answer to number one. This society attention span is very short, because I know from experience. lol

Matthew Mullins said

at 3:49 pm on Feb 10, 2016

I agree as well with your answer to the first discussion question, just like I said in my response for the first question, we would rather watch a six second Vine than a "long" YouTube video.

Abigail Heiniger said

at 5:58 pm on Feb 10, 2016

GREAT DISCUSSION!

Courtney Kendrick said

at 7:49 pm on Feb 11, 2016

i liked your view on past life vs modern life.

Kowante Cobbs said

at 1:54 am on Feb 12, 2016

i like your answer to number five.

Abigail Heiniger said

at 8:40 pm on Feb 27, 2016

I don't see your questions/responses for the guest lecture here. Let me know if I missed them. I don't see your artifact here. Happy to talk during office hours if you are having any trouble finding one.

Abigail Heiniger said

at 9:42 pm on Mar 20, 2016

I don't see your close reading here for the final paper.

Abigail Heiniger said

at 9:05 pm on Mar 31, 2016

I don’t see your secondary sources here.

Megan Norton said

at 3:15 pm on Apr 23, 2016

That is a good summary of the novel you are writing about, but it says "through thru hell" in the third sentence.

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