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Post by Deanna McCullough on Aug 12, 2014 17:55:19 GMT
In the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, a young girl named Melinda is portrayed as the protagonist. As a new ninth grader, she is facing a stressful time in her life. Not only does she lose all of her previous friends, she also has to live with a dark past that she won't speak of to anyone, not ever her parents. She was raped by a boy, Andy, who she refers to as IT, that she now must face in school everyday. She is in search of her "American Dream." Her American Dream is to have a perfect life and to fit in, as she describes her self on the first day of school with the words, "I am outcast." She explains the clans in the auditorium and how every person files in one place with the clan they belong to. While she is observing everyone around her she thinks to herself, "I am clanless." She sits alone at lunch and talks to only one girl. She ends up being embarrassed multiple times throughout the first day. Not only does she not fit in at school, her family also ignores her presence half of the time. After being raped by Andy, Melinda seemed to lose her voice. Her parents don't communicate with her much because they seem to have marriage issues and are always fighting. Melinda, talking about her mom, thinks, "she has figured that I don't say too much." She knows that this makes her mom mad but her mom doesn't push her to talk. Melinda opens up to her art teacher, Mr. Freeman, slightly but won't say much to anybody else, not even the school counselor. Every time she tries to talk to people at school they respond with hatred. Melinda doesn't end up achieving her American Dream. She does, however, do things to better get along with her family. She also gets revenge when Andy gets caught trying to attack her again. Even if she didn't get her American Dream, she is learning to be happy with the life she has. |
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Post by cjhashem on Aug 12, 2014 18:32:49 GMT
In the Novel "Where The Heart Is" by Billie Letts the protagonist is Novalee Nation. As a child Novalee was passed around from foster home to foster home when her mother left her for a man. She never truly had a place of her own. Her dream was to have a real home with a real family, to be happy. At the age of 17 Novalee discovered she was pregnant and she and her boyfriend hit the road and headed for California. While on their way Novalee daydreams and fantasizes about their future together. She tells her boyfriend Willy Jack that she hopes to "get a two story house with a balcony that overlooks the ocean". At this point Willy Jack was over hearing about her "hopes for the future" and pulls over to let Novalee go into a Walmart to use the restroom and grab some shoes. But while in the store Willy Jack laves Novalee alone and heads out on his own to California. Once Novalee realizes Willy Jack has left her she is very unsure of what to do. She meets some very interesting people that day one a photographer named Mr Whitecotton that gives her a baby book of names and tells her that when her child is born to give it a "Strong name that will get it through difficult times". She also meets Sister Husband an older woman thinking she is someone named Ruth Anne and gives her a basket of things for herself and the child and tells her to drop by once the child is born. Novalee is confused but is greatfull for the gifts but once night falls she decides to hide in the Walmart until everyone is gone and sleep there. This was hardly her American dream home she was hoping for but it was all she had. She tried it and it worked so Novalee called Walmart her home for the beginning part of the book.
Later in the story Novalee's baby Americus Nation is born on the floor of the walmart store, with only the help of Novalee's new found friend Forney, Novalle makes it through the birth and so does her child. After living in the hospital for a few days Novalee and Americus are taken in by Sister Husband who becomes the Mother figure in Novalee's life that she has always dreamed of. By the end of the book Novalee does achieve her American dream, after Sister husband is tragically killed in a tornado Novalee finds out she was gifted Sister Husbands land, and with the help of her friends and now family she builds the house of her dreams. A place where Americus can grow and flourish and Novalee can be truly happy with her own American dream.
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Post by Sarah Files on Aug 12, 2014 23:24:34 GMT
In the novel, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda Sordino is the protagonist. Her American dream is to have a normal life again and pretend nothing had ever happened. Melinda was drunk and sexually assaulted by Andy Evans at a party where she called the cops. She lives her freshman year in silence only talking to her new friend Heather and Mr. Freeman her cool art teacher. She doesn't speak to her parents who don't pay any attention to her only when she gets in trouble for her grades and for skipping school. She has to see Andy Evans around school, and he keeps provoking her whenever he's near her by touching her shoulder or playing with her hair. Melinda is invisible; all of her old best friends hate her for calling the cops at the party.
During the school year Melinda starts to open up and try and work hard in school. She starts to change her life by being more involved like raking up the leaves in her front yard, and trying to redecorate her room. In the end Melinda finally gets enough courage to talk to Rachel (her ex-best friend) who was going to prom with Andy. She talks to her and tells her about the rape. At prom Rachel confronts Andy about the rape and ends up leaving him in the middle of prom. Eventually word gets around and while Melinda was taking down her things at the end of the year in her closet, Andy attacks her. He tries to rape her again and this time Melinda was able to fight back by screaming “NOOOOO!!!” and hitting him. I think Melinda changed her American dream because instead of blending in with everyone else and hiding what happened to her. She realizes that telling people was not as bad as she thought. And that telling people would help her understand that what happened to her wasn’t her fault. She may have lost a lot of things but she finally got over her fears.
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Post by oliviag on Aug 13, 2014 3:25:48 GMT
The protagonist in the novel, "Where The Heart Is" by Billie Letts, is Novalee Nation. Novalee's dream was to own a house for herself and her family. Novalee and and her boyfriend at the time, Willy Jack, were headed to California from Tennessee. Novalee kept on informing Willy Jack of the things she wanted for her future dream house. "I hope we can get a two-story house with a balcony that overlooks the ocean." Willy Jack is annoyed and couldn't care less about the things that Novalee wants and abandons her in a Walmart. Novalee has no other choice but to live in the Walmart unnoticed by workers and customers. She meets a elder woman named Sister Husband whom has mistaken her for someone named Ruth Anne. Sister Husband gives Novalee a basket full of items to help with the child. After living in a Walmart for roughly two months, she gives birth to her newborn baby girl on the floor. Novalee and her newborn, Americus, end up moving in with Sister Husband.
Novalee ends up achieving her dream in that she has a 'real house' and a 'real family'. When she was younger she moved from foster home to foster home when she was abandoned by her mother at the age of seven. She wanted the best for her child so that's why she dreamed of having a real home and a real family. Novalee was able to build her dream house because Sister Husband left her money in her will. Sister Husband passed away when a tornado came through town. She told Novalee in the beginning of the book that "Home is where your history begins. Home is the place that'll catch you when you fall. And we all fall." Novalee now has amazing friends that she considers to be family and she couldn't be happier.
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Post by Branden Suthard on Aug 13, 2014 15:54:24 GMT
In the book "Where the heart is" By Billie Letts, Novalee Nations idea of the American Dream is to be able to have a good job and work and to be able to support her family and spend time with them and be able to sit out on yellow porches and drink chocolate milk with Willie Jack and "the baby" who turns out to be named Americus Nation. Willie Jack leaves Novalee in Walmart, this haukts Novalees American dream. she never says it but I do believe that Novalee's idea of the American Dream changes, i believe that its only chaneg is that it no longer includes Willie Jack Pickens. In the end I do believe that Novalee Achieved her idea of the American Dream!
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Post by Jillian Heuman on Aug 13, 2014 19:52:08 GMT
In the beginning of the novel "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson a girl named Melinda starts high school. Melinda dreams for a perfect life, a perfect life at school, a perfect life at home, perfect grades, perfect everything. Melinda goes to a party and is sexually assaulted which leaves her scarred,scared and she feels as though nobody in her life cares for her. She goes through her ninth grade year feeling lonely. She find solace in her art class where she is assigned an art project about a tree. The tree has a very symbolic meaning about her growth throughout her ninth grade year.
Melinda is aggravated in her project because she cannot draw the perfect tree. Mr. Freeman her art teacher tells her "perfect tree's don't exist" and that "flaws are interesting" This causes Melinda to realize that nothing is perfect, and its unrealistic for her to strive to be it. Her American dream doesn't come true but from it she learns an important lesson. She will never be perfect, her family may never be perfect, her grades may never be perfect, and her tree will definitely never be perfect. But she is able to accept this fact and "be the tree" with its imperfections and all.
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Post by carianneboehme on Aug 14, 2014 1:01:56 GMT
In the novel, Where the Heart Is, by Billie Letts, the protagonist Novalee, has an American dream. The 17 year old’s American dream is to go to California with her boyfriend, Willy Jack Pickens, and start a family. Willy Jack would become a famous musician and they would have a nice happy family. Novalee does not achieve her American dream of the “perfect family” and a house including bedrooms like the pictures out of magazines. On the trip, she told Willy Jack, “”I hope we can get a two-story house with a balcony that overlooks the ocean.” She had lived in seven house trailers but never in a real house. Her family life was not ideal. All she wants is a nice house to live in and a family. Everything changes when she and her boyfriend are on a road trip to California. Novalee has to stop to use the bathroom again because of her pregnancy. In addition, she must buy new house shoes because her old shoes fell through the hole in the floor of the Plymouth. They stop at a Wal-Mart in Sequoyah, Oklahoma. As Novalee is checking out at the register, her change comes out to $7.77. Novalee has a real problem with 7’s. She has ever since she was a little girl. She realizes something isn’t right. She runs out to the parking lot to find her boyfriend has left and is never coming back. All he left her was her magazines and her “family pictures in gold frames”. She now has to survive and take care of her soon to be born baby.
This is the part of the novel when Novalee’s American dream starts to change. She is forced to live in the Wal-Mart because she was broke and didn’t know anyone. She kept a tab of all the food and supplies she used from the store and is set on paying it all back. Novalee realizes her life will never be the same. Over the course of the novel, she meets many kind people that help her through the process. She also has her baby in the Wal-Mart, who was delivered by the librarian, Forney. Sister Husband takes her in and is like a mother to her. She is offered a job at the Wal-Mart. Her new American dream is to protect and support her baby girl, Americus. But her dream is changed again when Sister Husband dies in a tornado and leaves money and the trailer/property to Novalee. She now has the means to support her baby and a nice place to live. She invites her best friend, Lexi and her children to live with them. Novalee and Forney fall in love. She realizes this outcome of her life is better than anything else that could have happened to her. In the end, Novalee Nation does achieve her initial dream of having a real home and family where she is finally truly happy.
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Post by Dillonwrigley on Aug 14, 2014 3:48:20 GMT
The novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is written from the perspective of the main protagonist Melinda. At a party before Melinda's freshman year, she was sexually assaulted by Andy. She called 911 which resulted in the party being broken up, but left Melinda as a social outcast who believed she didn't fit in with any of the "clans" at school. Nobody knew about the incident at the party, so most of the students had extreme hatred towards her. This event resulted in her American Dream being to live a normal life with good friends and family, and to be able to speak up. Throughout the school year she struggles to acquire friends, and the few that she does have end up abandoning her to fit in with other more popular people. Adding on to the problems that she faces, her parents fight with each other and herself, leaving her nobody to talk to. During school, her favorite class is Art which is taught by Mr. Freeman. An assignment to draw a tree starts off as a struggle and a nuisance to Melinda, but it ends up changing her entire view of her American Dream when Mr. Freeman tells her that flaws are interesting and that nothing is perfect. She realizes that her family isn't great, but she can make it better by decorating the front yard and her room. Melinda fails to completely achieve her American Dream, but she finally understands that she has to make the best out of her life as a perfect life is unachievable.
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Post by jaredg on Aug 14, 2014 14:44:51 GMT
In the beginning of the novel We Were Here by Mat De La Pena, the protagonist, Miguel, Doesn’t really know what he wants. However, as he is serving time in a group home, another delinquent, Mong, offers him a way to escape. They start heading to Mexico along with Miguel’s roommate, Rondell, after getting out and stealing money from the warden, Jaden. Miguel conspires to start a new life away from his family and his crime. Halfway there Miguel Loses a friend when Mong decides to commit suicide in the ocean. Miguel and Rondell still keep heading south until they reach the border. Then Miguel’s dream shifts as he thinks about all the things he hasn’t accomplished and tells Rondell, “I can’t go to Mexico.”
After the long journey to Mexico Miguel decides to do penance for all the crimes he has committed. He conspires to payback all the money he stole and to get his family to like him again. To get the money back he descends upon a grueling tasks working for his grandparents. In time Miguel finds that the only way to atone for his crime his to go back to the group home and finish serving his time. In the end, he achieves his dream to amend his crime of man slaughtering his brother. Miguel and his friend arrived back at the group home and Jaden says, “I got two kids who are ready to make good on their time.”
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Post by iangray on Aug 14, 2014 17:41:20 GMT
In the book "We here here" the protagonist, Miguel Castenada, has an American dream of living a free life. He is put in a group home and in that group home, he meets a kid named Mong. Mong wants to be free too, so he devises a plan to break out and go to Mexico. In the group home, Miguel reads books to feel free, saying, “But when you read books you almost feel like you're out there in the world. Like you're going on this adventure right with the main character." One night, Miguel, his friend Rondell, and Mong break out, on their way out, they also steal $750 from the group home. They eventually make it to Mexico, but Mong had killed himself along the way. Miguel realizes standing at the border that what he did was wrong, so he can't cross the border until he makes it right. So him and Rondell go to work for Miguel's uncle to raise back the cash they stole from the group home. At this point Miguel's American Dream is to forget and be forgiven by loved ones. This point is the first time he actually says what he has done, he had killed his brother, and he just wants to forget it and be forgiven for it.His grandma telling him, " It's gonna be ok mijo. I pray about you... It was an accident." After they raise back the money, Miguel realizes that the right thing to do is to go back to the group home and do his time, and Rondell follows. At the end of the book, his dream returns to living a free American life. “People always think there's this huge hundred-foot-high barrier that separates doing good from doing bad. But there's not. There's nothing. There's not even a little anthill. You just take one baby step in any direction and you're already there. You've done something awful. And your life is changed forever."
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Post by Erin Stein on Aug 14, 2014 21:29:43 GMT
In Matt De La Peña’s novel “We Were Here”, the protagonist was Michael Casteñada. His American Dream was for his life to return to the way it was, before he was responsible for the accidental death of his brother, Diego. Miguel was sentenced to juvenile detention and was sent to a group home soon after. In the beginning of the novel, it was near impossible for Miguel to even think about what he’d done. He was antisocial with everyone in the group home, got into physical confrontations with the other teenagers, and was more comfortable on his own, barely taking and letting everyone else think he was a “bike thief” instead of being guilty for what he’d actually done. However, after breaking out of the group home with Rondell, Mong, and $750 dollars from the office, Miguel set off across the country to Mexico. This changed Miguel’s American Dream. He experienced what it was like to truly have nothing, to work harder than he ever had just for food, and to open up to Rondell, helping him come to terms with his past.
Miguel’s new American Dream was to repay the world for everything he’d done. He realized there was nothing he could do to change the fate of his brother, but he still had the chance for a healthy future. This dream was realized at the end of the novel, when Miguel made the decision to return to the group home instead of escaping to Mexico. He also paid the group home back the money they had left with, realizing there’s nothing “that separates doing good from doing bad.” “You just take one baby step in any direction and you’re already there.”
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Post by Alexa Levesque on Aug 14, 2014 22:28:07 GMT
The protagonist, Melinda, in the book Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, has a dream. Melinda's dream is to be able to speak up and have a normal life with her family and friends. From the start of the book "Speak", Melinda goes to school as a ninth grader with no friends and barely any support from her family at home. This lowers Melinda's self-esteem and brings many negative thoughts to her mind. She describes herself by saying,"I am an outcast". Melinda's dream to speak up and have a normal life all started out from an incident that occurred at a party. She was sexually assaulted and has been to afraid to speak up to let everyone know the truth. Reaching the end of the book, Melinda eventually reaches her American dream and speaks up to let everyone know the truth of what happened at the party and why she called the cops that night. The very last line in the book is, "Let me tell you about it". This shows that Melinda achieved her dream and no matter what the subject is, she can speak up and have a normal life again.
The cost Melinda had of achieving her dream was chasing everyone she knows away with the truth and loosing her family. Her reputation was already with bad because of calling the cops and it could have got worse with the truth. However, none of this happened when she achieved her dream. She gained all of her past friends and now has a better relationship with her family. The final pages of the book, it describes Melinda finishing her tree and trying to get it right. "not perfectly symmetrical. The bark is rough." is how Melinda is describing her tree. This shows how her life isn't perfect but now she knows that and that brings ease to her. I believe her dream never changed throughout the novel because she wanted so badly to speak out and tell everyone the truth.
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Post by Emily Carter on Aug 15, 2014 4:36:30 GMT
In the book "Speak" by Laurie Halse Andersin, the protagonist is Melinda Sordino. She is a 9th grader at MerryWeather High School. Melinda's American Dream is to be able to speak up for herself and have a normal life. She wants to be popular and have a ton of friends. But this can't happen for her since everyone, including her best friend, hate her. No one likes Melinda because at her very first high school party, she called the cops. Melinda called the cops because at the party she was sexually assaulted. However, she doesn't tell anyone about this.
Melinda just wants to fit in and have a normal life. She tries not to call any attention to herself. But towards the end of the book she realizes that she can't run away from what happened the night of the party. She finds out that "IT" (who she was assaulted by) is Andy Evans. Melinda then also finds out that Rachael, her best friend, is falling in love with Andy. Even though she is scared that Rachael won't believe that Andy did this to her, she confesses to Rachael what happened that night. Thankfully, Rachael believes her and they become friends again. Throughout the novel Melinda really changes as a person. She learns that standing up for herself is not a bad thing and will truly help her become a better person. All she had to do achieve her American Dream was to broaden her horizons and tell the truth about what happened the night of the party.
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Post by melodies01 on Aug 15, 2014 14:44:41 GMT
For the novel you chose, answer the following prompt in at least two well developed paragraphs: Identify the protagonist’s American Dream. Does the protagonist achieve that dream or not? At what cost? Does the dream change throughout the novel? Cite specific examples from the text to support your answers. In the novel, "Where the Heart is" By Billie Letts, the protagonist, Novalee Nation surpasses numerous difficulties presented to her in order to acheive her idea of the American Dream. The novel starts off with Novalee, a seventeen year old girl who is seven months pregnant, who is left at a Walmart in the middle of nowhere by her boyfriend Willy Jack. Novalee has always been superstitious with the number seven and she struggles with the situation. Throughout the novel Novalee meets some people that help shape her life. Novalee's American Dream is to have a family to love, a steady job, and a place to call home. Novalee achieves her dream but through tough times and the assistance of some incredible people. Novalee tended to feel the need to find Willy Jack, but soon realizes that Willy Jack isn't an ideal role model for her or her baby. With that, Novalee tries to think of people that can help, but realizes that she has no one to call. "Home is the place that'll catch you when you fall. And we all fall." This quote stuck with Novalee as she grew close to Thelma Husband, whom had mistaken Novalee for an old friend of hers. Novalee meets a number of influential people including Moses Whitecotton, Jack Sprock, Bennie Goodluck, and Forney Hull. As the novel starts to progress, Novalee draws nearer towards her due date and soon gives birth, with the assistance of Forney, inside the Walmart to the lovely Americus. Before Americus was born, Novalee struggled with the idea of a perfect name. Moses Whitecotton had told Novalee that a name is significant, "something that is gonna withstand a lot of bad times." The media got involved with the birth of Americus and she was often referred to as "The Walmart Baby." Novalee is offered a job working at Walmart. Along the way, Novalee meets another remarkable person, Lexie Coop. Later on, Americas and Novalee move into Sister Husbands home. Throughout the novel a few more difficulties occur including Americus being kidnapped, Novalee's mother stealing money, and a tornado that kills Sister Husband. At the end of the novel, Novalee achieves her dream of a family, a stable job, and a home. |
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Post by Jacob Sheridan on Aug 15, 2014 16:09:34 GMT
Throughout the book We Were Here Miguel, the protagonist', AMerican Dream changes.At first he wants to be free from custody. But then he wants to be free from his past and the crimes he committed. S he goes through his journey however you see he is also trying to find himself in a new life so different and strange compared to his old one. Everything is wrong for him in this new life. He no longer has a brother or anyone he considers family of any kind. In the end though I would say he achieves all of his dreams at the cost of time, safety, and someone he considered a good friend for a very short time.
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