Welcome FHS students! Please check your FHS gmail! We'll use this blog to talk about our summer readings. Sign into Google with your Fairview Schools login. Speak, Never Fall Down, and The Age of Miracles discussion questions are all on this page. Scroll down to find each novel's questions. Then, click on Comment link following the questions you wish to answer. Click on the page links on the left to access additional information.
Discussion Questions for All Novels
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Speak: 4: Nicknames
4. Nicknames: Melinda nicknames many of the other characters
throughout the novel. Discuss the significance of this habit and how it
contributes to the development of the story and your experience as a reader.
Nicknames in this story are used as a method to better explain Melinda and the other characters to us readers. In Melinda’s process of social development, she uses nicknames for most of the people she encounters daily to, what I believe, organize them. Much significance is put into a nickname when they’re given, mostly because they usually mean something to the person who gave it. This is evident throughout the story as we read Melinda’s recurring thoughts about multiple people that she has some sort of relationship or acquaintance with. The biggest exemplification of the significance a nickname holds is Melinda’s “IT” when referring to Andy Evans. From my first time reading that word, I assumed this person had to have impacted Melinda in a very strong way. The first thing to take notice of is the capital letters being used. This makes it seem as though the person being referred to is distinguished among all of the other characters Melinda knows. Using the word “it” is the second thing I noticed. “It”, when referring to a person, seems as though the speaker is trying to deface the other, or take away the other’s identity. By using this term, it is as though Melinda finds that this person is everything but an actual person, and that there is a strong, negative relationship between the two. Later within the story, you do in fact find that Andy Evans and Melinda have a very negative relationship due to Andy’s unwanted advance towards Melinda during the summer of her 8th grade year. This verifies that the given nickname “IT”, symbolizes that Andy has a beastly, or aggressive, personality to Melinda. The reasoning for Melinda’s naming of Andy as “IT” is clear because of this information. From finding the connection between Andy’s nickname and Melinda’s negative opinion towards him, we can see that Melinda’s nicknaming of other characters throughout the story is a way of her categorizing people in a way that allows her to recognize friend from foe.
Melinda's nicknames for many of the characters throughout the novel are all based on the way she views the characters that bear these names. Along with the fairly obvious purpose of the names themselves, the significance of Melinda's habit, I believe, is that in her own world, she pinpoints these people as people to remember, whether it is for a bad reason, such as “people to stay away from”(Andy Evans-IT/ the Beast) as Melinda wrote on the bathroom stall on page 175, or just for a way to remember these characters based on how she views them and how they affect her life. Another example of a nickname Melinda gives one of the characters is “Principal Principal.” Although this may not seem like much of a nickname, I interpreted this title as how Melinda views people in her life that are members of authority. I believe she refers to the principal as “Principal Principal” because the only times she is ever in contact with him is when he is scolding her for events that have occurred at school, a very common duty for a principal. Melinda has no personal connections with the principal, nor any other adult besides Mr. Freeman, so she views him only as the head of the school with no other meaning to her, thus calling him “Principal Principal.” These nicknames contribute to the development of the story because, staying with the principal example, if Melinda only views people of authority, such as the principal and “Hairwoman,” as adults that are simply there, the reader tends to envision them as Melinda does. Also, the nicknames “IT” and “the Beast” send an immediate red flag to the reader which is what Melinda is trying to do. She wants the reader to be as appalled by and afraid of Andy Evans as she is. By giving Andy the nicknames that she does, Melinda achieves the goal of portraying to the reader how awful he really is. Melinda’s use of nicknames throughout the novel allows the reader to see the characters the same way Melinda sees them.
The way Melinda nicknames characters puts you into the story. With nicknames like “Mr. Neck” and “Hairwoman” describe the character in a way that is somewhat comical. As soon as I started reading this book and looking at the “names” of the characters I had to giggle a little bit, it really made the book fun. The nicknames also helped put a picture in our minds; “Mr. Neck” for example, created a picture of a comic character that has a very thick neck, and veins protruding out of it. One character that didn’t have a nickname was Mr. Freeman. I think that the Author foreshadowed that Mr. Freeman was going to help Melinda find her way throughout the book. She didn’t feel the need to give him a nickname because he somehow made Melinda feel comfortable around him. Melinda would also nickname people that she didn’t exactly like and people that impacted her. “IT” was the nickname that she gave Andy Evans. I was very confused the first time that she said this. I thought that maybe it was Rachel, her old best friend, but then the nickname was to dark and mysterious for Rachel. Then I realized that this was one of the people involved in the party. The nickname was meant to deface Andy Evans and make him even more mysterious. Melinda’s nicknames put you into the story. “Mr. Neck” described him in a very humorous way and made the book interesting and fun. The nicknames helped the reader distinguish who Melinda liked and didn’t like. “Hairwoman” was my favorite!
I agree with Chris on his views on the importance of nicknames like IT the nickname given to Andy Evens. I believe there is more of a significance in the nicknames of Mr. Neck and Hairwoman other that the obvious humor. With the acceptation of IT, Melinda only gave nicknames to the people she believed to be unimportant. Hairwoman and Mr. Neck were not worth her words. She could save a few words for people like Ivy and Mr. Freeman but but unless necessary she would not speak to them at all. Not because she thought that she was above speaking to them but more because she was saving her words and she didn't particularly like them.
In order to determine the significance of nicknaming others, consider the concept of the nickname. A nickname is one that is substituted for an individual’s actual name because it is considered a more appropriate reference. Names in general hold more weight than we may think. By merely knowing ones name, a variety of information is indicated about that individual. Gender, heritage, and any previous associations one may have with a certain name. If any of these assumptions are inconsistent with the individual possessing that name, an alternate form of reference may be in order. Melinda assigns nicknames to the characters within the novel that she feels are generally misconceived. One of the most prevalent nicknames that is used repeatedly throughout Speak is one for Andy Evans. Andy is a narcissistic, yet desirable, senior at Merryweather High. He is generally portrayed as a stereotypical charming young man by accounts from other characters earlier in the novel. However, his interactions with Melinda contradict his seemingly established outside image. As a victim of rape by Andy, Melinda continues to be tormented both directly and indirectly during the school year. These interactions have revealed Andy’s true intentions to Melinda, but not quite to the reader. What happened between Melinda and Andy is not clear without previous knowledge of the story until a later point in reading. Whether the reader is aware of this or not, an immediate negative impression is given of Andy because of nicknames such as “IT,” or “The Beast.” The use of nicknames is also significant because it establishes Melinda’s point of view as the dominant person throughout the story. The nicknames in the novel are very personal to Melinda. They are based off of interactions and encounters that Melinda herself has experienced, rather that bearing influence from the general perception of particular characters. They assist in not only telling the overall story, but also Melinda’s story.
I agree with Halle about what she said in her first paragraph. Some people's names don't fit them as much as their nicknames. Sometimes people are called by a shortened form of their first name, sometimes people are called by their last name, or sometimes people are called a name completely unrelated to their actual name. Mel nicknames multiple people in the novel. Halle made a good point when she mentioned that Andy's nicknames of “IT” and “The Beast” give the readers “an immediate negative impression.” Andy is a negative, dark character and his nicknames match him perfectly. Is it possible that the nickname “IT” has anything to do with Stephen King's novel, IT, in which IT is a monster, just as Andy is?
Melinda nicknames a good portion of the characters in the novel. This contributes to the story by giving the reader a more personal view of her life at school in comparison to her life at home. If you pay attention as the story goes on in the novel, Hairwoman got her hair cut so there wasn’t a reason to call that nickname anymore. Also, she doesn’t mention the people she has nicknamed in her story as much as she used to the farther into the story you get unless it was an important part of the story. I believe that those people were nicknamed based on how they acted toward her at the beginning of the school year. Then, as her story continued, Melinda stopped caring how the people who were nicknamed acted towards her, so she didn’t bother to mention them. That is what I believe is the significance of those nicknames at least. I have noticed others who have answered this question mention a few or all of the nicknames mentioned in the novel. As I read Speak though, I noticed that Melinda never said these nicknames to other people. Though as others have mentioned, these nicknames were meant to have symbolism and a message to the reader coming from the author, but all I see is yet another way to related to the main character. Most people won’t admit it, but we all probably have nicknames for people that we don’t like and would never say to a single soul. I saw the nicknames mentioned as she was thinking to herself, but never did I see that Melinda said them in a conversation with someone. If she did and I didn’t see/remember it, it probably was only once in the entire novel. The author tries with these nicknames to bring us closer to Melinda as a person while putting meaning into the many names throughout the novel.
Melinda gives nicknames to characters so that us as readers can understand more what she thinks about them. Andy (the senior who raped her) is nicknamed IT, we can tell that she doesn’t really like him, when we call something “it” we find that certain thing repulsive. Melinda calls her English teacher “Hair woman” because that is the most distinct characteristic about her, the first thing that she notices is her long stringy hair. Melinda tells us as readers what she gets off of the other characters and what she thinks of them by nicknaming them.
Nicknames in this story are used as a method to better explain Melinda and the other characters to us readers. In Melinda’s process of social development, she uses nicknames for most of the people she encounters daily to, what I believe, organize them. Much significance is put into a nickname when they’re given, mostly because they usually mean something to the person who gave it. This is evident throughout the story as we read Melinda’s recurring thoughts about multiple people that she has some sort of relationship or acquaintance with.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest exemplification of the significance a nickname holds is Melinda’s “IT” when referring to Andy Evans. From my first time reading that word, I assumed this person had to have impacted Melinda in a very strong way. The first thing to take notice of is the capital letters being used. This makes it seem as though the person being referred to is distinguished among all of the other characters Melinda knows. Using the word “it” is the second thing I noticed. “It”, when referring to a person, seems as though the speaker is trying to deface the other, or take away the other’s identity. By using this term, it is as though Melinda finds that this person is everything but an actual person, and that there is a strong, negative relationship between the two.
Later within the story, you do in fact find that Andy Evans and Melinda have a very negative relationship due to Andy’s unwanted advance towards Melinda during the summer of her 8th grade year. This verifies that the given nickname “IT”, symbolizes that Andy has a beastly, or aggressive, personality to Melinda. The reasoning for Melinda’s naming of Andy as “IT” is clear because of this information. From finding the connection between Andy’s nickname and Melinda’s negative opinion towards him, we can see that Melinda’s nicknaming of other characters throughout the story is a way of her categorizing people in a way that allows her to recognize friend from foe.
Melinda's nicknames for many of the characters throughout the novel are all based on the way she views the characters that bear these names. Along with the fairly obvious purpose of the names themselves, the significance of Melinda's habit, I believe, is that in her own world, she pinpoints these people as people to remember, whether it is for a bad reason, such as “people to stay away from”(Andy Evans-IT/ the Beast) as Melinda wrote on the bathroom stall on page 175, or just for a way to remember these characters based on how she views them and how they affect her life. Another example of a nickname Melinda gives one of the characters is “Principal Principal.” Although this may not seem like much of a nickname, I interpreted this title as how Melinda views people in her life that are members of authority. I believe she refers to the principal as “Principal Principal” because the only times she is ever in contact with him is when he is scolding her for events that have occurred at school, a very common duty for a principal. Melinda has no personal connections with the principal, nor any other adult besides Mr. Freeman, so she views him only as the head of the school with no other meaning to her, thus calling him “Principal Principal.” These nicknames contribute to the development of the story because, staying with the principal example, if Melinda only views people of authority, such as the principal and “Hairwoman,” as adults that are simply there, the reader tends to envision them as Melinda does. Also, the nicknames “IT” and “the Beast” send an immediate red flag to the reader which is what Melinda is trying to do. She wants the reader to be as appalled by and afraid of Andy Evans as she is. By giving Andy the nicknames that she does, Melinda achieves the goal of portraying to the reader how awful he really is. Melinda’s use of nicknames throughout the novel allows the reader to see the characters the same way Melinda sees them.
ReplyDeleteThe way Melinda nicknames characters puts you into the story. With nicknames like “Mr. Neck” and “Hairwoman” describe the character in a way that is somewhat comical. As soon as I started reading this book and looking at the “names” of the characters I had to giggle a little bit, it really made the book fun. The nicknames also helped put a picture in our minds; “Mr. Neck” for example, created a picture of a comic character that has a very thick neck, and veins protruding out of it. One character that didn’t have a nickname was Mr. Freeman. I think that the Author foreshadowed that Mr. Freeman was going to help Melinda find her way throughout the book. She didn’t feel the need to give him a nickname because he somehow made Melinda feel comfortable around him. Melinda would also nickname people that she didn’t exactly like and people that impacted her. “IT” was the nickname that she gave Andy Evans. I was very confused the first time that she said this. I thought that maybe it was Rachel, her old best friend, but then the nickname was to dark and mysterious for Rachel. Then I realized that this was one of the people involved in the party. The nickname was meant to deface Andy Evans and make him even more mysterious. Melinda’s nicknames put you into the story. “Mr. Neck” described him in a very humorous way and made the book interesting and fun. The nicknames helped the reader distinguish who Melinda liked and didn’t like. “Hairwoman” was my favorite!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Chris on his views on the importance of nicknames like IT the nickname given to Andy Evens. I believe there is more of a significance in the nicknames of Mr. Neck and Hairwoman other that the obvious humor. With the acceptation of IT, Melinda only gave nicknames to the people she believed to be unimportant. Hairwoman and Mr. Neck were not worth her words. She could save a few words for people like Ivy and Mr. Freeman but but unless necessary she would not speak to them at all. Not because she thought that she was above speaking to them but more because she was saving her words and she didn't particularly like them.
DeleteIn order to determine the significance of nicknaming others, consider the concept of the nickname. A nickname is one that is substituted for an individual’s actual name because it is considered a more appropriate reference. Names in general hold more weight than we may think. By merely knowing ones name, a variety of information is indicated about that individual. Gender, heritage, and any previous associations one may have with a certain name. If any of these assumptions are inconsistent with the individual possessing that name, an alternate form of reference may be in order.
ReplyDeleteMelinda assigns nicknames to the characters within the novel that she feels are generally misconceived. One of the most prevalent nicknames that is used repeatedly throughout Speak is one for Andy Evans. Andy is a narcissistic, yet desirable, senior at Merryweather High. He is generally portrayed as a stereotypical charming young man by accounts from other characters earlier in the novel. However, his interactions with Melinda contradict his seemingly established outside image. As a victim of rape by Andy, Melinda continues to be tormented both directly and indirectly during the school year. These interactions have revealed Andy’s true intentions to Melinda, but not quite to the reader. What happened between Melinda and Andy is not clear without previous knowledge of the story until a later point in reading. Whether the reader is aware of this or not, an immediate negative impression is given of Andy because of nicknames such as “IT,” or “The Beast.”
The use of nicknames is also significant because it establishes Melinda’s point of view as the dominant person throughout the story. The nicknames in the novel are very personal to Melinda. They are based off of interactions and encounters that Melinda herself has experienced, rather that bearing influence from the general perception of particular characters. They assist in not only telling the overall story, but also Melinda’s story.
I agree with Halle about what she said in her first paragraph. Some people's names don't fit them as much as their nicknames. Sometimes people are called by a shortened form of their first name, sometimes people are called by their last name, or sometimes people are called a name completely unrelated to their actual name. Mel nicknames multiple people in the novel. Halle made a good point when she mentioned that Andy's nicknames of “IT” and “The Beast” give the readers “an immediate negative impression.” Andy is a negative, dark character and his nicknames match him perfectly. Is it possible that the nickname “IT” has anything to do with Stephen King's novel, IT, in which IT is a monster, just as Andy is?
DeleteMelinda nicknames a good portion of the characters in the novel. This contributes to the story by giving the reader a more personal view of her life at school in comparison to her life at home. If you pay attention as the story goes on in the novel, Hairwoman got her hair cut so there wasn’t a reason to call that nickname anymore. Also, she doesn’t mention the people she has nicknamed in her story as much as she used to the farther into the story you get unless it was an important part of the story. I believe that those people were nicknamed based on how they acted toward her at the beginning of the school year. Then, as her story continued, Melinda stopped caring how the people who were nicknamed acted towards her, so she didn’t bother to mention them. That is what I believe is the significance of those nicknames at least.
ReplyDeleteI have noticed others who have answered this question mention a few or all of the nicknames mentioned in the novel. As I read Speak though, I noticed that Melinda never said these nicknames to other people. Though as others have mentioned, these nicknames were meant to have symbolism and a message to the reader coming from the author, but all I see is yet another way to related to the main character. Most people won’t admit it, but we all probably have nicknames for people that we don’t like and would never say to a single soul. I saw the nicknames mentioned as she was thinking to herself, but never did I see that Melinda said them in a conversation with someone. If she did and I didn’t see/remember it, it probably was only once in the entire novel. The author tries with these nicknames to bring us closer to Melinda as a person while putting meaning into the many names throughout the novel.
Melinda gives nicknames to characters so that us as readers can understand more what she thinks about them. Andy (the senior who raped her) is nicknamed IT, we can tell that she doesn’t really like him, when we call something “it” we find that certain thing repulsive. Melinda calls her English teacher “Hair woman” because that is the most distinct characteristic about her, the first thing that she notices is her long stringy hair. Melinda tells us as readers what she gets off of the other characters and what she thinks of them by nicknaming them.
ReplyDelete