Insight Horizon
environment /

Who is Andy Evans in speak

Andy Evans is the antagonist in Speak. He is a narcissistic senior in high school who is used to getting his way, either through charm or by force. After raping Melinda at a summer party, he continues to antagonize her throughout the novel, showing his inability to empathize with others.

Why does Melinda call Andy Evans it?

Recall that when she first met him at the summer party, she nicknames him “Greek God.” After the rape, she minimizes him to two letters: IT. Then she uses his full name, Andy Evans, indicating she is more willing to confront what happened to her.

How does Melinda describe Andy Evans?

Melinda also refers to him as “IT” and “Andy Beast” over the course of the novel.

What did Andy Evans do to Melinda?

Andy Evans was a senior in high school as well as the rapist of Melinda Sordino. He met Melinda at a party, and he took her into the woods to rape her. Melinda tried to call 911 to help her, but she didn’t know what to tell them. This led to several people getting arrested at the party, and Melinda becoming an outcast.

What happens to Andy Evans in speak?

Another reason we consider the ending happy: Andy Evans, who seems to be a serial rapist, is finally revealed for what he truly is. As the graffiti on the bathroom wall of the girls’ bathroom shows, Andy has sexually assaulted dozens of girls at Merryweather High, and probably other places, too.

How would you describe Andy from speak?

Andy Evans is the antagonist in Speak. He is a narcissistic senior in high school who is used to getting his way, either through charm or by force. After raping Melinda at a summer party, he continues to antagonize her throughout the novel, showing his inability to empathize with others.

What does Andy Evans whisper to Melinda?

Melinda is stuck in the closet, with the light on, staring into the face of Andy Evans. Andy tells Melinda she’s a liar – she messed things up for him by telling Rachel that he raped her. Andy says that girls have sex with him because they want to – he doesn’t have to rape them.

Did Melinda get raped in the book speak?

Her parents and guidance counselor try to get her to open up about her poor academic performance, but Melinda refuses to speak to them. However, over many months of painful silence and self-harm in the form of lip- and nail-biting, Melinda finally admits to herself that Andy Evans raped her at the party last summer.

Who does Melinda tell about Andy?

When Rachel asks who raped Melinda, Melinda tells her it was Andy. Rachel flips out. She accuses Melinda of making it up because she’s jealous.

How old is Melinda in speak?

Melinda is very perceptive and bright, but her vision is sometimes clouded by her suffering. She’s only fourteen-years-old, and she’s dealing with one of the worst things that can happen to a person: rape. High school senior Andy Evans rapes Melinda at the end-of-summer party just before Melinda starts 9th grade.

Article first time published on

Who is Greta Ingrid in speak?

Greta-Ingrid is one of Rachel’s new foreign exchange student friends, whose name Melinda intentionally fails to remember. She is incredibly beautiful and, like Rachel, appears to have captured the interest of Melinda’s rapist Andy Evans.

Why does Rachel hate Melinda?

Although she and Melinda used to be best friends, Rachel now hates Melinda, believing (like the other students at their high school) that Melinda called the police on a summer party in order to get others in trouble, when really she was attempting to report her own rape.

Why does Melinda tell Rachel the truth about Andy?

Melinda finds Rachel in the library. As they need to be quiet, they decide to have a written conversation in Melinda’s notebook. Thus, Melinda tells Rachel the truth about Andy by writing down that she was raped and that Andy was the one who sexually assaulted her.

How does Melinda tell Rachel the truth about Andy?

Melinda tells Rachel that someone raped her the night of the party and that is why she called the police. Rachel is immediately sympathetic to Melinda, but changes gears when Melinda tells her it was Andy who did it. Rachel screams that she is a liar and storms out of the library.

How does Melinda warn Rachel about Andy?

As she vacillates between the two ideas, Melinda stares at her Maya Angelou poster and knows Maya wants her to tell. So, Melinda writes an anonymous note warning Rachel that Andy has attacked a ninth grader.

How old was Kristen Stewart in speak?

Stewart starred in the Lifetime/Showtime television film Speak (2004), based on the novel by the same name by Laurie Halse Anderson. Stewart, aged 13 at the time of filming, played a high school freshman, Melinda Sordino, who nearly stops speaking after being raped.

Who is Andy Evans dating?

By Laurie Halse Anderson She’s dating Andy Evans. Andy is also very affectionate with Greta-Ingrid.

Why does Melinda not speak?

Due to her trauma and inability to tell anyone about what happened, Melinda spirals into a dark depression; loses her ability to speak with ease; and can express her pain only through physical acts, such as biting her lips and nails.

What does Ivy Show Melinda in the girls bathroom What does this reveal about Andy Evans?

The girls go to the bathroom to try to clean up Melinda’s shirt. Melinda removes her shirt and while Ivy scrubs it, Melinda stands in a toilet stall reading graffiti on the walls. She asks Ivy why she said Andy Evans was a creep, and Ivy says she has heard he will sleep with anyone.

What is wrong with Melinda's lips in speak?

For much of the story, Melinda’s lips are described as cracked, swollen and dry. The ugliness of her mouth represents the ugliness and shame she feels inside as well as her inability to take care of herself.

What reaction does Rachel have to the revelation that Andy Evans raped Melinda Why do you think she has this reaction?

Why do you think she has this reaction? When Melinda informs Rachel that Andy raped her she lashes out at Melinda and calls her names (freak, messed up). In short Rachel does not believe her, she thinks Melinda is jealous that Andy is taking her to prom.

Why was the book speak banned?

In 2020, the book was named the fourth most banned and challenged book in the United States “because it was thought to contain a political viewpoint and it was claimed to be biased against male students, and for the novel’s inclusion of rape and profanity.”

Is the book speak a movie?

Speak is a 2004 American independent coming-of-age teen drama film based on the award-winning 1999 novel of the same name by Laurie Halse Anderson. It stars Kristen Stewart as Melinda Sordino, a high school freshman who practically stops talking after a senior student rapes her.

How old is Andy Evans?

Andy EvansNationalityAmericanBornJune 27, 1951 Pomona, California, USRetired199724 Hours of Le Mans IMSA World Sports Car Championship

Does Rachel believe Melinda?

Unfortunately, Rachel has totally turned against Melinda. She, like everybody else, seems to believe that Melinda called the cops at the party just to get everybody in trouble. Like Melinda, Rachel changes a lot throughout the novel. Many of these changes are beyond our reach, because they are beyond Melinda’s.

Who is Melinda's best friend in speak?

Rachel Bruin Rachel and Melinda have been best friends since grade school at least. She’s important to the story because she’s important to Melinda.

Who are the Marthas in speak?

The official Marthas are Meg Harcutt, Emily Briggs, and Siobhan Falls. They consider themselves followers of Martha Stewart and they decorate accordingly. They raise money and food for charity, but they also seem to be rude, shallow human beings. At least, this is how Melinda perceives them.

Who is Nicole in the book speak?

Nicole is an ex-Plain Jane, one of Melinda’s former friends. She’s a talented athlete, and Melinda sees her as a nice person. As with Ivy, it’s not clear if Nicole is avoiding Melinda because she’s a social outcast, or because she’s simply absorbed in her own life.

Who is the round character in speak?

In the book Speak, there is one particular round character, Melinda Sordino.

What did Heather ask Melinda to help her do for the Marthas?

“What?” (37.6), Melinda asks her. Heather says she knew she could count on Melinda to illustrate posters. Illustrating posters is Heather’s latest job with the Marthas. She begs Melinda to help her, praising Melinda’s skill as an artist.

Who is David Petrakis and what does Melinda think of him?

David is a brainiac and one of the few people who treats Melinda decently. He’s in Melinda’s social studies class and is her lab partner in biology. It’s not clear how much David suspects about Melinda’s problems, but it seems likely he’s aware things aren’t right with her.