Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon Essays (455 words) -

Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon The story starts out with 9-year-old Trisha McFarland going on a hike with her brother and her recently divorced mom. Her mom, who is determined to give the kids a good time on the weekends together, dragged them to go on a six-mile hike on the Maine-New Hampshire branch of the Appalachian Trail. Her brother, Pete constantly fights with their mom since he's unhappy that they moved from Boston to small-town Maine. While hiking on the trail, Pete and their mom started bickering like usual, Trisha who had to go to the bathroom and was sick of hearing them argue, stepped off the trail for a little bit. She wanders a little too far off by herself, and tried to take a short cut back to the trail but soon realized that she was lost in the wilderness. While in the wilderness, she thinks about her loved ones: her Dad, who was the perfect father until his beer habit ruined him, her loving but stubborn Mom, and Trisha's best friend, Pepsi Robichaud and her saying "Don't go all GIRLY on me, McFarland!" It was tough for her since she had to improvise, and try to remember hiking and camping tips her mother used to give her to survive. After the first night in the wilderness, she started having hallucinations, both good and bad, and drifting in and out of the real world. The bad one was the monster that she imagined that watched her every day while she slept, and sometimes followed her, whom she named the God of the Lost. After walking a few days, she started to find cruelly slaughtered animals and claw marks on the trees. The good hallucination was Tom Gordon, the baseball player who she loved and adored. He always popped up when she needed help, or when she was afraid. Her Walkman was the one thing that kept her sane, voices in the wilderness calmed her. It made things seem normal. Her favorite thing to do was to listen to the baseball games and cheer for Tom Gordon, pretending she was there at the ballpark, actually watching him play. Nine days later, she somehow ended up walking until she was just about 4 miles from New Hampshire Route 96. There, she knew she had to face the God of the Lost who finally came out, and let her see it. The last thing she did, before a hunter came and found her, was through her Walkman at the God of the Lost baseball-style. The man then shot his rifle at the thing that he later questioned if it was a bear or something else. Turned out that Trisha's disappearance was all over the news. She was then brought to a hospital, where her worried parents and brother came to see her, each of whom blamed themselves for her disappearance.

Statistics 2 Coursework Essay Example

Statistics 2 Coursework Essay Example Statistics 2 Coursework Essay Statistics 2 Coursework Essay Essay Topic: Orlando In my coursework, I am going to investigate the correlation between the field goals attempted (FGA) and field goals made (FGM) of 50 different basketball players in NBA. It is worth to do because it will prove if the players attempt more field goals, whether he will get more points or not. Furthermore, the accuracy of shooting is dependent on many factors, such as the performance of players, home and away match, the shooting distance, the players position. To consider these factors, the percentage of field goals should be different from each NBA players. Also, it is useful to discuss whether a player will get more points if he makes more shootings in the games. Because it is necessary for the coach to know whether a reliable player will keep his accuracy on shooting even if his field goals attempted is large, and to find out whether it is easier to get points inside rather than outside in the basketball court. This is the important factor to win the match. Data Collecting The data is collected from NBA 2003 league. There are totally 476 players in NBA, and 29 teams, 65 international players from 34 countries. As I only need 50 sampling, so I choose my 50 sampling randomly from different teams. In my sampling, it contains Centre, Power Forward, Small Forward, Shooting Guard, and Point Guard. Field goals attempted (FGA) and field goals made (FGM) is recorded from the previous 60 matches including home and away in NBA 2003 season. And FGA includes 3-points FGA, and 2-points FGA, even when the players dunks or throws the basketball in the basket luckily in the last few second, it is also counted. All the data are collected by NBA staffs. Their special job is to record the data in each game. So I believe that the data are very reliable and of good quality. So, the following data are presented neatly and concisely. NBA PLAYER FGA FGM Shaquille ONeal ( Los Angeles Lakers) 848 477 Carlos Boozer ( Cleveland Cavaliers) 448 237 P.J. Brown ( New Orleans Hornets) 488 256 Radoslav Nesterovic ( Minnesota Timberwolves) 684 358 Pau Gasol ( Memphis Grizzlies) 842 440 Yao Ming ( Houston Rockets) 611 315 Brad Miller ( Indiana Pacers) 583 300 Nene Hilario ( Denver Nuggets) 491 249 Brian Grant ( Miami Heat) 535 270 Elton Brand ( Los Angeles Clippers) 754 379 Matt Harpring ( Utah Jazz) 796 397 Tim Duncan ( San Antonio Spurs) 1,098 547 Kevin Garnett ( Minnesota Timberwolves) 1,205 599 Keith Van Horn ( Philadelphia 76ers) 804 396 Calbert Cheaney ( Utah Jazz) 514 253 Richard Jefferson ( New Jersey Nets) 685 336 Bobby Jackson ( Sacramento Kings) 588 286 John Stockton ( Utah Jazz) 525 253 Kurt Thomas ( New York Knicks) 811 389 Shareef Abdur-Rahim ( Atlanta Hawks) 944 450 Rasheed Wallace ( Portland Trail Blazers) 839 395 Sam Cassell ( Milwaukee Bucks) 926 435 Jermaine ONeal ( Indiana Pacers) 992 464 Dirk Nowitzki ( Dallas Mavericks) 1,133 528 Larry Hughes ( Washington Wizards) 640 298 Michael Redd ( Milwaukee Bucks) 763 355 Chris Webber ( Sacramento Kings) 1,069 496 Antawn Jamison ( Golden State Warriors) 1,110 515 Donyell Marshall ( Chicago Bulls) 788 365 Amare Stoudemire ( Phoenix Suns) 650 301 Karl Malone ( Utah Jazz) 1,026 475 Kenyon Martin ( New Jersey Nets) 859 397 Mike Bibby ( Sacramento Kings) 520 240 Predrag Stojakovic ( Sacramento Kings) 804 371 Steve Nash ( Dallas Mavericks) 859 396 Vlade Divac ( Sacramento Kings) 554 255 Lorenzen Wright ( Memphis Grizzlies) 571 262 Kerry Kittles ( New Jersey Nets) 534 245 Tony Parker ( San Antonio Spurs) 802 367 Tracy McGrady ( Orlando Magic) 1,454 665 Drew Gooden ( Orlando Magic) 712 324 Richard Hamilton ( Detroit Pistons) 990 450 Eric Snow ( Philadelphia 76ers) 634 288 Kobe Bryant ( Los Angeles Lakers) 1,520 689 Corliss Williamson ( Detroit Pistons) 638 289 Scottie Pippen ( Portland Trail Blazers) 582 262 Juwan Howard ( Denver Nuggets) 992 446 Gary Payton ( Milwaukee Bucks) 1,197 537 Desmond Mason ( Milwaukee Bucks) 794 355 Gilbert Arenas ( Golden State Warriors) 895 398 Modelling procedures In the case of the data in my sample, there are two variables, FGA and FGM. This is an example of bivariate data, where each item in the population requires the values of two variables. The best way I can do to present these data is to plot a scatter diagram. However, I have to decide which variable is independent and which is dependent. The independent one is going to be x-axis, and the dependent one is going to be y-axis. Anyway, it is very obvious in my sample that FGA must be independent, because the player has to attempt the field goal for the field goal made in the game. So FGA is my x-axis, and FGM is my y-axis. In the examples both the variables have unpredictable values and so are random. The same is true for my sample about FGM and FGA in NBA. Both variables are random variables, free to assume any of a particular set of discrete values in a given range. The variables are uncontrolled, we cannot assume a set of predetermined values. A scatter diagram is drawn with the axis clearly and correctly labelled. It is shown as below: According to the scatter diagram, we notice that almost all the observation points can be contained within an ellipse. As the elliptical profile is narrow, so the correlation is large. Analysis In the case of the data in my sample, what we will be looking at is the correlation between two variables. This is because in using correlation we are looking at the level of association between the two variables. From the scatter diagram, it can be seen that the sample data when plotted graphically is roughly a line with positive direction. What this shows us is that there is a correlation, and there is linear correlation. As a result, Pearsons product moment correlation coefficient is the appropriate measure of correlation to use, as it is a measure of linear correlation, this technique works out the correlation between the variables. I use the Product Moment Correlation which the formula is showed below: Value Number of team(n) 50 The sum of x: 40101 The mean of x: 40101/50=802 The square of mean of x: 643236 The sum of y: 19050 The mean of y: 19050/50=381 The square of mean of y: 145161 The sum of xà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½: 35138525 The sum of yà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½: 7871876 The sum of xy: 16609313 The mean of x times the mean of y 305570 =0.98 As 0.98 is very close to +1, so we can say that this is a very strong positive correlation. The further of the analysis is to see whether or not this strong positive correlation is likely to exist for its parent population. This is because the value r, we have calculated above is merely a measure of correlation of a sample from the parent population. To see whether the sample is similar to its parent population, we work out through a hypothesis test. Hypothesis Test: I will start a 1- tail hypothesis test with 5% significant level. When the value is in 5%significant level, it means that it is the critical value, it is not acceptable, it cannot represent that there is the same situation in its parent population. Null hypothesis There is no correlation between the variables Alternative hypothesis There is positive correlation between the variables The critical values for pmcc: ( from the table) For: n=50, at 5% significant level =0.2353 The pmcc of the FGA and FGM is: r = 0.98 0.2353 As 0.98 0.2353, the critical value, alternative hypothesis is accepted. The evidence from this 50 sample is sufficient to justify the claim that there is positive correlation between FGA and FGM. Interpretation According to the modelling procedures and analysis, there are a few things that has been discovered. From the scatter diagram, we can see that there is a linear correlation between FGA and FGM. As I process the Product Moment Correlation, r is equal to 0.98, which is very close the +1, so it shows that there is a very strong positive correlation between FGA and FGM. As I have carried out the hypothesis test with 5 % significant level, it indicates that my sample is not critical, there is also a positive correlation between FGA and FGM in its parent population. The conclusion that I can draw now is FGA(field goals attempted) is a key factor of FGM(field goals made). This is also true in its parent population. The parent population is like the other basketball matches in the other countries, for example the National Cup, or Brimingham League in Britain. A player attempts more field goals, he will make more field goals, this is my conclusion from analysis. However, the data were worth collecting because now we know that there is a strong positive correlation between FGA and FGM, it indicates that a player can get more points when he keeps on shooting. It doesnt matter if he misses more shot in each game, because he can make more field goals as well. Also, it is useful for the coach to consider whether a player is still accurate on shooting when he attempts more field goals, this is the key factor to bring the winning in each game. Accuracy and refinements In my investigation I have made effort to make sure that my data is accurate as possible. I have collected my data in the number of ways: 1. collect the data which is up-to-date from a reliable source, nba.com 2. taking the sample in a random order to stop the effects of human error 3. using a large sample size(50 samples) to make sure that the sample is large enough to represent its parent population As a result, my data are in good quality. However, there ae some possible sources of error, which may have affected my data. From the scatter diagram, it shows that there are outliers in my sample, we regard these as outlier because these two sample are far awasy from the group of data. These outlier may make the correlation becomes more positive. The correlation may get closer to +1. And from my data source, they are collected from NBA league. However, I think that I can improve the data, by collecting the sample which is not only from NBA league, but also in the other countries, like Britain or China. Because NBA, the league in Britain or China are at different level, it is clear that NBA players are much better than the players in China. So ensure that FGM(field goals made) is based on FGA(field goals attempted), without considering the ability of players, the best way to do is to collect the data from more different leagues. Also, to take even more sample to ensure that the sample is really large enough to represent its parent population. Finally, the data should be collected from the professional players only, this is also the restriction. Because only the professional players can keep his accuracy from time to time. We should not collect the data from the junior basketball match, like inter-house basketball in the school, but the large league like NBA or uni versities league.

Social problems questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Social problems questions - Essay Example One measure that is being used in organization is the monitoring of telephone and internet activity. Statistics show that over 50% of all workers with internet access utilized the web for non-work relating surfing activity, an action that decreases the productivity of the employee (Crimm). The monitoring of employee phone conversations and internet activity is not supposed to hurt the employee since the employees know that certain type of behavior is unacceptable. Issues concerning ethics occur when employers are unreasonable and are constantly spying in employees email and phone conversations and violate privacy issues. If a person receives a call from their marriage partner, the called is an implied private call that should not be heard by anyone. Drug testing is a different type of control measure. Typically a drug test is performed when a person starts working for an organization. Drug testing is an expensive event that if applied constantly to a staff of 100,000 employees would cost millions of dollars. Drug testing are not effective control measures since typical implementation is random testing, an action which will not help detect true drug usage among the staff. A company has to be careful not to target a person and perform various drug tests on an employee, because if the results are all in negative results the person may feel discriminated upon if the employee is the only person receiving recurrent drug tests. The event does not follow the random statistics nature and its probability of occurrence is very low. I personally do not feel the drug screening, email and telephone monitoring would affect me in any negative way in the workplace. Corporations in which profits are more important than human life are extremely unethical. The purpose of a business should not be money at the cost of human suffering. There are

What Were the Causes of the Second World War Essay

What Were the Causes of the Second World War - Essay Example The main causes of the Second World War are expansionism, problems with treaty of Versailles, competition for resources, issues with League of Nations etc. The great depression is also one of the major causes of Second World War. The tipping point of the war was invasion of Soviet Union by the Germans and the attack on Pearl Harbor. All these causes will be discussed in great detail below.Expansionism The desire for territorial expansion was ubiquitous in the 20th century. Countries wanted to display their power of military through invasions. It is also noteworthy here that Germany did not have any colonies like France and Britain. These two powers had colonies all over the world and Germany wanted the same power. This desire of expansion can be regarded as the major cause of Second World War. The ambitions of Italy and Germany were to hold territories like other European powers. It was thought that it was the only way to survive in the long run. Japan also was motivated by similar d esires of expansionism (Sir. Kershaw, I. 2011). Japan wanted to extend its influence in the pacific and that is why Japan attacked the Pearl Harbor. It was done as a display of its superior air force. The doctrine of expansionism therefore contributed greatly to the Second World War.Treaty of Versailles can safely be regarded as one of the main causes of the Second World War. The treaty was signed not to discourage future wars but to punish perpetuators of the First World War. The problem with the treaty was that it instilled hatred in the hearts of German people. This hatred played a pivotal role in the Second World War. The main aim of the treaty should have been to prevent future wars and to establish long lasting peace instead it put financial burdens on Germany so much so that the ordinary people started to feel a sense of injustice. Germany was forced, in the Treaty of Versailles to pay damages of war to Britain and France. The damages were great so Germany started borrowing m oney and printing Marks (German currency) in order to pay off the damages. This caused the life of normal people to be disturbed by hyperinflation. These were the people who had nothing to do with the war but were paying the cost of it. The problems faced by common people of Germany as a result of the Treaty of Versailles greatly kindled the German populace to unite against their enemies namely the French and the Britain. Another consequence of the Treaty of Versailles was that it divided German ethnic groups in different regions and this is regarded as the greatest weakness of the Treaty of Versailles (Ross, S. 2003). The aim of the treaty was to divide the German nation in order to prevent any future war adventures. France wanted Germany demilitarized so that it can retain its previous status of the biggest military power in Europe. By dividing and demilitarization Germany it was thought that future wars would be made impossible. Unfortunately this never happened instead German pe ople united themselves under Nazi Party and Hitler, and waged another war to avenge all injustices of the Treaty of Versailles. Competition for Resources and Markets One of the less discussed causes of the

Psychological Film Analysis: Silver Linings Playbook

Psychological Film Analysis: Silver Linings Playbook Hannah Altom Silver Linings and Family Pat Solitano had several tremendously difficult months under his belt when he was let go from his stay at the psychiatric hospital. He came out only to discover that his wife, Nikki, had left him leaving him with nothing but a restraining order following the acts that put him there to begin with. Now under the care of his parents, Dolores and Pat Senior they realize that they can only deal with so much of Pat’s unpredictable behavior before breaking. One would hardly call waking up their parents in the middle of the night to find their wedding video with their significant other who has a restraining order because he assaulted his wife’s other lover, a much older man. The fragile relationship between the two strengthened after the late night fight over Pats missing wedding video. Pat Seniors obsession with betting on Philadelphia Eagles on complicates their father son relationship when Pat senior attempts to make Pat join in on his crazy game day antics which includes wearing jerseys, stroking the handkerchief and not messing with the Eagles â€Å"juju† Pat thinks its just his dads form of a mental illness. Throughout the movie we see Pat struggling to search for the silver linings which he will not see until he comes to terms with his illness. With his father recently being let go from work Pat Senior is hoping to win enough money from betting on Eagles games to win enough money to open up a restaurant. Pat Senior shares an important thought telling Pat, â€Å"I’m telling you, you gotta pay attention to the signs. When life reaches out with a moment like this, it’s a sin if you don’t reach back. I’m telling you , it’s a sin if you don’t reach back, and it’ll haunt you for the rest of your days like a curse. You’re facing a big challenge in your life right now, at this very moment, right here.† I think the fact that Pat Senior shows symptoms of obsessive compulsive shows that the two are more a like than they would like to think. In one scene Pat Senior even confesses that his Philadephia Eagles ritual is the only way he can think of to involve his son in his life. I found it interesting that Pat’s mother Delores was so submissive. Anytime she would try to get involved in a situation she would back down just to keep the peace between them all. For example, the scene where Pat and Pat Senior are talking about how he is going to get the money to pay for his cheese steak restaurant â€Å" Pat Jr.: So what are you doing with yourself? Pat Senior: You know, Im gonna start a restaurant. Its gonna be a cheesesteak place. Pat: How you gonna pay for it? Pat Senior: Im gonna pay for it, dont worry about it. Pat: From your bookmaking?Pat Senior: Who told you that? Pat: Mom told me. Outside. Dolores: I did not. No, I didnt. Pat: You just told me outside, Mom, what are you talking about? Five minutes ago, we were walking up the stairs, you said, Dont say anything, but Dad lost his job and hes bookmaking. This is a perfect example of her submission and trying to keep peace. In her study, Social Support and Resilience to Stress, Dr. Faith Ozbay found that â€Å"Numerous studies indicate social support is essential for maintaining physical and psychological health. The harmful consequences of poor social support and the protective effects of good social support in mental illness have been well documented. Social support may moderate genetic and environmental vulnerabilities and confer resilience to stress.† This ties into The Silver Linings playbook because, given the situation of Pat finding his wife with a co-worker in the shower that was a very poor social situation and given the circumstances I think any person would go a little crazy to walk in on something like that. In their study, Social Support for Individuals with Serious Mental Illness: Evaluating the Compeer Model of Intentional Friendship, the authors noted that â€Å"In the general population, social support buffers against stressful life events, increases adherence to medical treatments, and improves recovery from medical illness, among other health-promoting effects. For people with Serious Mental Illness, perceptions of adequate social support are associated with several psychological benefits, including increased self-esteem, feelings of empowerment, functioning, quality of life, and recovery, while the absence of social support appears related to greater psychiatric symptoms, poorer perceptions of overall health, and reduced potential for full community integration† This is an important study because all of the factors relate to Pat and his family. If they all had supported each other more and confronted their illnesses, then possibly the bipolar outburst wouldn’t have been so strong. In her study, Mechanisms Linking Social Ties and Support to Physical and Mental Health, Peggy Thoits explains why social support and â€Å"mattering† are important to people that have mental illness.â€Å"Individuals assess the appropriateness of their own attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors against standards that are avowed and/or modeled by reference group members, usually shifting their own to match those of the group. Such influence can occur through simple observing and contrasting of self with others in the social network, without explicit discussion or attempts at persuasion taking place.† This can also tie into the Silver Linings Playbook, there are multiple scenes where a neighbor kid hangs around their house with a video camera and this negative social support from the neighbor could possibly be taking a toll on Pat Junior. Peggy also goes on to say, â€Å"Beyond behavioral guidance, I have argued that knowing who we are to others also provides purpose and mean ing in life, which in turn guard against anxiety and existential despair. A concept related to this function of role identities is â€Å"mattering†, mattering is defined as believing that one is an object of another person’s attention, one is important to that person, and he or she depends on one for fulfillment of specific needs. Because mattering refers to one’s significance to other people, it seems conceptually close to the notion of obtaining purpose and meaning in life from relationships with role partners. In sum, social ties as role identities should supply behavioral guidance and purpose and meaning in life (or a sense of mattering), which in turn should have positive effects on health habits and psychological well-being, respectively.† This theory of mattering is important in dealing with mental illness and just people in general because mostly everyone wants to know that they are wanted by others. Consider a lonely 17 year old girl in highschool constantly dealing with petty high school drama that is pondering that thought of suicide. If this poor girl had someone in her life, a teacher, coach, or even a friend that could fulfill that sense of mattering, then it could greatly change her views of the world and her views on possibly taking her life. References Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5. (2013). Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association. Mccorkle, B. H., Rogers, E. S., Dunn, E. C., Lyass, A., Wan, Y. M. (2008). Increasing Social Support for Individuals with Serious Mental Illness: Evaluating the Compeer Model of Intentional Friendship. Community Mental Health Journal, 44(5), 359-366. doi: 10.1007/s10597-008-9137-8 Ozbay, F. (2007, May). Social Support and Resilience to Stress. Http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2921311/. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2921311/ Stevenson, T. (2013, May 24). Mind field. Financial Times. Retrieved from http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/25391482-c2f5-11e2-bbbd-00144feab7de.html#axzz2UFE11QWW Thoits, P. A. (2011). Mechanisms Linking Social Ties and Support to Physical and Mental Health. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 52(2), 145-161. doi: 10.1177/0022146510395592

Race and Racial Group Essay

Search the Internet for groups and organizations promoting racial equality to help you complete this assignment. You may also refer to the Internet Resource Directory in Ch. 13 of Racial and Ethnic Groups. Using the information from the text and your web search: Identify one racial group from the list below:  · Hispanic American/Latino Write a 500- to 750-word paper from one of the perspectives below:  · A historian writing about the racial group in a book chapter  · A news reporter writing a newspaper article or blog entry about the racial group  · An individual member of the racial group, writing a personal letter to a friend who is not a member of that racial group Answer the following questions:  · What have been the experiences of this racial group throughout U.S. history?  · What have been the political, social, and cultural issues and concerns throughout American history?  · What legislation meant to constrain race within prejudicial boundaries was enacted? How did the various groups you researched fight this legislation? What legislation meant to alleviate prejudicial boundaries has been enacted? How did the various groups you researched promote this legislation? Assignment: Historical Report on Race Purpose of Assignment Students explore a variety of resources on racial equality and write a paper from a historical perspective relating to the experiences of a particular racial group in the United States. By understanding the history of experiences of various groups, students will be better prepared to connect historical experience to racial diversity today. Resource Required Internet Resource Directory in Ch. 13 of Racial and Ethnic Groups

Speak Response to Literature

â€Å"It is easier not to say anything. Shut your trap, button your lip; can it. All that crap you hear on TV about communication and expressing feelings is a lie. Nobody really wants to hear what you have to say. † (Speak. Pg. 9, Paragraph 4. ) Everyone at some point in their lives have felt that terrifying feeling of dejection, sorrow, anger, frustration and pain. Whether it is an action done by one or an action done by others, there is always the fear of being judged, to which people decide it is best if they don’t talk their problems with others.Melinda used to be a serene, sweet loving girl that loved to play sports and had a good relationship with her parents and friends, but suddenly, as she started her first high school year, she skips days of school, drop her grades and feels completely empty. The tones of fear and relief in Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson reflect an inner growth presented by the main character when she overcomes the challenging and devastating condition of being sexually abused.The foreshadowing presented several times in the story reinforces the mystery and the intrigue in the reader as it discovers and resolves the conflict and causes of it. In the beginning of the book, Melinda expresses what she has â€Å"been dreading†; she is the â€Å"Outcast† and the only person â€Å"in the entire galaxy [she is] dying to tell what really happened† (Pg. 3, Paragraph 3; Pg. 4, Paragraph 2. ) and whom she trusted all her life, Rachelle, Melinda’s best friend until 8th grade, hates her to death.For this reason the reader can infer that something inconveniently awful occurred since there is a very sudden shift in their friendship that caused not only their total isolation, but also, feelings of anger and resentment. The author does this to emphasize a sense of interest, charm and curiosity as a hook to capture the reader’s attention from the beginning to build up the plot in the story. Equally, lat er on in the book, there is a shocking event when Melinda gets trapped with Andy Evans in the janitor’s office; she was about to â€Å"wet [her] pants† as Andy lividly â€Å"cracks his knuckles† and â€Å"stares at [her] without talking. (Pg. 193, Paragraph 3. ) As Melinda gets corned face to face with her biggest fear, the reader feels anxious wondering whether he is going to rape her again or is Melinda going to stand up for herself, be courageous and take revenge from that pervert selfish man. The author does this to built suspense in the reader as it gets to the ending resolution of the book’s plot; this anxiety is built up by giving small clues that indicate certain actions. For this reason the reader is able to get the traumatic feelings of terror and affliction from a likely experience.The symbolism behind the abandoned janitor’s office in Speak, conveys the reader of the powerful conflict of man versus self. In a moment of trouble, Melinda discovers the inactive and decrepit janitor’s office and she describes it as an â€Å"abandoned [place] – [with] no purpose, no name† and finds is it appropriate for her. (Pg. 25, Paragraph 4. ) The closet represents isolation from the rest of the school as well as it provides her with a place of self-reflection and tranquil safety.The author does this to emphasize Melinda’s affliction and her insecurity, hiding from people and not expressing her feelings to others. Consequently, the Secret Annex was a place for protection and avoiding any type of harm during the World War II in which Anne Frank and her family lived for a very long time. Furthermore, in the end of the story, Melinda is packing her stuff from the closet when suddenly, â€Å"some body slams into [her] chest and nocks [her] back into† it (Pg. 193, Paragraph 3. ); she trapped with Andy Evans, the beast that hurt her once and came to do it once more.As they were fighting, Melinda break s the mirror hanging form the wall and â€Å"wrap [her] fingers around a triangle of glass†; she holds it into Andy Evans neck â€Å"hard enough to raise one drop of blood†. Immediately, â€Å"his lips are paralyzed† and â€Å" cannot speak†. Melinda added, â€Å"I said no† (Pg. 195, Paragraph 2. ). The closet reflects the place of self-transformation as she becomes courageous and gains control of the situation to fight for herself. The author does this to demonstrate the rewarding satisfaction of fighting over the problems and the huge change that involved courage and maturity.Melinda is able to defeat her biggest fear by growing up, having confidence in herself just like an invincible hero. The first person point of view gives the reader a personal-hand experience of the struggle the protagonist experience as she overcomes her condition. After confronting the truth about what happened that night in a TV show, she feels extremely sick, devastated and confesses, â€Å"My head is killing me, my throat is killing me, my stomach bubbles with toxic waste. (†¦) A coma would be nice. †¦) Anything just to get rid of this, these thoughts, whispers in my mind. Did he rape my head too? † (Pg. 165, Paragraph 2. ) When the character starts reflecting about what happened, she feels fearful and uncertain. The author does this to help the reader understand a personal experience by getting inside her head, which is the only place where Melinda expresses without restrictions or concerns of being judged by her parents, friends and society. In the last pages of the story, Melinda makes a self-reflection in which she says, â€Å"IT happened.There is no avoiding it, no forgetting. No running away, or flying, or burying, or hiding. (†¦) It wasn’t my fault. He hurt me. It wasn’t my fault. And I’m not going to let it kill me. I can grow. † (Pg. 198, Paragraph 1. ) As Melinda cogitates on the events t hat occurred that night, she has a drastic transformation from her mature beliefs compared to her callow, insecure ones. The author uses this point of view to emphasize the emotional and personal growth of the protagonist by becoming courageous and confronting her fear.This perspective is intended so the reader can feel empathy and understanding as it becomes aware of the main character’s personal opinions. Melinda’s challenge reinforces life’s most challenging task, growing up. Being in such a traumatic age of 14 to 16, it is very hard to deal with these types of situations that are ordinary in our society but are often excluded from conversations; however Melinda’s actions should endure as being a raw model to other people that have experienced the same abuse.Society should protect and look after everyone involved in any abuse, instead, of being so close-minded and judgmental. Furthermore, in order for these abuses to stop, people should gain courage to defend themselves by denouncing their acts; the society around them should not let these misdoings be forgotten with neglect. Bibliography Halse Anderson, Laurie. Speak. New York: Penguin Group, 2009. Print.