Trees

A/N: Well, hopefully the introduction is okay. Still having a hard time with those

We see trees almost every day but many don't realize how important they are. Important as in, providing us oxygen or providing us symbolism in books.Trees are very important in the novel Speak. They symbolize Melinda's growth as a person after the rape. Melinda is given one subject to draw in art the entire year; Trees. Though at the beginning the trees are often dead or bland slowly her art transforms into beautiful, meaningful pieces. 

When Melinda first pulls the slip of paper that says the must draw trees the entire year, she tries to put the slip of paper back in the globe. This shows that Melinda does not want to advance as a person, and wants to ignore everything that has happened. Melinda is able to ignore the incident for some time but as the year goes on, she slowly starts accepting it as shown by the symbolism of the trees. 

One of the projects Melinda does Mr.Freeman is very displeased by. He tells Melinda that the tree is too perfect. Melinda does this because she refuses to acknowledge that she needs help. She wants to push back the memories and pretend everything is okay. Now beyond the point of suffering, she feigns ignorance of the situation. 

An interesting note is that up until her final project, Melinda does all of her art projects by carving linoleum blocks. With carving, she can only do things once, and once they're done there is no turning back. This could be how Melinda felt. She felt that whatever is in the past is done, and does not need anymore further attention, even if it was a mistake. 

An example of the symbolism of trees in this novel outside of Melinda's art projects is when she finds men chopping branches off a tree in her front yard. Melinda is sure that the men are killing the tree but her father tells her that the tree is simply sick and that cutting off the ill-ridden and damaged branches will help the tree grow again. Melinda is like the tree because she is sick and damaged, which is stopping her from growing as a person.

Trees play an important role as symbolism in this novel. It is a widely reoccurring theme for a good reason. One of the most important subjects in this book is Melinda's growth and how she progresses throughout the year. The trees symbolize this growth and are able to show the reader how she's feeling without directly showing them.