Quote 16
IT sees me. IT smiles and winks. Good thing my lips are stitched together or I'd throw up. (22.2)
Smiling and winking can be forms of violence as this moment vividly illustrates.
Quote 17
I have to slice open her belly. She doesn't say a word. She is already dead. A scream starts in my gut – I can feel the cut, smell the dirt, leaves in my hair. (38.4)
In biology class, Melinda is reminded of her own experience when she starts to dissect a frog. This won't be the last time Melinda sees reflections of herself in the world of plants and animals. Melinda is now hyper-aware of violence.
Quote 18
I open a paperclip and scratch it across the inside of my left wrist. Pitiful. If a suicide attempt is a cry for help, then what is this. A whimper, a peep? I draw little windowcracks of blood, etching line after line until it stops hurting. (43.87)
<em>Speak</em> doesn't answer the questions Melinda poses. How would you go about finding information on people who cut their bodies? Why does pain make Melinda stop feeling pain, as that last sentence suggests?