Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

      Victims of rape are 3 times more likely to suffer from depression, 6 times more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, 13 times more likely to abuse alcohol, 26 time more likely to abuse drugs, and 4 times more likely to contemplate suicide. So, you can only imagine how Melinda Sordino was feeling after getting raped at a party in the book Speak Laurie Halse Anderson. But, Melinda comes out newer and stronger than ever before. Her transformation is amazing, and there are many factors to it, but one of those factors includes her drawing, especially trees.

      Melinda goes through many important changes, both physical and emotional during this book, and one of the things that helps her get there is her drawing. At the beginning of the book, Melinda is given an assignment in art class to focus on drawing a tree. At first, she thinks that it is simple. But, she struggles with drawing it. This relates to how she is struggling with depression at the time, and expressing herself with drawing. As the year progresses, her trees become stronger, and more detailed, as she herself heals. In the book, Melinda’s art teacher says on the first day of class, “‘This is where you can find your soul, if you dare. Where you can touch that part of you you've never dared look at before.’” I think that this shows how we could see at the beginning of the book the changes that Melinda was going to go through that connected to her drawing. She digs deeper and deeper into herself, and into her depression, but she comes up and she lives, and part of her healing is thanks to her drawing.

      All in all, Melinda goes through an amazing transformation, one of the factors to her transformation is her drawing. One of the things that she draws, trees, is a symbol for her struggles, and her healing when dealing with depression. She has such a hard time, but she comes back, better, and stronger than ever.

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

    The woeful story of Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is known by many throughout history. After committing adultery with the minister of her Puritan village, she is cursed with two items of shame; A letter ‘A’ embroidered on the chest of her clothes, as well as a child. Not to mention her vengeful husband who manages to finally find her at the exact time when she is being publicly shamed for her sin. But, Hester worked with what she had. She made a better life for herself, and her daughter, Pearl. Through the many hoops she has to jump through, I think that Hester shows a lot of character change throughout the book.

    In this book, Hester Prynne has gone from an impulsive, passionate girl, to a caring, maternal figure. For instance, in the beginning of the book, it is suggested that Hester is quite reckless because she married Roger Chillingworth, of whom she did not love, as well as had to be restricted time to time by her parents, who were described as loving and fair. After Hester moves away to the house in the woods, she becomes more independent and speculative. She helps care for the sick and poor, and raises a daughter. She is thought of more as individualistic and caring. Another example is the ‘A’ on her chest. In the beginning, it stands for its literal term, ‘adultery’. She is impulsive and has an affair with the minister, Arthur Dimmesdale. In the end, it comes to be thought of as ‘able’. For, she has coped with her bad decisions, and has learned from her mistakes. As stated previously, she helps the poor, and the sick, as well as cares for a wonderful daughter, who gives her a reason to get back on her feet. She becomes a symbol of perseverance and strength in the book.

     Hester Prynne had many challenges in her life, and she handled them all, with the help of her daughter, Pearl, who gave her a reason to continue living, and to continue fighting. But, the townspeople never truly forgot about her sin, no matter how much she had changed. In the end, during the installation of the new governor, all of the townspeople turn around and look at Hester while Dimmesdale is giving his speech. They stare at the ‘A’ on Hester’s chest, and she realizes it is not really over, it would never be over. The wound had healed, but there was still a scar.