Anderson was 38 years old when Speak was published, yet she captures a teen girl's voice through her diction, syntax, and imagery. To explore how, choose two quotes you think sound particularly authentic, and write a response in a double-entry journal that explains how the quotes contribute to the narrator's teen voice. What inferences can you draw about the character of Melinda based on these quotes?

Nazim hikmet wrote: "living is no laughing matter: you must live with a great seriousness like a squirrel for example—i mean without looking for something beyond and above living, i mean living must be your whole occupation." explain, in at least one hundred words, how this quote relates to hikmet's unique experiences and point of view.

Read the following excerpt from life on the mississippi by mark twain. no girl could withstand his charms. he "cut out" every boy in the village. when his boat blew up at last, it diffused a tranquil contentment among us such as we had not known for months. but when he came home the next week, alive, renowned, and appeared in church all battered up and bandaged, a shining hero, stared at and wondered over by everybody, it seemed to us that the partiality of providence for an undeserving reptile had reached a point where it was open to criticism. how does twain's use of understatement serve his purpose? be sure to use specific details from the text to support your answer.

According to stephen hawking in the "origin of the universe" lecture, "why are we here" and "where did we come from" are questions that