Third Marking Period Q&A by Jovenia Condoleeza DA COSTA LOPES (11G)

11

yuan133475_2 — 2025-03-26 02:29:15 UTC

Seeds are inefficient and weak because they wouldn't warm up or germinate if they were too deep; they would be eaten by crows if they were too close to the surface. Melinda has similar weaknesses to the seeds because she considers herself so weak and fragile that she's not able to have a healthy mentality at school. Seeds is also a metaphor of teenagers in this book. Seeds being too deep under the soil is an analogy of students facing too much pressure at school, for example, the aggression and dismissiveness from teachers like Hairwomen. Similarly, seeds being eaten by crows is a symbolism used for Melinda's experience of being raped by an elder male student. These metaphors meaningfully established reason why Melinda lacks sense of belonging and security.

Questions 4 Explain the irony of the Valentine’s card taped to Melinda’s locker. How does it affect Melinda? P. 110

zhang1223121 — 2025-03-26 02:30:02 UTC

It is considered as irony is because the valentine card was given by her ex friend Heather . they have just falling out in the previous chapter Lunch doom it is ironic because it was so heartbreaking for Melinda to receive back what she had given to Heather . Furthermore , Melinda was expecting some boys would express their love to her during the Valentine's day by giving her a card . Melinda was heavily impacted by the card , she was heart breaking as she realized the card was given by Heather . she was in deep sadness .

she cried like a baby which demonstrates the card had a tremenduous sadness influence on her .

7. Suggest why Melinda relates to the artist Picasso. Look up what some of Picasso’s art work looks like. P. 119

wang156494_1 — 2025-03-26 02:31:12 UTC

Melinda connects with Picasso's Cubist style, which makes subjects fragmented and abstract. This artistic approach reflects her own sense of a vulnerable identity with her traumatic experiences.By relating to Picasso, Melinda begins to express her emotions through art with this abstract visual language.

6. Why might Melinda be labeled an “at risk” student by her teachers, counselor and school administration? What plan do they devise to help her? Evaluate its effectiveness. P. 116

2025-03-26 02:31:22 UTC

Melinda is being labeled an 'at risk' student because she has been absent for many times and she does not talk in class. However, her counselor provides her a list of things that she does not supposed to do. With consequences like being late to class. Furthermore, Melinda is being asked to write an essay of those consequences and reflect on her own problems.

Moreover, the effectiveness of giving student a list of consequenses of their bad behaviors in school might overall help student improve the way that they behave. However, there might be weaknesses like lack of understanding and emotional encouragement. To be specific, they might view consequences as arbitrary punishments rather than learning opportunities. A simple list without understandings does not effectively help student change their behaviors

3. Suggest why Melinda thinks Mr. Freeman is “the sanest person [she] know[s]”.

2025-03-26 02:32:43 UTC

Mr Freeman is the art teacher of Melinda. Melinda considers Mr Freeman as the sanest person she knows because even when he is having his own problems he will still be warming up the class and think about his artwork. Melinda seems inspired by her teachers's attitude and really appreciates the work he does.

Q.8) Explain the wisdom in Mr. Freeman’s advice: "Don’t be so hard on yourself. Art is about making mistakes and learning from them.” How might this apply to other aspects of Melinda’s life? P. 122

daco158974_2 — 2025-03-26 02:33:00 UTC

Mr.Freeman feels that mistakes are an natural part of growth and improvement, and it is more important to learn from them than to avoid them.

Think about Melinda’s struggles throughout the novel. She is traumatized after not being heater friend, get excluded by her friends after that party and isolates herself, blaming herself for what happened.

Mr. Freeman’s advice can relate to her healing process—she needs to give herself grace, understand that recovery takes time, and learn from her experiences instead of feeling trapped by them.

This could also apply to her social life, as she struggles with friendships and self-expression.

Q.10) How does her appearance reflect her mental state? P. 124

daco158974_2 — 2025-03-26 02:33:30 UTC

Melinda's presentation on page 124 signals her deteriorating mental state—she stops keeping herself clean, wearing the same things over and over again and forgetting to bathe. Her scabbed-over, bitten-up lips reflect her silence and harbored pain, as her slouch and sloppy clothing reflect her desire to be invisible. These physical signs are a symbol of her depression and loneliness and inability to speak about the trauma she's carrying.

Question 1 How is Melinda’s self‐comparison to a rabbit appropriate? P. 97

ni154864_2 — 2025-03-26 02:36:41 UTC

Melinda compared herself as a rabbit when she saw "IT" while she go through a parking lot. "IT" is the guy who raped Melinda during the party. So Melinda is afraid of him. When Melinda saw him, she froze, hoping he wouldn't notice her just like a rabbit and predators. Also it means she want to run away from him like a rabbit.

14

yuan133475_2 — 2025-03-26 02:38:27 UTC

In the positive prospectively, Melinda achieves significant progresses in her in-class participation after meeting up with the counselor. Currently, she's able to understand what her teachers' talking about in every single lesson, and this transformation makes her feel joyful. Conversely, she's still suffering from negative emotions and distorted mentality. For instance, Melinda cannot enjoy going shopping with her mom because there's a large barrier of communication between them. So she expresses intensive self-hatred emotions when trying on her jeans during shopping. She also experiences emotional pain after realising that the only person who sends her a love card on the valentines is Heather, who also gives back their friendship necklace, meaning the end of their relationship. She suffers from this misery of social isolation at school and being not paid attention.

9. Why does Melinda think she “stumbles from thornbush to thornbush”? p 125

wang156494_1 — 2025-03-26 02:39:48 UTC

Melinda uses this metaphor to describe her feelings of moving from one painful situation to another without relief. Each "thornbush" symbolizes an barrier or source of pain—her bad relationships with her parents, the hostility from former friends like Rachel and Heather, and the stressful school environment. This metaphor expresses her sense of being trapped in the painful cycle.

13. What memory does Melinda relive in “A NIGHT TO REMEMBER”? p. 133 Why is the title ironic? Explain how she got into that predicament.

2025-03-26 02:40:09 UTC

She relives the memory that she got drunk on Rachel's end-of-summer party and a senior sexaully assaulted her. The title is ironic because it's a terrible night for Melinda, but she can never forget what happened to her as it's called "A NIGHT TO REMEMBER". She got into this predicament because she was drunk, weak and wasn't able to say a word or do anything to prevent the senior from assaulting her.

question5 Suggest why Melinda thinks: “Do they chose to be so dense?” at the meeting with her parents, the principal and the guidance counselor. P. 116

zhang1223121 — 2025-03-26 02:41:21 UTC

"Do they chose to be so dense ?" is a rhetorical question from Melinda , dense in this scene means stupid and no intelligence ,she thought that they are being silly during the discussion and the meeting , and no one in the meeting was actually giving real solutions to her issues and everyone was considering the issue with different perspectives and it is a self protectionm for her to consider they are stupid

12. Summarize the fight between Melinda One and Melinda Two. P. 132 Offer some advice to these warring sides of Melinda.

2025-03-26 02:45:42 UTC

Melinda One and Two disagree on whether to go to the pizza party. Melinda One thought it was a good opportunity to socialize and make new friends. But Two assumed the worst of others, she was afraid of this party.

The advice to Melinda One is that it is not necessary to force herself to socialize. She can start with smaller and more comfortable friend groups. For Melinda Two, the world is not as dangerous as she thought. Isolating herself is not a good idea. She should try to evaluate different scenarios more rationally and try to make friends with kind and nice people.

2. Hairwoman tries to teach symbolism in Hawthorne’s novels. Explain what symbolism is. What symbolism can you see in this novel?

2025-03-26 02:47:11 UTC

Symbolism is the use of symbols to represent an idea. In this part of the book there is symbolism when they us letters to represent ideas. For example, B for blunt, S for straightfoward and also when Melinda uses letters to describe herself.