Verisimilitude in Young Adult Fiction: Catharsis within and through Anderson’s Speak

Abstract

This article highlights the protagonist’s journey in Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson towards finding an outlet to release the inner turmoil triggered by past traumatic experiences. Doing so, the paper sheds the light on the inner conflicts, as well as the major mechanisms of defense adopted by the protagonist. Just as importantly, by drawing on Kramer’s art therapy theory, the study explains how art creation and creative writing helped the protagonist and the author, respectively, release pent up emotions through a symbolic form, making them one step closer to the verbal form of self-expression.