"Caged Bird"

Melinda in the story Speak can relate to the bird in the poem "Caged Bird" very well. Melinda feels as if she is weighed down by her secret, kind of like the caged bird in the story felt as if he was weighed down because its feet were tied down. Melinda tries to speak up (like the Caged bird) but fails to do so because it is afraid of what may happen. Melinda differs from the caged bird because she finally ends up speaking out and becomes a "free bird". The caged bird, on the other hand, remains caged. In the poem the author states that the caged bird can't see through its bars of rage. I think this can relate to Melinda because she has so many bottled-up feelings of what happened to her it deprives her of her social life.