In Speak, the character of Melinda uses numerous allusions. This figure uses a reference to a place, past event, cultural trait, or literary work, allowing the reader to make a connection. usually about a current idea or incident. By having the character use several different types of allusions, Laurie Halse Anderson shows that she is aware of contemporary and past popular culture, intelligent, well-educated, and articulate—at least in expressing her thoughts to herself, even though she is not communicating verbally with others.
Throughout the novel, Melinda is working on an art project of a tree. She initially resists the project as she finds herself unable to invest emotionally in a creative work. While looking in the mirror, she considers a literal interpretation that expresses her feelings directly, and asks,
Could I put my face in a tree, like a dryad from Greek mythology? Two muddy-circle eyes under black-dash eyebrows, piggy-nose nostrils, and a chewed-up horror of a mouth? Definitely not a dryad face.
In ancient Greece, a dryad was a nymph or nature spirit that lived in trees, especially oaks.
One of Melinda’s difficulties is in making new friends; her former clan has split up and she feels extremely vulnerable most of the time. By participating in various school activities, Melinda begins to socialize with other students. Although the cliques are not always welcoming, Melinda is trying out various strategies for making friends. When she works with Heather on decorating the teachers’ lounge, she is negatively impressed by many aspects of the room. Failure to update the room is indicated by outdated postings on a "bulletin board that hasn't been cleared off since Americans walked on the moon." By this she means some thirty years earlier: US astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon on July 20, 1969, as part of the Apollo 11 mission.
Melinda has a conflicted attitude toward Nicole, a popular, athletic girl. As she herself is not athletic, she tends to mock “jocks.” She both envies Nicole her popularity, which she assumes comes easy to her, and admits she cannot hate her because she is genuinely nice. Referring to her as “Nicole, Warrior Princess” is an allusion to the television show, Xena, Warrior Princess, about an ancient Greek heroine with fantastic abilities.
https://books.google.com/books?id=0SSoFvWQSD0C&source=gbs_navlinks_s
https://literary-devices.com/content/allusion/
https://www.britannica.com/topic/dryad
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