In the novel Speak, the closet symbolizes the safe space for the main character to run away and hide. Melinda says about the janitor's closet on page 23, "the closet is abandoned - it has no purpose, no name. It is the perfect place for me." She feels like she doesn't actually have a purpose or identity and no one really notices her, like the closet. It represents isolation. If you've ever heard the term "in the closet" about LGBT kids, it means that's what they're hiding. Melinda is hiding the fact that she was raped and her depression by hiding in these closets.
