Monster

Myers, W.D., & Myers, C. (1999). Monster. New York, N.y: HarperCollins Publishers.

Reflection Here

Steve Harmon, a sixteen-year-old African American teen from Harlem, is awaiting trial for his role as an accomplice in a drugstore robbery that ended in murder. Before being imprisoned, Steve enjoyed amateur film making and while in confinement decides to write his experience in prison as a movie script. In a movie script format, Steve gives readers an account of the events leading up to the crime. As narrator, director, and star of his story, Steve navigates readers through the events of the courtroom and discussions with his attorney. He directs camera angles at various characters in the story from the judge, to

witnesses, and to the other teens involved in the crime. Readers are given a front seat to the personal dialogue Steve has with himself through diary entries he tucks in among the script. Steven writes this note to himself, "I want to know who I am. I want to know the road to panic that I took. I want to look at myself a thousand times to look for one true image." (Pg. 281). Is Steve innocent of his part in the crime? Readers must wait until the end of the story to find out Steve's courtroom and personal verdict.

This novel is written in first person perspective from Steve's viewpoint. He presents himself through his journal entries and a screenplay. The protagonist of a story is the main character who traditionally undergoes some sort of change. He or she must usually overcome some opposing force. In this story, the protagonist is Steve Harmon who is on trial for his life. The antagonist of a story is the force that provides an obstacle for the protagonist. The antagonists include the justice system, the neighborhood which impacts young men like Steve, the people Steve associates with in the neighborhood, and Steve himself.

Monster is a multicultural novel because is depicts life for African American teens growing up in inner city neighborhoods. The characters know poverty, war, neglect, and the street life.

A great way to use this in the classroom would be to allow students to write the closing arguments for the defense and/or prosecution.

Grade Level: 7-10