Bibliography
Myers, Walter Dean. 1999. MONSTER. Ill. by Christopher Myers. ISBN 0060280786
Plot Summary
Steve Harmon, a 16 year-old black male, sits in a grim jail cell. He is on trial for felony murder. “Sometimes I feel like I have walked into the middle of a movie. It is a strange movie with no plot and no beginning.” In order to take himself away from the horrors of jail and the uncertainty of the courtroom, Harmon treats his case as if it is a movie script for an upcoming film he will create. An innocent Harlem drugstore clerk has been killed. Several men are said to be involved in the robbery. Was Steve Harmon involved as a lookout? Or was he simply a bystander? Young Harmon constantly wonders if his entire youth will be spent in this nightmare of a jail, “I am so scared. My heart is beating like crazy and I am having trouble breathing.” He often has flashbacks of his childhood, and the events that preceded the robbery. What will his parents and younger brother do if he is found guilty? How will he survive with the constant fear of being molested or killed in this ungodly prison? It is up to the reader to see if young Steve Harmon is a true “Monster.”
Critical Analysis
Walter Dean Myers reveals this case to the reader in a very unglamorous and gritty way. His use of controversial subjects, such as foul language, violence, gangs, murder, robbery, drugs, and sexual assault are quite prevalent. Though the issues addressed may be controversial to some, they depict how some inner-city youth live. This real-life feeling appeals to young readers who want to hear stories that are not sugar-coated. The reader can feel the strong sense of sexual brutality and physical violence throughout the jail, “First I was scared of being hit or raped…Everybody in here either talks about sex or hurting somebody or what they’re in here for…They had church services and I went. There were only 9 guys in the service, and 2 of them got into a fight. It was a vicious fight…”
Myers allows the reader to understand how much Steve Harmon hates jail and the entire legal process. He is not sure of what is occurring most of the time in the courtroom, but he fears returning to his cell every night, “I hate this place. I hate this place. I can’t write it enough times to make it look the way I feel. I hate, hate, hate this place!!”
As the trial progresses, the reader sees how Harmon is becoming like the other inmates. Harmon knows this fact and writes about it, “I think I finally understand why there are so many fights. In here all you have going for you is the little surface stuff, how people look at you and what they say. And if that’s all you have, then you have to protect that. Maybe that’s right.” As Harmon’s character outlines his movie, he begins to realize that this is not really a script, but his life. He would give anything to have this only be a movie.
The use of script outlines and handwritten journal entries allow the reader to embark on something that is not your typical novel. Christopher Myers adds a haunting reality with grainy black and white photos of jail cells, mug shots and other characters. This format appeals to young readers, offering them an escape from monotonous paragraphs. The reader will enjoy this face-paced thriller, all the while wondering if young Steve Harmon truly is a MONSTER.
Review Excerpts
School Library Journal
“Christopher Myers's superfluous black-and-white drawings are less successful. Their grainy, unfocused look complements the cinematic quality of the text, but they do little to enhance the story. Monster will challenge readers with difficult questions, to which there are no definitive answers.”
Kirkus Reviews
“The format of this taut and moving drama forcefully regulates the pacing; breathless, edge-of-the-seat courtroom scenes written entirely in dialogue alternate with thoughtful, introspective journal entries that offer a sense of Steve's terror and confusion, and that deftly demonstrate Myers's point: the road from innocence to trouble is comprised of small, almost invisible steps, each involving an experience in which a ``positive moral decision'' was not made.”
Connections
A Reader’s Theater would be a wonderful way to share this book. Since it is written in a script format, students can take the role of the lawyers, witnesses, and defendants.
Students can also hypothesize about Steve Harmon’s life after the trial. What did he learn during the process? How did this all change his life?
Additional recommended books:
*The First Part Last by Angela Johnson ISBN 0689849230
*Who Am I Without Him? By Sharon Flake ISBN 1423103831
*Slam! By Walter Dean Meyers ISBN 0545055741
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