Myers, W.D. (1999).
Monster. NY: Scholastic
The story takes a
unique approach in that it is presented as a screenplay with notes by the
narrator, a sixteen-year-old from Harlem named Steve Harmon. Steve has been
charged with murder, and he’s being kept in prison until the trial. He’s
writing the play in order to keep his mind occupied while he awaits trial. If
Steve is found guilty, the judge might pronounce a sentence of anywhere from
twenty years in prison to death. The novel’s structure varies between
screenplay and narrative prose, reflecting Steve’s interest in film.
Steve’s situation seems simple enough at first. He begins by discussing how
much he hates and fears being in jail, due to the threat of violence and sexual
assault. When the trial begins, the reader learns about his arrest, but not
whether or not he committed the crime—for the good reason that Steve himself is
uncertain about his guilt. Monster then delves into the
psychological realm as Steve tries to decide if he is innocent or if he is, in
fact, a monster. He thinks his attorney, Kathy O’Brien, doesn’t believe in his
innocence, and his father has been aloof. Steve is on the brink of losing his
ability to self-identify.
As the trial progresses, so too does Steve’s screenplay. Scenes he writes
within the screenplay, as well as narrative passages that describe Steve,
reveal not only the attitude in his neighborhood but also the treatment he
received upon his arrest. Additionally, the reader learns more about what
happened surrounding the murder. According to the police, two young men entered
a drugstore intent on robbing the cashier, who happened to be the store owner.
He pulled a gun and there was a struggle; one of the two robbers tried to wrest
the gun from him. It went off, and the cashier died. The two robbers took the
money and fled.
After this
revelation, Steve’s case gets more complicated. As the police investigate the
crime, they turn to witnesses and informants because they can’t get any
fingerprints at the crime scene. One such character is already in prison, and
implicates Steve and his co-defendant, James King, in the murder. The police
also suspect a man named Richard “Bobo” Evans, who is serving time because he
got caught selling drugs to an undercover cop after the murder took place.
Evans testifies in court that he planned the robbery with King, and that Steve
was on lookout for the robbery. Evans says that King shot the victim. Steve is
still implicated too, however, by having been a part of the group robbing the
drugstore.
Even though Steve is no longer facing the death penalty, the threat of at least
twenty years in prison casts him into depression and he contemplates taking his
own life. O’Brien convinces him that he must testify to prove his innocence,
and coaches him to prepare him. She suggests that instead of saying he’s not guilty,
he should say that he didn’t commit the crime, because his fear and time in
prison may have given him feelings of guilt even if he did not murder—or know
of plans to murder—the store owner.
He performs well on the witness stand, talking about how he was only acquainted
with King and Evans from the neighborhood, that he didn’t plan anything with
them, and that he didn’t linger in the drug store that day. Instead, he says he
was walking the neighborhood making notes about filming there, and only walked
in and out briefly. King doesn’t testify, and the two defense attorneys and
prosecuting attorney make their closing statements. O’Brien thinks she has
planted enough doubt about Steve’s involvement in the robbery, and therefore in
the murder, to ensure his release.
At the end of the trial, the jury finds King guilty and Steve innocent.
The book explores themes
relating to incarceration, injustice, and being poor or black or both in
America’s inner-cities. Many of Myers’s numerous other works explore similar
topics, but perhaps the most noted, since it directly relays his own childhood
experience, is his memoir Bad Boy, which recounts Myers’ childhood
in Harlem. Another similar book is Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and
Me. It tells the story of his
similarly difficult childhood in Baltimore as he recounts the events of his
life to his son and explains to him what it means to be a black man in America,
particularly in light of the disadvantages and injustices he will face. Monster also explores dynamics of
prison life and what that does to a person’s psyche, regardless of race. Another
book that explores the American justice system would be In the Belly of the
Beast, a book composed of letters written by longtime-convict Jack Abbott
to the journalist and author Norman Mailer, which describes Abbott’s experience
and analysis of what he regarded as a brutal and utterly unjust prison system,
much like Steve Harmon recognizes in Myers’s novel.
I found a lesson plan
for the story. It has handouts, pacing
guides, and other useful. Was created
and by Livaudais-Baker English Classroom.
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