Monster 2

Steve Harmon is the main character of my book Monster he only wants to go home and live his life normally. He really only wants the one thing. He really wants this because he still is a child and lives with his parents and really has a better life at home, whereas some inmates have no shelter, food, or job outside of prison. Some of the themes that are starting to arise are the association of prisoners. Some of the things that Steve’s lawyer said really seemed to ring true during the hearing. For example at the beginning of the trial Steve looked over at some of the jurors and smiled, but instead of returning the smile they quickly looked away. They seemed to be scared or disgusted by him as if he wasn't human. That mindset is actually contradicting that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. The opposite seems to be true with this case. The way that the book is set up and structured is like a movie script. There are also some journal entries that have been written by Steve that have been included throughout the book. It also includes some camera angles and scene descriptions. It is written like this because Steve wants to turn his story into a movie that can be related to and set an example for people going through hard times.

Monster

Monster by Walter Dean Myers is about the conviction Steve Harmon. He is a 16 year old African-American boy living in Manhattan. Steve is in the Manhattan Detention Center for aiding and abetting a robbery of a local liquor store. The problem is that he was wrongfully convicted, and nobody will believe his side of the story. He claims that he was an innocent bystander who walked in looked around the store and left. However the cops believe by the surveillance tapes that he went in and made sure there were no police officers or security inside, so the robbery would smoothly. The police also received word from another prisoner that all three were acquaintances and were working together.  The three boys, Steve Harmon, James King, and “Bobo” Evans have been taken in to custody and have a court date. I believe that the court hearing will not work against Steve, but will not have any proof to vindicate him. This book relates to the television show Psych where more often than not the obvious perpetrators are wrongfully convicted for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It also relates to society in that the black population is more associated with crimes because of the lingering prejudice from before civil rights movements. This makes it so people automatically associate them with crime and poverty.