Walter D. Myers's Monster is an interestingly written novel. It's the first novel I've ever read that's written in both screenplay form and when the perspective is centered around a single narrative, the text is written to look like actual handwriting. Very cool. This also made the novel a very fast and easy read. Right away the novel hooked me in with the first line, "[the] best time to cry is at night, when the lights are out and someone is being beaten up and screaming for help" (Myers 1). I say this because while the text was formatted to look like actual handwriting, words such as "cry", "night", and "screaming" was slightly larger and bolder. You can literally see the emotion the narrator (Steve) was feeling. Using this technique made me feel like Steve was on the verge of breaking. But on the other hand, readers also get to see a reserved version of Steve. For reserved Steve, the text is formatted to look like it's written on a typewriter and everything is calmly stated. Eventually, readers begin to realize Steve is twenty-five years to life in prison for murder and that he's pretty stressed out about it (go figure). Since writing in a journal isn't doing him much good anymore, Steve starts chronicling his experience in screenplay form.
The screenplay (or film) is pretty boring at first, just generic courtroom things, but things eventually get interesting once witnesses start taking the stand. That's when the drama really starts. But it doesn't just happen in the courtroom, drama spews out in flashbacks from Steve's past. This gives readers more insight into his character. We also see him struggle over a question that haunts him: Am I truly a monster? He thinks of this because constantly ever since he was called a monster by his prosecutor. In the end, when the verdict is announced and Steve is not guilty, the question still remained and lingered in his thoughts. In court, Steve (now a free man), turned to his attorney open-armed, yet she turned away from him. So of course, this causes Steve (and readers) to question why did she turn away. Unfortunately, all questions are left unanswered and the novel ends with one final question: What did she see? And it's unfortunate that the novel ends on that note because we don't know if those answers will ever be answered for Steve.
Themes. While there were a plethora of themes in this novel, the two that really caught my attention were fear and isolation. In Steve's case (pun intended) his fear manifested in two different ways--physically and mentally. His physical fear was a response to his surrounding, he had to do everything in front of strangers. Strangers that are significantly older than himself. His mental fear however, was his fear of the truth (reason why there were so many unanswered questions, he might have not been willing to face the truth). This is the kind of fear that causes people to lie to others and themselves. Isolation plays a huge part in Monster. Steve is literally alone all the time. As he sits in his jail cell, as he watches jurors turn away from him in court, and as he tries to hug his attorney. While being alone plays into fear, its also hard to be alone.
This novel loosely positions adolescents into two categories. Guilty or innocent. If you associate yourself with people who are considered "bad" or who are from the "wrong neighborhood", you become tainted.
I definitely believe this novel would appeal to adolescents--especially to those of color. Though Steve is innocent of his crimes, there really isn't a true happy ending--the realness in this shows the reality some teens might face today.
Grade: B+
The screenplay (or film) is pretty boring at first, just generic courtroom things, but things eventually get interesting once witnesses start taking the stand. That's when the drama really starts. But it doesn't just happen in the courtroom, drama spews out in flashbacks from Steve's past. This gives readers more insight into his character. We also see him struggle over a question that haunts him: Am I truly a monster? He thinks of this because constantly ever since he was called a monster by his prosecutor. In the end, when the verdict is announced and Steve is not guilty, the question still remained and lingered in his thoughts. In court, Steve (now a free man), turned to his attorney open-armed, yet she turned away from him. So of course, this causes Steve (and readers) to question why did she turn away. Unfortunately, all questions are left unanswered and the novel ends with one final question: What did she see? And it's unfortunate that the novel ends on that note because we don't know if those answers will ever be answered for Steve.
Themes. While there were a plethora of themes in this novel, the two that really caught my attention were fear and isolation. In Steve's case (pun intended) his fear manifested in two different ways--physically and mentally. His physical fear was a response to his surrounding, he had to do everything in front of strangers. Strangers that are significantly older than himself. His mental fear however, was his fear of the truth (reason why there were so many unanswered questions, he might have not been willing to face the truth). This is the kind of fear that causes people to lie to others and themselves. Isolation plays a huge part in Monster. Steve is literally alone all the time. As he sits in his jail cell, as he watches jurors turn away from him in court, and as he tries to hug his attorney. While being alone plays into fear, its also hard to be alone.
This novel loosely positions adolescents into two categories. Guilty or innocent. If you associate yourself with people who are considered "bad" or who are from the "wrong neighborhood", you become tainted.
I definitely believe this novel would appeal to adolescents--especially to those of color. Though Steve is innocent of his crimes, there really isn't a true happy ending--the realness in this shows the reality some teens might face today.
Grade: B+
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