Reading Group Guide
About This Guide:
In Monster, which won the first annual Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in young adult literature, acclaimed author Walter Dean Myers weaves a tale that causes us to question what we know and believe about race, justice, and truth in American society today. The author was curious about what leads a person from innocence to committing criminal acts and, eventually, entering prison. He spent many months interviewing killers, robbers, prostitutes, and drug dealers, and that extensive research infuses Monster with a gritty realism that is at once riveting and frightening. Presented as a screenplay that the protagonist writes while on trial for felony murder, the story that unfolds in renching and provocative, and the reader is invited to draw his or her own conclusions about the events and participants surrounding a brutal crime.
The discussion questions presented here are intended to spark a spirited debate about the many moral and societal dilemmas depicted in this revolutionary novel.
About The Book:
Sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon can scarcely believe what has happened to him. Somehow he has ended up incarcerated in the Manhattan Juvenile Detention Center for his alleged role in the robbery of a neighborhood drugstore in which the owner of the store was killed. Now he's been charged with felony murder! As the trial begins, Steve feels that this can't possibly be his real life. Everything is suddenly out of control. To him, it seems as if he has “walked into the middle of a movie.” Since he is a film student, he decides to tell his story in the form of a screenplay. Steve calls his filmMonster because that's how the prosecutor refers to him in court. But is he really a monster? And will we ever really know the truth?
Questions For Discussion:
- Is justice served in Steve's case? Based on the evidence, what was Steve's role during the robbery? Should he have been charged with, or convicted of, felony murder? How should the jury have voted?
- In the opening credits to his movie, Steve writes that this is “the incredible story of how one guy's life was turned around by a few events.” When does Steve lose control of his own fate? What could he have done differently to avoid the situation he finds himself in?
- Steve also writes that the story is “told as it actually happened.” Is that true? How does the fact that the story is told from Steve's point of view influence what the reader knows about the events surrounding the robbery?
- Steve imagines the defense attorney is looking at him and wondering “who the real Steve Harmon was.” Who is the real Steve Harmon? Is he a “monster,” as the prosecutor calls him? Why is it so important to Steve to have a better understanding of who he is?
- Reread the prisoners' debate on truth (pages 220-222). Who is right? What happens to truth in our legal system? Are people always encouraged to tell the truth? Are lawyers always most concerned with the truth? Are fact and nofact the same as truth and nontruth? How might the characters in Monster answer this question?
- After a visit from his mother, Steve says, “I knew she felt that I didn't do anything wrong. It was me who wasn't sure. It was me who lay on the cot wondering if I was fooling myself.” Why does Steve begin to doubt himself?
- The book's characters are diverse in many ways, including race, background, and age. What makes the characters so realistic? How do they make the story and life in jail seem real? One of the prisoners, Acie, says, “All they can do is put me in jail. They can't touch my soul.” What does he mean by this? Is he right?
- Which witnesses were sympathetic to Steve? Who is credible—the witnesses or Steve?
- Steve's defense attorney, O'Brien, tells him, “half of those jurors, no matter what they said when we questioned them when we picked the jury, believed you were guilty the moment they laid eyes on you. You're young, you're Black, and you're on trial. What else do they need to know?” What does this statement imply about the American justice system? Does it treat everyone fairly? Do you agree with O'Brien's assessment? Was race a major factor in the outcome of the trial? Why or why not?
- Petrocelli, the prosecuting attorney, maintains that “they are all equally guilty. The one who grabbed the cigarettes, the one who wrestled for the gun, the one who checked the place to see if the coast was clear.” Is everyone equally guilty, or are there varying degrees of guilt? What are the degrees? Is Steve innocent or guilty?
- Is the screenplay format an effective way to tell the story? Why did the author choose to use this device? In film class Mr. Sawicki warns his students against making their films “too predictable” and also advises them to “keep it simple.” Have Steve and, by extension, the author of the novel, achieved those goals? Why or why not?
- How does the art in the this book enhance the story? As Steve's movie begins, the credits look like those in Star Wars. What does this say about Steve?
About The Author:
Walter Dean Myers has been a prolific writer of children's and young adult literature for over thirty years. During his career he has received virtually every accolade his profession offers, including the Michael L. Printz Award for Monster, a Newbery Honor for Scorpions, numerous Coretta Scott King citations, and the American Library Association's Margaret A. Edwards Award for his lifetime contribution to the field of children's literature.
Myers was raised in Harlem, where many of his books are set. Despite being a high school dropout, he earned a B.A. from Empire State College. Of his work, Myers says, “Ultimately, what I want to do with my writing is to make connections—to touch the lives of my characters and, through them, those of my readers.” Walter Dean Myers lives with his wife, Constance, in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Read an Excerpt
Monster Chapter One
The best time to cry is at night, when the lights are out and someone is being beaten up and screaming for help. That way even if you sniffle a little they won't hear you. If anybody knows that you are crying, they'll start talking about it and soon it'll be your turn to get beat up when the lights go out.
There is a mirror over the steel sink in my cell. It's six inches high, and scratched with the names of some guys who were here before me. When I look into the small rectangle, I see a face looking back at me but I don't recognize it.
It doesn't look like me. I couldn't have changed that much in a few months. I wonder if I will look like myself when the trial is over.
This morning at breakfast a guy got hit in the face with a tray. Somebody said some little thing and somebody else got mad. There was blood all over the place.
When the guards came over, they made us line up against the wall. The guy who was hit they made sit at the table while they waited for another guard to bring them rubber gloves.
When the gloves came, the guards put them on, handcuffed the guy, and then took him to the dispensary. He was still bleeding pretty bad.
They say you get used to being in jail, but I don't see how. Every morning
I wake up and I am surprised to be here.
If your life outside was real, then everything in here is just the opposite. We sleep with strangers, wake up with strangers, and go to the bathroom in front of strangers. They're strangers but they still find reasons to hurt each other.
Sometimes I feel like I have walked into the middle of a movie. It is a strange movie with no plot and no beginning. The movie isin black and white, and grainy. Sometimes the camera moves in so close that you can't tell what is going on and you just listen to the sounds and guess.
I have seen movies of prisons but never one like this. This is not a movie about bars and locked doors. It is about being alone when you are not really alone and about being scared all the time.
I think to get used to this I will have to give up what I think is real and take up something else.
I wish I could make sense of it.
Maybe I could make my own movie. I could write it out and play it in my head. I could block out the scenes like we did in school. The film will be the story of my life.
No, not my life, but of this experience. I'll write it down in the notebook they let me keep. I'll call it what the lady who is the prosecutor called me.
Monday, July 6th MONSTER!
FADE IN: INTERIOR: Early morning in CELL BLOCK D, MANHATTAN DETENTION CENTER. Camera goes slowly down grim, gray corridor. There are sounds of inmates yelling from cell to cell; much of it is obscene. Most of the voices are clearly Black or Hispanic. Camera stops and slowly turns toward a cell.
INTERIOR: CELL. Sixteen-year-old STEVE HARMON is sitting on the edge of a metal cot, head in hands. He is thin, brown skinned. On the cot next to him are the suit and tie he is to wear to court for the start of his trial.
CUT TO: ERNIE, another prisoner, sitting on john, pants down.
CUT TO: SUNSET, another prisoner, pulling on T-shirt.
CUT TO: STEVE pulling blanket over his head as screen goes dark.
VOICE-OVER (VO)
Ain't no use putting the blanket over your head, man. You can't cut this out; this is reality. This is the real deal. VO continues with anonymous PRISONER explaining how the Detention Center is the real thing. As he does, words appear on the screen, just like the opening credits of the movie Star Wars, rolling from the bottom of the screen and shrinking until they are a blur on the top of the screen before rolling off into space.
MONSTER! The Story of My Miserable Life
Starring Steve Harmon
Produced by Steve Harmon
Directed by Steve Harmon
(Credits continue to roll.)
VO
Yo, Harmon, you gonna eat something? Come on and get your breakfast, man. I'll take your eggs if you don't want them. You want them?STEVE (subdued)
I'm not hungry.SUNSET
His trial starts today. He up for the big one. I know how that feels.CUT TO: INTERIOR: CORRECTIONS DEPT. VAN. Through the bars at the rear of the van, we see people going about the business of their lives in downtown New York. There are men collecting garbage, a female traffic officer motioning for a taxi to make a turn, students on the way to school. Few people notice the van as it makes its way from the DETENTION CENTER to the COURTHOUSE.
CUT TO: PRISONERS, handcuffed, coming from back of van. STEVE is carrying a notebook. He is dressed in the suit and tie we saw on the cot. He is seen only briefly as he is herded through the heavy doors of the courthouse.
FADE OUT as last prisoner from the van enters rear of courthouse.
FADE IN: INTERIOR COURTHOUSE. We are in a small room used for prisoner-lawyer interviews. A guard sits at a desk behind STEVE.
KATHY O'BRIEN, STEVE's lawyer, is petite, red-haired, and freckled. She is all business as she talks to STEVE.
O'BRIEN
Let me make sure you understand what's going on. Both you and this King character are on trial for felony murder. Felony murder is as serious as it gets. Sandra Petrocelli is the prosecutor, and she's good. They're pushing for the death penalty, which is really bad. The jury might think they're doing you a big favor by giving you life in prison. So you'd better take this trial very, very seriously.When you're in court, you sit there and you pay attention. You let the jury know that you think the case is as serious as they do. You don't turn and wave to any of your friends. It's all right to acknowledge your mother.I have to go and talk to the judge. The trial will begin in a few minutes. Is there anything you want to ask me before it starts?STEVE
You think we're going to win? O'BRIEN (seriously)
It probably depends on what you mean by "win."CUT TO: INTERIOR: HOLDING ROOM. We see STEVE sitting at one end of bench. Against the opposite wall, dressed in a sloppy-looking suit, is 23-year-old JAMES KING, the other man on trial. KING looks older than 23. He looks over at STEVE with a hard look and we see STEVE look away. Two GUARDS sit at a table away from the prisoners, who are handcuffed. The camera finds the GUARDS in a MEDIUM SHOT (MS). They have their breakfast in aluminum take-out trays that contain eggs, sausages, and potatoes. A Black female STENOGRAPHER pours coffee for herself and the GUARDS.
STENOGRAPHER
I hope this case lasts two weeks. I can sure use the money.GUARD 1
Six days'maybe seven. It's a motion case. They go through the motions; then they lock them up.
(Turns and looks off camera toward STEVE.)
Ain't that right, bright eyes?CUT TO: STEVE, who is seated on a low bench. He is handcuffed to a U-bolt put in the bench for that purpose. STEVE looks away from the GUARD.
CUT TO: DOOR. It opens, and COURT CLERK looks in.
COURT CLERK
Two minutes!CUT TO: GUARDS, who hurriedly finish breakfast. STENOGRAPHER takes machine into COURTROOM. They unshackle STEVE and take him toward door.
CUT TO: STEVE is made to sit down at one table. At another table we see KING and two attorneys. STEVE sits alone. A guard stands behind him. There are one or two spectators in the court. Then four more enter.
CLOSE-UP (CU) of STEVE HARMON. The fear is evident on his face.
MS: People are getting ready for the trial to begin. KATHY O'BRIEN sits next to STEVE.
O'BRIEN
How are you doing?STEVE
I'm scared.O'BRIEN
Good; you should be. Anyway, just remember what we've been talking about. The judge is going to rule on a motion that King's lawyer made to suppress Cruz's testimony, and a few other things. Steve, let me tell you what my job is here. My job is to make sure the law works for you as well as against you, and to make you a human being in the eyes of the jury. Your job is to help me. Any questions you have, write them down and I'll try to answer them. What are you doing there?STEVE
I'm writing this whole thing down as a movie.O'BRIEN
Whatever. Make sure you pay attention. Close attention. Monster. Copyright © by Walter Myers. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.
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