Essay about Walter Dean Myers’ Monster - Guilty Until Proven Innocent

When analyzed online many of the definitions you will find for the word monster include: a strange or horrible imaginary creature, one who deviates from normal or acceptable behavior, or an animal of strange and/or terrifying shape. (Merriam Webster) When observing the “Monster Theory” by Jeffrey Cohen and the 7 theses that he provides in this text, one can begin to somewhat disagree with these formal definitions and attempt to say that it has an even greater meaning. Monsters might scare us and frighten us because of their physical appearances but also can provide us with possible solutions to gaps and uncertainties in our mind that Sigmund Freud would label as “The Uncanny”. I can only but agree with

The idea of what a monster is and how it pertains to modern day society has fascinated readers and writers for decades. Before taking this class, I was aware of what a monster is and the function it served in today’s society. Furthermore, after taking this class, I am now aware of what a monster truly is, and what really separates a monster from a regular person. The piece of text that I mainly chose to focus on and elaborate closely to demonstrate the aspects of a monster is appropriately named, Monster, by Walter Dean Myers. The reason I chose this piece of literature is because, Monster thoroughly elaborates what a monster is in todays society and how it functions in the modern day world. In this essay I will elaborate on

1. Monster is a novel written in a screenplay format with Steve’s journal entries mixed in throughout. Do you think this is an effective format for the book? Why or why not?

In Shelley’s Frankenstein, the monster is portrayed as a grotesque abomination. However, as Hopkins states in Contending Forces, the cultural and geographical situations, or lack thereof, in which one matures in play a crucial role in the proper development of one’s mind and brain. The monster is simply a product of circumstance. The lack of social interactions alongside geographical isolation propelled the daemon to be alienated from society, ultimately resulting in a lack of morals and an underdeveloped psyche. By being a culmination of his surroundings and experiences it is revealed that the true monstrous entities are the factors that leave the daemon predisposed to fail in a modern society. Arguably, Victor created a being, while the circumstances that said being was placed in “created” a monster. Shelley purposefully terrorizes the monster with such intensity to provoke and justify the overarching theme in this novel which states that people should not be judged on their physical appearance.

In the book Monster, by Walter Dean Myers, Steve Harmon is a sixteen year old African-American that got arrested for being a lookout during the robbery, that ends up in a murder. Steve Harmon is in jail for the murder case that is now going on and he is in his jail/prison outfit. He has his suit and tie sitting on his cot beside him waiting for the trial. He has one major fatal flaw and that is when he gets all caught up in the robbery with James King.

An inherent marker of this case’s problematic nature can be demonstrated within the representation of the defendants by prosecution. The defendants had their socioeconomic status and previous interactions with the ‘justice’ system flagrantly used against them. They were characterized as those people, the others, the ones who commit crimes – preying on implicit jury biases*1. Their background and the neighborhood they grew up in was used as an excuse to typecast them for a role in prison. It seems obvious that in any case, the class roles of any participants should be irrelevant unless their crime explicitly involves the matter. Instead, theirs were touted as evidence. Additionally, the defendants’ previous transgressions were brought up in an attempt to further incriminate them. Though recidivism rates are essentially astronomical in the United States, this argument is beyond irrelevant and at its heart a fallacy that should make this information irrelevant. (If the defendants had interacted with the justice system before and they were convicted of anything, then the system has failed them. It’s clearly ineffective given that in the eyes of the state the defendants were far from rehabilitated).

Monster essay People today make bad decisions. Some examples are in the book called Monster by Walter Dean Myers. This book is about Steve if he is guilty or not. Steve was the lookout and was responsible for Mr. Nesbit death because Steve was there, evolved, and felony murder. First of all, Steve was the lookout because he was in the store a little time before the robbery.

For the first time in my life i dreaded walking into this dear courtroom. It brings great sorrow to see the hopeful look in Tom’s eyes. For I know he will never be deemed innocent, simply because of the color of his skin. No matter how innocent he is. I feel as if there is this weight setting on my shoulders, like a weight that will never be lifted. If Tom Robinson is deemed guilty, it will be solely my fault. I know deep down in my heart that Tom will never be set free, yet I still fight with every single breath of me. Tom is counting on me, and I will not let him down.

Michael Myers is known for his uncontrollable killing of his own bloodline. Known from the Halloween film series, after killing his older sister and being locked up in a mental institute for fifteen years, Myers escapes and goes on the search for his remaining family member, his little sister. He not only goes through challenges to get rid of anyone related to him, but he also kills any innocent soul that might get in his way. He has this immortality that aids him to survive any type of death that is inflicted on him. Why does a normal kid with a troubled childhood who grew up in the suburbs have this immortal life and need to kill his family? It is said that The Curse of Thorn was allocated on Michael by a cult. Compelling him to be an invincible

The difference between a truth and a lie is a very fine line. Because to many people the truth is only what they believe to be factual. Throughout the book Monster written by Walter D. Myers, the reader experiences a slippery slope that leads them to believe the main character Steve Harmon was lying during his trial. However, this is simply what one believes . This is the mental warfare that goes in ones head as they read Monster.

Almost every member of the black community in Maycomb County is admirable in their personalities and innocent in their nature, and this generalisation makes the crimes against the black community all the worse. Tom Robinson, a man discriminated and accused of a crime that he didn’t commit has come forth to the justice system. The color of his skin determines everything from his background too if he’s guilty or not. A black man’s life is unable to prove innocence because of his race. Poverty has affected many people back in the 1960’s but, if a black man or women were to experience this they would be put on the white

The defendant’s labeling as a “slum kid” and “violent thug” mimics today’s labeling and subsequent marginalization of groups of individuals in order to sanction the system’s prejudice. Furthermore, our society’s criminal justice system represents only a microcosm of the problem, and mirrors the lacking officer indictments, uneven incarceration rates of people of color, and school-to-prison pipeline that finances private pockets. And all too often, society flaunts its progression—just as juror three began the trial flaunting—“Everybody gets a fair trial. That’s the system” (fischersoph.files.wordpress.com). But this unnoticed pride continues to validate these systemic problems.

American court systems can relate so much to the court systems and social structures of the two books being talked about in this paper. Flawed court systems make numerous factors standout such as lack of justice, bias or racism,

“All men are created equal” is an often quoted statement, though most everyone knows that while that may or may not be true, it is certainly never enforced in any way. This novel specifically highlights this conundrum, showing how while in a court of law, people are all supposedly given fair treatment, they aren’t. Tom never had a fair chance, simply because of his circumstances of lineage. Since he was black, he would have never been given a fair chance in this court in Alabama in the

The film “Twelve Angry Men” directed by Sidney Lumet (1957) shows us the story of what we are familiar with as our American form of a judicial system. Twelve men (all white,