Walter Dean Myers Monster Themes

The book Hunter in the Dark written by Monica Hughes was a story about tragic accident that happened to a boy that took him by surprise causing his life to change. This book being published in 1982 reflects on the style used, as well as being written in a genre of a young adult literature. This book was published being a Canadian book but reached out across many countries.

First Steve and Mrs.Petrocelli said “ I don’t remember seeing him play ball” “you having trouble remembering what you’ve seen.” (Myers 226). Steve is using a tactic which he said he doesn’t remember something and nobody can disprove that because it’s his memory. Then in the jail inmate number two states “Nah! truth is something you gave up when you were out there on the street. Now you are talking survival” (Myers 226). This demonstrates my theme because the criminal is saying nobody will tell the truth, they will just look for ways to lie to get out of trouble. Steve is a very smart person as he is only saying the bare minimum as to not say any facts to show that he is guilty. The truth is gone all you have left now is

Walter Dean Myers’ memoir Bad Boy is about how he traveled back to his past. This book that he wrote is, funny, and unforgettable. As a boy, Myers had a quick-temper, was physically strong, and was always ready for a fight. He also read voraciously, as he would check out books from the library and carry them home, hidden in brown paper bags in order to avoid other boys' teasing. He aspired to be a writer.

In chapters 5, one of the things Walter Dean Myers did in this chapter he tries to string up the kid named Richard. This was shocking to the pastor, so he stopped them. (pg.39) Walter said “The summer of 1947 was one of eager anticipation for black people across the country. Jacki Robison and Larry Doby, two black players from the all- black Negro League, had finally been accepted into major league baseball.” (pg.35) also Walter discovered that he had a speech problem, he discovered it when kids laughed at him for speaking in front of the class. These are also the chapters that Gorge Myers and Mickey moved to Harlem, and most people called Walter, Walter Dean because of his parents. Walter said “the other person who entered my life was my

“Unless you know who you are, you will always be vulnerable to what people say.” In this quote, American television personality, author, psychologist, and the host of the television show “Dr. Phil”, Dr. Phil McGraw explains, that if you are not true to yourself or if you are not aware of your own beliefs, you will always be susceptible to what people say of you and what people want you to think or believe. A similar theme is communicated through the novel “monster.” In the Novel “Monster”, what Walter Dean Myers suggests about the nature of stereotypes is that one must ignore the negative views of others and stay true to their own beliefs.

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?

“Sheer mayhem breaks out, neighbor battling neighbor, grabbing for rifles, bricks, even the hammer from Pete Van Horn’s body,” (Serling, page 15). This describes the final scene of a provocative short story in The Twilight Zone. The Twilight Zone is a televised show set in the 1960s with short episodes in no specific order. These stories all have the darkest of themes to share about humanity’s true nature. In the short story, “Monsters Are Due on Maple Street” by Rod Serling, the author contributes to the theme that prejudice and scapegoating are weapons of humanity. When the idea of prejudice first kicks in, Maple Street gets a little taste of madness.

Clay Dillow’s essay “To Catch a Bombmaker” was published in October 2015 in Popular Science. His purpose was to inform the audience about a “little-known FBI forensics lab” (Dillow 54). Even though Dillow did not include many examples of pathos or Kairos in his writing, it is important that an author uses these strategies to help answer the question that is being asked. He was able to provide information with clarity and logic without being bias in his argument. By utilizing a professional tone, facts, and statistics, Dillow was able to produce a successful essay. His application of all eight elements of critical thinking and ethos and pathos made his argument more valid and convincing.

He created a monster story disguised as a detective story, which left the audience in awe at the climax in the story where they discover the truth. The way the author simulated the setting in the novella is very reminiscent of how Palahniuk set up the climax in Fight Club. The audience is given the image of individual who has altered persona.

Walter Dean Myers, born Walter Milton Myers, was born on August 12th, 1937 and died on July 1st 2014. He was an American author for children’s book. He wrote over 100 books including picture books and nonfiction books. Two of his most famous books arguably if not his most famous books are Monster (1999) and Fallen Angel (1988).

One thing that people do when they do not know a certain objective is that they might start to get enraged or frightened and they can start to turn very violent. The show called The Twilight Zone, is a series of short stories that follow different groups of people that face different problems. They all come back to the main theme that humans are really monsters. In the short story, Monsters are Due on Maple Street by Rod Serling a group of people soon find out that the power is cut and they are suspicious that an alien is behind this. It shows two weapons of humanity which are suspicion and scapegoating. There are some ways that suspicion led the humans to turn on each other and how it is shown to go against humans.

Monster is an example of what Patty Campbell would call a “landmark book.” Texts such as these “encourage readers to interact with the text and with one another by employing a variety of devices, among them ambiguity” (Campbell 1) Because it is told through the eyes of Steve himself, the plot can be difficult to decipher. It is ambiguous whether he is innocent or guilty of being involved with the crime. Steve learned to make things unpredictable from his film teacher Mr. Sawicki who teaches him, “If you make your film predictable, they’ll make up their minds about it long before it’s over” (19). Steve took his teacher’s advice and made this film script entirely unpredictable,

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

Funny I didn’t think of it before. I guess you try to forget those things. Anyone who’s ever used a switch knife would never have stabbed downward. You don’t handle a switch knife that was. You us it underhand,” (Rose, 25). This helps convince some of the other jurors to change their vote to not guilty. His contribution of information made the jurors think more about their vote. His character grows from being meek to being an important factor in the result of the case being a fair trial. There is still other prejudice that made one juror still vote guilty.