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Bad Choices In The Monster By Walter Dean Myers

1036 Words5 Pages

My first impression when I was reading the book is that the environment in which one lives in can influence our decisions. The book describes Steve in general as a good guy from a harsh environment that has molded him poorly. Steve is a 16-year-old from the ghetto, and as one from the ghetto, he believes that surviving on the streets requires working on the side of the gang, not against it. Therefore, as a result, he has lived his young life doing jobs for the gang that has gotten him involved in small crimes, drug usage, and other poor choices. However, Myers' story shows it is clear Steve has made bad choices as a product of his environment and one can argue if Steve is "evil" because he has done these crimes as a result of his environment …show more content…

In fact, during the trial, the prosecuting attorney refers to Steve Harmon and the rest of the individuals allegedly involved in the crime as "monsters." Even though Steve is a relatively shy, kind person who has a positive reputation throughout his school as a talented filmmaker, he is categorized as a "monster" simply because he is on trials. She was always trying to make Steve looked bad as the other individuals allegedly involved in the crime. His depiction by the prosecuting attorney as a "monster" and whose treatment in the criminal justice system is as depraved as the crime of which Steve is accused, could foreshadow a ruined existence. Even though Steve in some way took part in the robbery was not the type of person she wanted the public and the jury to believe he was. He was so dehumanized by the prosecuting attorney that even his own attorney has some doubt about him being innocent. O'Brien had to inform Steve that her job was to differentiate him from the other individuals on trial because the jury already views him as guilty. In this optic, Steve and his attorney struggled to distinguish him as a talented, respected young man in order to win the case. Fortunately, even though Steve was found not guilty by the jury at the end of the trial he turned to hug his attorney, Kathy O'Brien. Instead of hugging Steve, O'Brien distances herself and turns away of from him. This action from her showed that she still was not convinced of his innocence and viewed him as a

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The title of the novel Monster, illustrated by Walter Dean Myers, the main character Steve Harmon a 16-year old African-American male. That shows a lot of conflicts that he goes through the novel, the theme of the novel is that this character Steve Harmon goes through rough moment in jail and letting himself down for that. He learns this lesson when Osvaldo was lying in court so, then they thought, the people who defend Steve Harmon, O’Brien thought that everything Osvaldo said was lies. In Page 106 When they ask him if he used to be in a gang, he lies about it says that he wasn't part of no gang then, osvaldo said the information I got right here says that you were a part of a gang call Los Diablos or this

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After reading Monster, there are two questions that need to be answered. These questions are “Was Steve Harmon the lookout for the robbery” and “Is Steve Harmon responsible for the death of Mr. Nesbitt?” He may have been acquitted, but this does not make him innocent. The evidence clearly shows that Steve Harmon was the lookout for the robbery and thus responsible for Mr. Nesbitt’s death because he was at the planning of the robbery, he was named by Bobo Evans as the lookout, and rather than reporting Evans and King to the authorities, he helped them murder and rob an innocent man.

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Another thing to consider is that Steve got no profit from this robbery. When asked who else the money went to bobo said: “When we discovered the guy was dead we decided to lay low”. He says later that steve got no money. If he did they could trace it, but he didn’t. Because there was no transaction, there is nothing linking steve to this crime.

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After Steve defended Goodman for being innocent,

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689 Words | 3 Pages

The whole jury said he is not guilty. People also said that Steve had done nothing wrong; they believed he had nothing to do with it. However, just because he was found not guilty doesn't mean Steve was innocent. Therefore, Steve was a monster. Steve was a monster because he was friends with bad people.

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Steve Harmon, a fifteen year old , was charged with robbery and murder but did not do it. As a member of the film club, Steve Harmon is charged with these offenses in the novel Monster. The owner of a drug store was shot and killed, and Harmon is being investigated. However, he is innocent because the state's witnesses are untrustworthy, there is no evidence he was present, and he never finished his claimed assignment. All of this demonstrates that Steve Harmon is not guilty.

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(Myers 58). This shows Steve is a good person because he wants to help the world. He would do this by saving people. This has more evidence than him being a criminal because criminals don’t save people, they kill people. That is not what he wants to do.

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1176 Words | 5 Pages

Steve has put on trial for felony murder, a crime in which he insists he did not commit. He has lost all but one of his possessions, his journal. In this journal steve writes about his experience in jail and what happens on trial in the courtroom. He formats it into a movie script, with the occasional notes pages, and titles it Monster. In the book Monster, by Walter Dean Myers, he writes about a young man named Steve, he is a sixteen year old African American who has been put on trial.

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If you were blamed for a crime you didn’t do, would you let that accusation go and let it tarnish your reputation? Would you let it fly by and have others judge from every angle? No, right? Normally people who get accused of crimes demand justice as they know they did not commit the crime and only justice can give them the freedom they deserve. But let’s look at Steve Harmon, the main character from the book Monster by Walter Dean Myers who was on trial for murder.

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He later says in this testimony that Steve was working on a film project on the day of the robbery. However, there is no video evidence from the day of the robbery. “Petrocelli: What was he doing on the afternoon of December 22nd? Did he show you a film of that day? Sawicki:

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1124 Words | 5 Pages

This is important because he is so confused about his identity that he can not even accept that he is a good person anymore. At the beginning of the book, Steve’s confusion can be shown in his first journal entries. In his journal, he shows that he is confused about himself and doesn’t know what to do about it, and if he doesn’t figure it out soon, it may lead him to prison

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Perceptions from others can be cruel. Criminals are often thought of negatively by themselves and are also disrespected by others in society. The novel Monster presents the impressions people have about Steve Harmon, an accused criminal on trial for robbery and murder. Furthermore, the text explains Steve’s views of himself during and after time in prison from first person point-of-view. The novel Monster by Walter Dean Myers highlights the various perceptions that exist about an accused criminal.

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His wording shows that he doesn’t know who he is and therefore believes he is a Monster as Ms. Petrocelli calls him. He accepts people’s judgments as his self-truth. Even though, he, himself, accepts the worst he still wants people to perceive him as a good person, especially his mom. Steve’s mom’s words cut deeper in him because his mom believes he didn’t do it while he knows he did. 5 days into the trial, his mother comes by and talks to him hoping to make him feel better, “I could still feel Mama’s pain.

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Michael Myers’, the protagonist of the 1978 movie Halloween, reputation is formed at the age of 6, when he murders his sister on the night of Halloween. While being shifted for a court date, Myers escaped and began killing more people. The notion of hysteria plays a role in the film because everyone is scared of Michael Myers. The fear of him adds to the suspense of when he will appear in front of the characters and the audience.

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As Steve progresses through the trial, he starts getting disappointed about what the people are testifying. We can see this when he says, “I think they are bringing out all of these people and letting them look terrible on the stand and sound terrible and then reminding the jury that they don’t look any different from me and King”(Myers 60). While the trial is going on, Steve sees a couple of witnesses, and immediately falls in disappointment. He starts to make assumptions about bad things that might happen to him before the trial is even halfway. This shows how he is already feeling disappointed that he will lose.

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