According to deathpenaltyinfo.org “Black people are about 7 ½ times more likely to be wrongfully convicted of murder in the U.S. than are whites.” It also states how “Black people were overrepresented in every category of the 1,167 wrongful murder convictions in the Registry’s database.” The critical literacy novel Monster, by Walter Dean Myers takes place in The Manhattan Detention Center, when 16 year old Steve Harmon went on trial for convicted murder, after being spotted in the drugstore moments before the tragedy happened. “The best time to cry is at night, when the lights are out and someone is being beaten up and screaming for help.” This is basically saying when the right time to cry is so you don't get beat up for being “weak.” Symbolism, Flashbacks, And multiple points of view are all incorporated as author’s crafts moves in Monster, by Myers.
The most dominant author’s craft move Myers makes is multiple points of view. The author adds different points of views of the people on trial, for example
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Myers shows symbolism in the book by adding or calling Steve a Monster. An example of this is when Steve is in court writing down monster over and over again until his lawyer sees it and crosses them all out. “CUT TO: STEVE HARMON. Then: CU of the pad in front of him. He is writing the word Monster over and over again. A white hand (O’BRIEN’s) takes the pencil and crosses out all the Monsters.” (Pg. 24) Another example is when Steve is writing in his notes a guy named Sunset says he is going to have the word Monster tattooed on his forehead by the time he is out. “The man they called Sunset asked me if he could read the screenplay, and I let him. He liked it. Sunset said he liked the name of the screenplay. He said when he gets out, he will have the word Monster tattooed on his forehead. I feel like I already have it tattooed on mine.” (Pg. 60) These are examples on how Myers uses symbolism in his book