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I believe that Steve Harmon is innocent. There are many reasons to believe this. For one “bobo” Evans placed him at the crime scene but Mr. Evans and Mr. King according to Mr. Evans testimony were on drugs. So Steve Harmon could have just happened to be their. Since both Mr. Evans and Mr. King were on drugs i don’t believe that their statements are valid.
In the story “Killings” written by Andre Dubus Matt Fowlers son is killed by Richard Strout. Matt Fowler feels that his actions are justified for killing Richard. Matt Fowlers actions do not make him a bad person. In the story “Killings” when Matt kills Richard for killing his son he feels no remorse. Matt does not feel guilty for killing Richard and he shouldn’t him and his wife need peace of mind and they could not have it with the man that killed their son just walking around town.
He had told the jury that he wasn’t in the store that day. You are not supposed to lie in court and if he wasn’t a monster he wouldn’t have had to lie in court. Also, Steve is having a flashback about him and King. The book said, “‘Usually I see him in the playground. Maybe he’d say something like “Those guys can’t play ball,” stuff like that.”’
Leading up to the Civil Rights Movement, the black community was in a constant battle against law enforcement treating them unfair compared to the white community. The Scottsboro Boys and Emmett Till’s cases were one of the many times that the legal system showed to be unfair to blacks. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, the law enforcement and community were very racist against blacks and believed all blacks were criminals. In the story, Atticus Finch, who is a lawyer gets put into a very difficult situation and decides to defend a black man, who went by the name of Tom Robinson.
Steve Harmon is a 16 year old African-American male, who wanted to be like the tough people in his neighborhood. He wanted to fit in so bad, that he decided to join a local gang member in robbing a store in hopes of being inducted to the gang. The robbery goes south, when the store owner, Mr. Nesbitt, pulls a gun out to defend his store. The gun is turned around on Nesbitt; he’s shot and killed during the robbery. The rest of our novel is about Steve’s time in jail, his trial, and the events leading to the robbery.
When the police arrived, Chelsea had told the police a false story of her waking up in a vacant house where she had to jump from a two-story window to escape, but Mark had done nothing to Chelsea; all he did was drive her to her mother’s house and leave. Tom Robinson, from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, was a falsely accused man who was
Steve Harmons actions depicted his characteristics and we can, therefore, conclude that Steve Harmon is a liar as he lied under oath. Steve was also a guilt-ridden man ashamed of his actions. People who disagree may claim that Steve was undoubtedly innocent as Lorelle Henry, a witness, declared that there were only 2 people, proven to be James King and Bobo Evans, inside the store who eventually murdered Mr.Nesbitt. This may be a strong argument because it shows that Steve was not in the drugstore and could be really innocent. On the contrary, however, Steve’s job was just supposed to be a lookout and ensure that the drugstore was clear of cops or anyone inside.
Since Steve did this, he was a big part in the crime, and is a bad person. He was involved with the murder of Mr. Nesbitt, and because he helped with such a big part in committing the crime, that makes him a monster. Steve says later on
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.
Caleb Sirmans Bridget Tomlison 9th grade Lit/Comp 13 Febuary 2023 An astonishing 93% of the inmates in the United States prison system are males. While incarceration impacts each prisoner differently, thier lives are forever changed. Although the fictional account of Steve Harmon’s time behind bars details his own individual struggles, it often mirrors the experiences of many real-life inmates.
In Monster, Steve is judged because of his race. As a young African American teenager, Steve is judged by typical social stereotypes that young black men are dangerous and most likely to commit crimes. Due to this negative stereotype, people are more likely to have bias against him and not pay as much attention to whether or not he is guilty. A supporting quote from the text reads, “[The jury] believed you were guilty the moment they laid eyes on you. You’re young, you’re Black,
He depends on others to bring clarity to his mind, such as saying, “What did I do?”. After the session at court was finished, Steve was insecure about what Ms. O’Brien, his lawyer, thinks of him. He writes an entry about it: “Who was Steve Harmon? I wanted to open my shirt and tell her to look into my heart to see who I was, who the real Steve Harmon”(92). During the trial, Ms. O’Brien stays distant from him.
Finally, as the book comes to conclusion Tom Robinson, a black man, is pleaded quilty with the charge of raping a white women. Throughout the novel, it was proven all he was trying to do and aiming for was to help a young girl. People in society gain the evil assumption that all black men and women aren 't equal to those of a different race. A part in the novel that proves how intolerable the society is; on page 242, "A white man 's word, against a black man 's word, the white man always wins" (Lee). This quote shows how the main reason Tom was guilty was due to the color of his skin.
“Don 't be afraid of losing people. Be afraid of losing yourself by trying to please everyone around you. "~ Lewis Howes. In the novel Monster by Walter Dean Myers, we are introduced to Steve Harmon, a sixteen-year-old dark-skinned boy who is the narrator of the book.