Walter Dean Myers Biography

Walter Dean Myers once said, “Reading is not optional.” He wrote in the era after the civil rights movement, having his books span over a forty year period. His works came at a time when things were still very tense between Black and White people in America. He wrote over one hundred books for children and young adult readers. The author dedicated his life to writing books that accurately portrayed life in an urban environment, creating realistic portrayals of African American youths in stories that appeal to children of all races and backgrounds. Every book he wrote specifically tapped into certain topics that Americans still weren’t comfortable with speaking on. Myers is one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century, and his

He was the seventh of eight children, as specified by his biography written by Mary Ellen Snodgrass (2006). He was raised by his father’s first wife, Florence Dean, and her husband, Herbert, after his mother died. According to his website, he found solace in books at a young age because his mother read to him. This became his escape after his uncle was murdered and his family turned to grief and alcohol as a result. Myers was self-proclaimed to be smart in his youth, but he didn’t perform very well due to a speech impediment. He was an exceptional writer in high school, and his English teacher recognized his excellence. She pushed him to continue writing because ‘it’s what he did”. He eventually dropped out of school and joined the army on his 17th birthday. His post army days found him without direction, facing family dysfunction and despair until he began concentrating on his writing. He won a writing contest, which resulted in his first picture book to be published, Where Does the Day Go? in 1969. Many of his life experiences inspired him to write more often and

The novel begins with him writing in his diary while awaiting his trial for his murder case. He plans to record his experience in jail in the form of an upcoming screenplay. The innocence of Steve and James King is challenged throughout the entire trial, but they’re eventually found not guilty. The novel depicts the themes of identity, race, peer pressure, dehumanization, crime, teenaged masculinity, and the relative or subjective nature of the truth. Myers had an affinity for addressing issues of race in many of his other novels as well as several articles he penned. There is some truth shown in affiliation with the law, but there’s also plenty of truth shown in regards to one’s character. Steve writes about experiences he has had that have directly contradicted the thug persona that he has been labeled with. Critics have commented on how the novel offers "surface effects – marginalia, drawing, photographs, mugshots, and video stills – to offer an analysis of the complex identities that emerge in the context of such surfaces." Generally, the novel has been praised for remarkably sophisticated levels of thematic and formal complexity, considering its ostensible status as a young adult novel. As another critic wrote, "Monster is an experiment in form and structure," demonstrating Steve's "vent[ing of] his passionate perplexity." Monster is also one of the very few young adult