Monster by Walter Dean Myers Book Analysis

While growing up, it is difficult to always be an exceptional person, make educated decisions, and surround yourself with honorable people. Steve Harmon, a 16-year-old student, is facing detrimental charges after being accused of involvement in a robbery, that ended in a murder. Steve's innocence or guilt is left ambiguous, but one word engulfs his mind throughout the trial; the prosecutor referred to him as a “monster.” Throughout the book, the word “monster” is revisited in reference to Steve. He battles with this opinion of him. Steve has two conflicting questions going on in his mind: why is he called a monster and is he really one?

Steve has a continuous struggle with why he was referred to as a monster. He is told that it could be to tie him in and make him appear included with the other guilty parties, James King, and Bobo Evans. Steve is also warned that the odds of him appearing innocent are not in his favor because as his attorney, Kathy O'brien, says, “you're young, you're black and you're on trial.” Though the case Steve is being tried for has nothing to do with race, there is an undertone of his preconceived verdict based on how the jury views him. Though Steve is facing such a serious accusation, he is still a petrified 16 year old kid. He starts to mentally decline as he grows to comprehend how calamitous his situation really is. The prosecutor, Sandra Petrocelli, aims for the jury to see Steve and the men who confessed to the crimes as all the same type. She generalizes the men in one degrading statement, “there are also monsters in our communities—people who are willing to steal and to kill, people who disregard the rights of others.” When Petrocelli says this, she creates a narrative in the jury's mind that Steve is equivalent to murders, thieves, and malicious people. Since Bobo Evans has confessed to being the leader of the operation, it consequently makes it that much harder to separate the men in the eyes of a jury. This term monster, dehumanizing and infatuating, runs endlessly through Steve's mind.

Furthermore, Steve’s brain is absorbed by the thought of what will happen to him. Steve grapples with an inner battle, where he almost has to convince himself that he is innocent. That caused the ending to be very open to interpretation. Steve starts as the lookout and slowly creates the narrative that he was never there. Steve has the desire to be a good person, and we see the emotional turmoil he goes through. This question of innocence also left the reader questioning Steve and if he was lying under oath. When Steve is questioned about his personal relationships with  King and Evans he only responds, “acquaintance.” He distances himself as much as possible from the guilty party. Steve could  isolate himself from them because he truly is innocent, or merely for self preservation. Steve writes in his journal, “I know what right is, what truth is.” The implication of this is that Steve is trying to believe himself when he says he is a morally ethical person. He has a shameful feeling welling up inside of him, yet he has a very positive reputation in the community. His film teacher and inspiration, Mr Sawicki, states, “I think [Steve’s] an outstanding young man. He is talented, bright, and compassionate. He’s very much involved with depicting his neighborhood and environment in a positive manner.” This testimony does help to separate Steve from the guilty offenders. Though Steve is questioning himself morally, it is clear that others view him in a positive manner.

In brief, the title “monster” is quite dynamic when it comes to describing Steve Harmon, a 16 year old boy convicted of murder. Steve struggles internally with why “monster” became a descriptor of him. He goes through many stages of denial and confusion, yet there is an eerie subscript that he is truly convincing himself of his own innocence. Steve obsesses with why he is correlated with something so derogatory and brutalizing. In addition to this, he also wrestles with an internalized fear that he really may be a monster. Steve Harmon, the supposed monster, grapples with these notions throughout this book.