Additionally, the author incorporates thought-provoking artwork by his son, Christopher Myers. To further engage your class, consider having students perform parts of the screenplay or write journal entries from the perspective of another key character.
Instead of using the traditional chapter-to-chapter format, Myers structured Monster as a work of confessional literature, shifting between Steve's emotional journal entries and a screenplay Steve wrote about the trial. Moreover, how does each type of guilt affect the characters differently? Which kind has a more lasting impression? Additionally, the role Steve's race plays in how he is perceived by the jury can lead to an in-depth discussion about prejudice and discrimination. As they read, students should note which characters are guilty and in what manner. Myers subtly draws a distinction between legal guilt and moral guilt through the actions and emotional state of each character involved in the trial. The core themes of this novel address justice, institutional racism, deception, guilt, and the effects of peer pressure. A teenager named Steve Harmon finds himself on trial, facing the death penalty, for being the "lookout" during what turned out to be a lethal burglary.
Sometimes, a small choice has monstrous consequences, and there's no better example of this predicament than the story told in Walter Dean Myers's award-winning novel Monster.
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