Awards: 1999 National Book Award Finalist, 2000 ALA Best Books for Young Adults, New York Times Notable Book of the Year, 2000 Michael L.

And if the retail value of your order is at least $2,500, you'll save 35% on all your paperbacks. If the retail value of your order is at least $500, you'll save 30%. You'll always save at least 25% on any paperback you order. Facilitate classroom discussion about the degree to which Myers succeeds in creating an empathetic character, and how Steve's introspection and experiences both limit and expand the story.Ĭourt is in session: Learn everything you need to know about Monster below! Authors often uses these tactics to emphasize a character's humanity, with struggles and flaws. Students who enjoy the visual arts will appreciate applying themes from the novel to analysis of these illustrations.īeyond making the novel structurally interesting, Myers makes unique narrative choices, employing literary devices such as flashback, stream of consciousness, and unreliable perspective. 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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