In Walter Dean Myers’ Monster, the protagonist, Steve Harmon sees himself as monstrous because he is viewed as monstrous by everyone in the courtroom. Throughout the semester, we talked about different ways an adolescent can be viewed as monstrous wether it is mentally or physically. In Steve’s case, the courtroom sees his monstrosity as a mental thing since he is on trial for being involved in a murder. Steve is also an African-American male, which is another reason the courtroom can view Steve as monstrous.
1) Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Plume Book, 1994. Print.
the character Pecola in The Bluest Eye and Steve from Monster both have similar qualities when it comes to being monstrous to the public. Both are physically monstrous for being African-American in the United States.
2) Strong, R.M. “The Adolescent Monster.” LocalSchoolDirectory.com. R.M. Strong. Web. 30 Apr. 2015. <http://www.localschooldirectory.com/k-12-articles/3>.
The article is written by a teacher who explains adolescence through one of her students. At the end of Walter Dean Myers’ Monster, Steve mentions that his father felt like he did not know him at all because of his involvement of the murder. The article explains that part of adolescence is pulling away from the parent, which is seen as a monstrous behavior in the eyes of a parent.
3) Yang, Gene Luen, and Lark Pien. American Born Chinese. New York: First Second, 2006. Print.
Jin Yang in the graphic novel American Born Chinese is seen as monstrous for kissing his best friend’s girlfriends because the girl of his dreams did not like him back. Just like Steve from Monster, he is seen as monstrous for his actions.
