Monster By Walter Dean Myers Analysis

The book Monster, by Walter Dean Myers, is a life learning experience for Steve, the main character. Steve Harmon is a 16 year old who is in jail at the start of the book. He faces life in jail for a feeling murder. A first-hand experience that questions the American legal system. However, Steve is writing a journal about his experience in jail. The tone Myers writes the journal in is a fear and violence way and feeling of the story. Otherwise, Myers shows a lesson to me about how black people were treated back then, lying can mess someone else life up for something they didn't do, what jail was like and the struggles of being black back then.

Black people back then weren't treat right. Steve was accused of being the murder because he is black and any black person would do that. For example, the story says, “ Do you think I should have got a black lawyer?” she asked. “ Some of
Characters in the story have changed other characters lives from lying about the murder. For examples, Tony thinks he should pitch, but Steve thinks he can throw a ball, so Steve wanted to show Tony how to throws a rock. When Steve threw the rock a tough guy asks who threw the rock and Steve says, “ Tony! Run!”(42) This would indicate that to me that Tony was the one who threw it. Steve just doesn't want to get hit, so it sounds like Tony did it. As the lesson learned was lying can mess someones life up for something they didn’t, so Tony got punch in the face for something he didn't do. Another example is when Briggs said, “ So you saved yourself some heavy jail time by pointing a finger at Mr. King, isn't that right?” Bolden says, “ I just wanted to do the right thing. You know, like a good citizen.” (55) Bolden just wanted to say it was someone else, so he didn't get in trouble. Although Bolden says it was Mr. King, Briggs, the lawyer, thinks he was trying to be a good citizen in jail. Maybe we should question the legal