Hes writing the play in order to keep his mind occupied while he awaits trial. He did not want to hurt the man, he was only helping with the crime to help out his friends. In the book, he tried to mollify himself by denying in. The character of kathy obrien in monster from litcharts. Monster is what the prosecutor calls 17 year old honors student steve harmon. In which two formats does steve harmon write about his experiences during the trial and his time in jail. This is a trailer i did for the book monster by walter dean myers. The monster quotes below are all either spoken by steve harmon or refer to steve harmon. Oct 06, 2009 this new york times bestselling novel from acclaimed author walter dean myers tells the story of steve harmon, a teenage boy in juvenile detention and on trial. The story is told from steves perspective in a movie format. In language arts class we read a book called monster, by walter dean myers. In 1999, in his young adult book monster, walter dean myers introduced readers to a young man named steve harmon.
While awaiting and then enduring the trial, the teenager is being held in jail with adults. The book monster by walter dean myers, is about teenager steve harmon who has a gift for screen play writing. The story takes place in manhattan and harlem, new york city, mostly in a city lockup, but sometimes in the neighborhood where steve harmon lives. Monster guilt and innocence presentation by steve harmon. Steve harmon is the main character of the book monster. It tells the story of steve harmon, a sixteenyearold on trial for his alleged. Steve harmon, the novels protagonistand, at times, its narratoris a sixteenyearold africanamerican student from harlem. He fights his worst battles in his head, as he tries to figure out if hes truly a monster. First, it is written in the format of a movie screenplay interjected with the main characters a 16year old africanamerican boy steve harmons.
Contrasting with the other three people implicated in the robbery, steve has no criminal history and is a decent and sensitive kid. The main character in the novel monster by walter dean myers is 16yearold steve harmon who has been arrested and put on trial for his part in a robbery in which a convenience store owner was killed. Presented as a screenplay of steve s own imagination, and peppered with journal entries, the book shows how one single decision can change our whole lives. While on trial as an accomplice to a murder, sixteenyearold steve harmon records his experiences in prison and in the courtroom in the form of a film script as he tries to come to terms with the course his life has taken. The book monster is supposed to portray steve as an easy to relate to character who is going to a rough time in life, and is on trial for murder. Steve gives insights into his past while the attorneys interview witnesses, though he cant figure out whether hes innocent or guilty. Monster by walter dean myers was a story written as a movie script along with a few journal entries. This is the anchor book test for the novel, monster.
Apr 21, 1999 monster is an interesting book in several ways. The story is written in screenplay format along with steves journal writing which he. There is not a large amount of scientific evidence in the case against steve harmon, so the jury. Though theres only one of him in his screenplay, steve plays quite a few roles in the novel. You can see that steve is not all a bad kid and actully has feelings. The story line covers events and testimonies before and during the trial. In the opening of monster by walter dean myers, sixteenyearold steve harmon is on trial for his alleged participation in a murder committed during the commission of a robbery. It was nominated for the 1999 national book award for young peoples literature, won the michael l. Probably not, but in the book monster that is the case for steve harmon, a poor africanamerican in rundown harlem in the book monster by walter dean myers, which is a fascinating piece of young adult literature. Oct 18, 2009 this is a trailer i did for the book monster by walter dean myers. The book is set as if steve is making a screenplay.
Steve harmon learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Monster, by walter dean myers, takes a unique approach in that it is presented as a screenplay with notes by the narrator, a sixteenyearold from harlem named steve harmon. Monster is a multiawardwinning, provocative comingofage story that was. Is steve, a gifted wouldbe harlem filmmaker from a loving family, really guilty of this horrific crime. This new york times bestselling novel from acclaimed author walter dean myers tells the story of steve harmon, a teenage boy in juvenile detention and on trial. The character of steve harmon in monster from litcharts. Argumentative essay on monster 1024 words bartleby. Buy a cheap copy of monster book by walter dean myers.
He gets involved with a group of thugs who are planning a robbery. He claims he is innocent and didnt participate in the robbery. Although obrien wants to defend steve and understand who he is as a person, steve senses that obrien does not truly believe he is innocent. He is sixteen years old, lives in the harlem neighborhood of new york city, and he is a student at stuyvesant high school in downtown manhattan. In monster, by walter dean myers, the reader learns from steve harmons experiences that sometimes guilt or innocence of a person might not be determined by solid evidence but by onlookers opinions and interpretation of the crime. Printz award in 2000, and was named a coretta scott king award honor the same year the book uses a mixture of a thirdperson screenplay and a firstperson diary format to tell. I wanted to open my shirt and tell her to look into my heart and see who i really was, who the real steve harmon was. Monster is the story about a 16 year old black boy named steve harmon from harlem. Monster is what the prosecutor called 16yearold steve harmon for his supposed role in the fatal shooting of a conveniencestore owner. Monster book by walter dean myers essay free essays, term. Monster book charlotte mecklenburg library bibliocommons. Opening statement we think that steve harmon is innocent because there is not enough evidence to prove he is guilty, he is very certain and stuck with trying to prove that that he was not there when the crime was committed and finally because.
Monster is a young adult drama novel by american author walter dean myers and was published by harpercollins in 1999. Thats what prosecutor petrocelli calls him, and he cant help but dwell on it. Sixteenyearold steve harmon is accused of being an accomplice in a drugstore robbery in which the storekeeper was murdered. Evans testifies that steve was part of the robbery team, acting as a lookout man. In which two formats does steve harmon write about his experiences during the trial and. King even invited him to play a part in the drugstore payday 14. Is obriens coaching intended to hide steves guilty feelings from the jury. Steve is on trial for allegedly being the lookout in a serious crime that involved robbery and murder. Adapted from the bestselling novel of the same name by walter dean myers. Steve is a 16yearold black kid from harlem charged with felony murder for his involvement in a botched robbery that ended in mr. Monster argumentative essay the united states judicial system says that you are innocent until proven guilty. Presented as a screenplay of steves own imagination, and peppered with journal entries, the book shows. The character of kathy obrien in monster from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. This was a very good book i read for class and wanted to do a trialer for.
What character traits best describe steve harmon in monster. This also shows that he honsetly believes that he did nothing wrong. Presented as a screenplay of steves own imagination, and peppered with journal entries, the book shows how one single decision can change our whole lives. In the book, the main character steve harmon is a sixteen year old, who is also black, that is on trial for murder. Has he betrayed parents, friends, teachers and his own hugely promising future in the blink of an eye. Steve is on trial for a being a possible accomplice to a murder. At the beginning of the novel, the reader learns that steve is in prison awaiting trial for his alleged involvement in a murder. Steve harmon is a 17yearold kid, arrested for a shocking murder. Character analysis of steve harmon in monster essay essay.
Steve cant deal with jail and a trial, so he copes by treating the trial as a screenplay. Walter dean myerss monster is an experimental novel written in the form of a film script by its main character, steve harmon. Steve thought those shady dudes were pretty dang tough. Steve harmon speaker, kathy obrien, alguinaldo nesbitt. Monster is a story about a 16year old named steve harmon.
The book begins with him in jail waiting for his trial to start. The character of steve harmon in monster from litcharts the. Printz award in 2000, and was named a coretta scott king award honor the same year. Sixteenyearold steve harmon is sitting on the edge of a medal cot, head in hands. James king, osvaldo cruz, and freddy alou made up a few of the tough guys steve swapped dialogue with on occasion. In the book, he tried to mollify himself by denying in his mind and to the jury his part in the murder. Monster 2004 read online free book by walter dean myers. He writes in his diary to pass the time, chronicling his observations and anxieties while imprisoned. Steve, sixteen and in prison awaiting a murder trial, is an african american teen and.
Monster book by walter dean myers free essays, term papers. Obrien tells steve that purely because he is a young black male, half the jury will already assume he is guilty from the moment they see him. Steve has been charged with murder, and hes being kept in prison until the trial. Get an answer for what character traits best describe steve harmon in monster by walter dean myers.
Have you ever been on trial for a murder you didnt commit, and risked the rest of your life being spent in jail. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one. Myers weaves together journal entries that steve writes in jail with a filmmakers script chronicling the courtroom events. Apr 27, 2009 the book monster by walter dean myers, is about teenager steve harmon who has a gift for screen play writing. In the opening pages, we learn that steve is currently in prison awaiting trial for murder. Steve harmon, a sixteen year old boy who is on trial for murder, is writing a movie about his life and his mistakes. Jennifer kendall is an english teacher, librarian, and writer specializing in young adult and childrens literature. Get an answer for what happens in the end of the book, monster. Steve harmon guilty or innocent monster by walter dean myers. Throughout the novel monster, steve harmon is portrayed as a shy, introspective individual who is extremely selfconscious.
Steve harmon is the narrator and protagonist of the story. His neighborhood was an honesttogoodness thugathon. Sometimes i feel like i have walked into the middle of a movie. Steve s greatest conflict is not really the trial itself, though its certainly stressful and difficult. First, it is written in the format of a movie screenplay interjected with the main characters a 16year old africanamerican boy steve harmon s diarylike entries. Are these feelings of being a monster based on the truth that he did passively signal the allclear to the robbers, and thereby he has blood on his hands. With jennifer ehle, jeffrey wright, mikey madison, tim blake nelson. Are these feelings of being a monster based on the truth that he did passively signal the allclear to the robbers, and. Steve harmon was arrested for burning down a building. Apr 11, 2011 this book is very intense it shows the poor life of steve harmon and how he is sent to jail because he was accused of taking part in the drug store robbery that caused that poor man his life. Grab some popcorn, and well settle down and munch on a few of them. Monster is about a 16 year old boy named steve harmon, and how he had to go on a trial for felony murder.
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