In the book, the main character steve harmon is a sixteen year old, who is also black, that is on trial for murder. 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. Steve harmon, a sixteen year old boy who is on trial for murder, is writing a movie about his life and his mistakes. Character analysis of steve harmon in monster essay essay. Contrasting with the other three people implicated in the robbery, steve has no criminal history and is a decent and sensitive kid. Apr 21, 1999 monster is an interesting book in several ways. Steve s greatest conflict is not really the trial itself, though its certainly stressful and difficult. In the novel monster by walter sean myers, the main character is steve harmon. Ill call it what the lady who is the prosecutor called me. Steve, sixteen and in prison awaiting a murder trial, is an african american teen and a product of inner city poverty and circumstance. He fights his worst battles in his head, as he tries to figure out if hes truly a monster. In this awardwinning novel, walter dean myers brings us the story of 16yearold steve harmon, on trial for the murder of a drugstore owner in harlem. The monster quotes below are all either spoken by steve harmon or refer to steve harmon. 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.
The character of steve harmon in monster from litcharts the. Is obriens coaching intended to hide steves guilty feelings from the jury. In 1999, in his young adult book monster, walter dean myers introduced readers to a young man named steve harmon. 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. The character of steve harmon in monster from litcharts.
What character traits best describe steve harmon in monster. Steve as monster steves greatest conflict is not really the trial itself, though its certainly stressful and difficult. Steve is a 16yearold black kid from harlem charged with felony murder for his involvement in a botched robbery that ended in mr. There is not a large amount of scientific evidence in the case against steve harmon, so the jury. Based on the award winning novel by walter dean myers, the film tells the story of steve harmon, a 17. Monster is what the prosecutor called 16yearold steve harmon for his supposed role in the fatal shooting of a conveniencestore owner. Monster by walter dean myers was a story written as a movie script along with a few journal entries. Hes writing the play in order to keep his mind occupied while he awaits trial. 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. He did not want to hurt the man, he was only helping with the crime to help out his friends.
Sixteenyearold steve harmon is sitting on the edge of a medal cot, head in hands. The book begins with him in jail waiting for his trial to start. Printz award in 2000, and was named a coretta scott king award honor the same year. The prosecution accuses steve of acting as the look out to the crime which left a local business owner dead. 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. Monster book charlotte mecklenburg library bibliocommons. Steve cant deal with jail and a trial, so he copes by treating the trial as a screenplay. This fatherson dynamic reveals the detrimental effects that prison has on an entire family. Have you ever been on trial for a murder you didnt commit, and risked the rest of your life being spent in jail. Monster is about a 16 year old boy named steve harmon, and how he had to go on a trial for felony murder. Steve has been charged with murder, and hes being kept in prison until the trial.
Monster is what the prosecutor calls 17 year old honors student steve harmon. Oct 18, 2009 this is a trailer i did for the book monster by walter dean myers. You can see that steve is not all a bad kid and actully has feelings. Argumentative essay on monster 1024 words bartleby. The character of kathy obrien in monster from litcharts. Was steve guilty or innocent in the book monster answers. It tells the story of steve harmon, a sixteenyearold on trial for his alleged complicity in. Monster 2004 read online free book by walter dean myers in. Monster guilt and innocence presentation by steve harmon. Steve harmon learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Twentyfive years to life in prisonthats the sentence facing our main man, steve harmon.
It was nominated for the 1999 national book award for young peoples literature, won the michael l. The story line covers events and testimonies before and during the trial. The book briefly cuts to a flashback of steves high school film club. Monster is the story about a 16 year old black boy named steve harmon from harlem. 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. The book uses a mixture of a thirdperson screenplay and a firstperson diary format to tell, through the perspective of steve harmon, an african american teenager, the story of his trial along with. The character of kathy obrien in monster from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. Steve gives insights into his past while the attorneys interview witnesses, though he cant figure out whether hes innocent or guilty.
Thats what prosecutor petrocelli calls him, and he cant help but dwell on it. Throughout the novel monster, steve harmon is portrayed as a shy, introspective individual who is extremely selfconscious. 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. In language arts class we read a book called monster, by walter dean myers. 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. Monster is a young adult drama novel by american author walter dean myers and was published by harpercollins in 1999. Sometimes i feel like i have walked into the middle of a movie. 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.
Steve is on trial for allegedly being the lookout in a serious crime that involved robbery and murder. It was nominated for the 1999 national book award for young peoples. Steve harmon is the narrator and protagonist of the story. He is sixteen years old, lives in the harlem neighborhood of new york city, and he is a student at. Jun 14, 2017 monster by walter dean myers book talktutorial duration. 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. The book is set as if steve is making a screenplay. The story is written in screenplay format along with steve s journal writing which he does even in the courtroom. In which two formats does steve harmon write about his experiences during the trial and. Based on the bestselling book by walter dean myers. In this awardwinning novel, walter dean myers brings us the story of 16yearold steve harmon, on trial for the murder of a.
Get an answer for what happens in the end of the book, monster. In the opening pages, we learn that steve is currently in prison awaiting trial for murder. Monster is a story about a 16year old named steve harmon. Get an answer for what character traits best describe steve harmon in monster by walter dean myers. As it states in the quote steve harmon is writing the word monster over and over againp. He claims he is innocent and didnt participate in the robbery. Steve is on trial for a being a possible accomplice to a murder. The story is written in screenplay format along with steves journal writing which he. Apr 27, 2009 the book monster by walter dean myers, is about teenager steve harmon who has a gift for screen play writing. The book monster by walter dean myers, is about teenager steve harmon who has a gift for screen play writing. 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. I wanted to open my shirt and tell her to look into my heart to see who i really was, who the real steve harmon was. Steve harmon was arrested for burning down a building. Monster argumentative essay the united states judicial system says that you are innocent until proven guilty.
Get everything you need to know about steve harmon in monster. The main conflict of walter dean myers book, monster, is about a teen. 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. What character traits best describe steve harmon in monster by. This is the anchor book test for the novel, monster.
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. The story is told through steves perspective, primarily as a screenplay he has written about the experience. Steve harmon is a 17yearold kid, arrested for a shocking murder. Once steve is accused of being an accomplice, his father loses his confidence and trust in his son. Buy a cheap copy of monster book by walter dean myers.
Monster by walter dean myers book talktutorial duration. This is the story of steve harmon, a 16 year old black male who is on trial for a. 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. Steve harmon he is a sixteen year old young black man who has been arrested for acting as the lookout in robbery that goes bad and ends in a murder. In the book, he tried to mollify himself by denying in his mind and to the jury his part in the murder. Of course perhaps that is not solid evidence because most people would probably believe that they are not a bad person.
This was a very good book i read for class and wanted to do a trialer for. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. 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. The novel begins with 16yearold steve harmon writing in his diary awaiting for his trial for murder.
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