1. Myers, Walter Dean. (1999). Monster. New York: Harper Collins, 281 pp.
Fiction; Coretta Scott King Award (2000), Michael Printz Award (2000).
2. "In the criminal justice system....." Wait, this isn't an episode of Law and Order? There's no "chunk, chunk" sound to switch scenes? Though it's not a fully sanctioned offshoot of producer Dick Wolf, Monster does play a bit like one of those L and O episodes: 16-year old Steve Harmon is jailed for being an accomplice to a murder; we loyal readers follow his trial from beginning to ambiguous end. What spices the story up is the narrative framework, which involves a script format 'written' by the protagonist himself, along with interspersed journal entries that allow the reader to understand how it feels to be young, African-American, and in jail. Did Steve give the other guys a signal? Was he nowhere near the scene? Does it, in the end, matter?
3. The plot's fairly believable, and I'm going to risk saying that it might not be 'gritty' enough (arguably, this is YA Lit, and not Richard Price territory). Myers does a decent job bringing this slice of the world to life, and Harmon is well written: a scared adolescent trying to figure out who he might really be (we readers have to make our own judgments).
The star of the book, though, is the format. Myers uses the screenplay style to distance Harmon from his own life, while also allowing the character a creative outlet. The journal entries allow a window in Harmon's mindset--as well as creating a frightening setting for the reader (a little Scared Straight for the teeny boppers).
4. Monster presents a lot of technical uses for the classroom: screenplay writing (and how it differs from fiction); journal writing; dialogue (in regards to a script format). Most importantly, the novel opens a discussion of race, and how we view one another. Some excellent discussions could be had about societal stereotypes, as well as having students write personal reflections regarding their own prejudices (it might be difficult to have a class discussion concerning this point, and I'd be wary to encourage a discussion over journal entries). Myers leaves the ending ambiguous to prod the reader; as teachers, I believe it's our duty to prod our students.
5. Age range: I'm going to say 8th grade and up. The reading level isn't horribly high, but the the themes are complex. Plus, the prison rape scene might be a difficult issue to approach (and would probably be the reason the book's banned quite a bit). The ambiguous ending, where guilt or innocence is never resolved, also raises the age range (I think younger readers need that closure, which the book doesn't provide). An interesting bridge for older readers might be The Stranger, by Albert Camus (where the main character ends up on trial, and the question of 'guilt' in an irrational world is presented) or maybe even something like Kafka's, The Trial.
6. I was hoping Stabler and his swagger might make an appearance, but I had to make do with the book, rather than another Law and Order spinoff. Overall, I'm leaning toward the 'liked it' side, mainly because I like the chances that Myers took with the book. What is literature if it doesn't provoke a little self reflection? Or a lot of societal reflection? So yes, props to Myers for taking that leap. I am going to argue that I'd like a little more of Harmon's life outside of the pen, if only to get a fuller picture of the character. We readers get a few glimpses, but only a couple of nuggets. But yes, I would recommend the book. CHUNK, CHUNK.
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3 comments:
This is a great post. My son and I read this book, and the rape scene was pretty tough. I love the way you connected it to something I have never heard of, but obviously need to read. I wonder if you could connect it to things like Law and Order for the kids? Sounds like fun. This is a great post, and your blog looks great. See you tomorrow! Katy
Yea, the rape scene was hard to take and would be a difficult thing to address with young readers. I also think Katy's idea is great about connecting it to Law and Order so that the kids can relate what they read to what they may be watching on TV. One of your points that I really liked (and hadn't thought about in relation to the students) was how the ending was left open to the reader. Depending on the maturity level of the reader, he might need that closure in order to relate to the book better. It seems that for younger readers everything needs to be more cut and dried. Great point!!
I think the main thing I liked about this one is the script format. I too believe you could do a lot with that in the classroom, especially if kids don't feel comfortable with writing creatively in a traditional format. I will also second Katy's brilliant Law and Order idea. If a class was really ambitious, a group could act out a scene...it's all there. Kelli mentioned how the rape scene didn't stick for her in class today; the same thing for me. I jumped over it. It may be easy to avoid.
Of course if there's a way to bring in existentialist literature, have at it.
So nice work.
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