Saturday, June 16, 2012
Monster by Walter Dean Myers
What really struck me in this book was the attorney's demeanor toward Steve.Very early on in the book Steve's attorney said that she wants to make Steve appear "a human being in the eyes of the jury." I was really taken back when she said this. At this point in the novel, we had not learned very much about the case. Therefore in my head, I imagined the best intentions.
I think one of the reasons this took my by surprise was because in our society today, or at least in my little world, everyone is treated fairly, everyone is innocent until proven guilty, and EVERYONE is a human being altered by their circumstances. In my naive world, life is just much more simple. So then I went on to consider why would Myers accentuate this in his novel. Other than the fact that it is the premise of his entire novel?
I wonder if he ironically wanted us to remember that we are all human beings and we are all living life thrown into circumstances out of our control. Where does the acceptance of other cultures really begin? In such an advanced society, why can't we all just accept the differences among us, without judgment?
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I think you raise some very important questions, but I would like to start by addressing your first paragraph where you bring up the fact that Steve should "appear" as a human being and not actually "be" a human being in the eyes of the jury. The choice of words makes me feel like his attorney feels like she must deceive the jurors as opposed to show them the truth. In the beginning and the end of this book Steve talks about looking into a mirror at his reflection, "When I look into the small rectangle, I see a face looking back at me but I don't recognize it. It doesn't look like me." That quote is from the first page of the novel. At the end of the novel after the verdict has been read, Steve also talks about mirrors once again, "Sometimes I set the camera up in front of a mirror and film myself as a reflection. I wear different clothes and try to change my voice." These quotes, that cover the entire length of the novel, suggest to me that Steve himself is struggling with his identity. He does not even know who he is, or what he is as Walter Dean Myers suggests with this novel. I think what Myers wanted us to realize is that a person must discover their identity as a human or a monster before anyone else can see what we are.
ReplyDeleteI think this battle Steve has with his identity carries over to your question about accepting the differences among us without judgment. I think that the easy part for people to do is accept that we are all different. The hard part is doing this without judgment. I want to bring up a scenario that I made up in my head. Pretend that you are out at a beach and leave your wallet or purse by your towel as you decide to enter the water. Would you be hesitant or even take the extra step to lock up your wallet/purse if you saw someone around that was different (different social class, different ethnicity) from you? Would you feel safer and more comfortable about leaving your wallet/purse in an environment where everyone else around you was the same as you? It is an interesting scenario to ponder in relation to your question.
One thing that I noticed in this novel was the difference between the witnesses and suspects as opposed to the judge, prison guards, detectives and attorneys. Things seemed very realistic and serious for those who were facing time in prison. On the other hand, the latter were all joking around with one another and placing bets on how long the sentences would be for the suspects. They seemed to be living in a world where it was all fun and games. It was very interesting to see and compare the two sides of the spectrum. I feel like there was a lot of judgment going on from one side to the other.
I think Myers was trying to communicate that we are all human beings and we need to realize that we do pass judgment on one another. It makes me wonder if our society is as advanced as we really think it is.