Themes Of Monster By Walter Dean Myers

The novel Monster by Walter Dean Myers is the book I chose to read and do my essay on. The genre Walter chose for the book Monster is realistic fiction. The novel was published in 1999 which is a year after I was borning. The reason why I chose this Novel is because a teacher recommended the book to me a couple year ago but, I never got a chance to read it. I always assumed the book was good because it won three awards. The first award the book won was the National Book Award for young people’s literature. The second award the book won was the Michael L. Printz Awards. The third award the book won was called the Coretta Scott King Award Honor all in which the book won in the same year 2000. The book is told from the perspective of a young african american teenager named steve harmon. Steve lives in harlem where the story takes place. One night steve chose to hang with a bad group of friends and was in a robbery. During the robbery one of Steve’s friend kills the cashier. Now Steve is in jail and going back and forth to court hoping to be proven not guilty of felony murder. Steve and I lives are alike in many different ways although we come from different backgrounds.

“Unless you know who you are, you will always be vulnerable to what people say.” In this quote, American television personality, author, psychologist, and the host of the television show “Dr. Phil”, Dr. Phil McGraw explains, that if you are not true to yourself or if you are not aware of your own beliefs, you will always be susceptible to what people say of you and what people want you to think or believe. A similar theme is communicated through the novel “monster.” In the Novel “Monster”, what Walter Dean Myers suggests about the nature of stereotypes is that one must ignore the negative views of others and stay true to their own beliefs.

The idea of what a monster is and how it pertains to modern day society has fascinated readers and writers for decades. Before taking this class, I was aware of what a monster is and the function it served in today’s society. Furthermore, after taking this class, I am now aware of what a monster truly is, and what really separates a monster from a regular person. The piece of text that I mainly chose to focus on and elaborate closely to demonstrate the aspects of a monster is appropriately named, Monster, by Walter Dean Myers. The reason I chose this piece of literature is because, Monster thoroughly elaborates what a monster is in todays society and how it functions in the modern day world. In this essay I will elaborate on

Monster by Walter Dean Myers, . Displayed as a screenplay of Steves very own creativity, which contains journal entries, demonstrates how one single choice can change our entire lives .I was reluctant about the structure of Monster at first. At first I figured out that the screenplay would be disrupting and that Steve's journal entries were appearing randomly. Therefore after getting used to the format which I have never read a novel organized this way before,I immediately acknowledged exactly how effective it is. The screenplay creates an important visual element that propels the story and makes it engaging. I envision this format would be particularly appealing to adolescent readers since it differs from the traditional paragraph structure of nearly most books..I additionally

Imagine skipping that awkward childhood stage of life and going straight to being an adult; never having to worry about parent’s rules or curfews. But if all of a sudden, one was forced into the world of adults with the mindset of a newborn child, one would not know the difference between right and wrong and possibly even become a victim. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the monster is the true victim of the book. He is abused in multiple ways, he does nothing to warrant the unjust treatment he receives and he is forced into solitude.

Race is one way, which affects how people view others. Just how Steve Harmon the main character of the book Monster by Walter Dean Myers who was judged because he is African-American which changed how people view him. Some of the characters in the story call him a monster till he starts believing it himself. Although, Steve Harmon was on trial for felony murder that doesn’t make him a monster as he is innocent and identity is not built from a persons genetics, but from the environment they lived in. People around them and personal experience they go through in their lives make them become who they are now.

The novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley revolves around two characters, Dr. Victor Frankenstein, and his creation, the monster. Throughout the novel, parallelism is seen between these two characters, where they both have a pursuit of knowledge, crave revenge, and appreciate nature.

Victor Frankenstein- the creator of the monster; engaged to Elizabeth for a long time; educated; obsessive; has regret after creating the monster; takes on a parent-type role;

Monster is an example of what Patty Campbell would call a “landmark book.” Texts such as these “encourage readers to interact with the text and with one another by employing a variety of devices, among them ambiguity” (Campbell 1) Because it is told through the eyes of Steve himself, the plot can be difficult to decipher. It is ambiguous whether he is innocent or guilty of being involved with the crime. Steve learned to make things unpredictable from his film teacher Mr. Sawicki who teaches him, “If you make your film predictable, they’ll make up their minds about it long before it’s over” (19). Steve took his teacher’s advice and made this film script entirely unpredictable,

What differentiates Mary Shelly’s novel, Frankenstein from the majority of horror novels are the very real and timeless themes it explores.  The overriding theme of the novel - scientific investigation without consideration of morality and responsibility is still an important topic in today’s world.  “Perhaps the reality of cloning and genetic engineering makes this theme more relevant today than when Frankenstein was first published”(Patterson). This theme, along with the more subtle themes of revenge, the inability to accept those who are different, and the inability to control one's destiny are all themes which separate Frankenstein from other novels in the genre.

“The short term pain of accepting the truth is much better than the long term pain of believing an illusion”- unknown. In the novel A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, a 13 year old boy, Conor O'malley, deals with inner struggles when accepting his mother’s fatal illness. Conor experiences hardship when coming to terms with the truth so he chooses to suppress it with denial and this worsens his grieving process. Conor undergoes a troubling state where he is lonesome and unwillingly expresses himself through violence and a series of emotional collapses. The teen’s way of coping is not beneficial to either him or is family. A monster in the form of a Yew tree comes to visit Conor and guides him towards the acceptance of truth. Although Conor is not oblivious towards his mother’s imminent death, he must learn from the monster to fully accept the condition she is in, in order to move on with his life. The Yew tree monster guides Conor through storytelling, thus teaching him the importance of accepting the truth. At times, the monster takes a step back and this allows Conor to discover the importance of truth slowly and independently. The way the monster approaches Conor and the tactics he uses to enlighten him are the main reasons Conor develops throughout the novel as an individual. Patrick Ness conveys the importance of truth and how difficult it is for individuals to accept and come to terms with

In the story After 20 Years I think the theme is don't assume people for who they are not because then you can't trust them. In the text it states,” Your not Jimmy Wells,” he said. This shows that you can't assume people for someone that they are not because then you eventually find out they are not the person you thought they were and you told them info that was personal and now you can't trust them. And in the story the criminal learns that his friend turned him in and did not arrest him he had someone else do it because he did not know his friend was wanted to the Chicago police. The criminal at the end of the story is shocked because his friend turned him in and did not arrest him himself.

In the Romance novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley she illustrates themes of innocence and revenge. The book focuses on a wild scientist named Victor Frankenstein. The novel goes through many stories and perspectives on the life of Frankenstein's creation. Throughout the novel the monster tries to prove to the society that he is not a horrible creature and that his physical attributes do not represent him. Although he tries hard to accomplish this goal, society does not believe him so the monster decides to get revenge on Frankenstein. The society is responsible for the deaths that occurred in the novel because they assumed he was a certain way based on his looks, their violent towards him, and they mentally hurt him with their words which turn him evil and make him obsessed with revenge.

The most frightening horror story can only be called such if it is believable. Nothing is so unnerving as lying awake at night with very real fears. No monster can harm you, unless the monster was genetically engineered by a mad scientist. The theme of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein - scientific investigation without consideration of morality and responsibility - is a very relevant topic in today's world. This theme, along with the less obvious themes of revenge, prejudice against deviation from the norm, and fate all make Frankenstein one of the most unique and terrifying horror novels ever.

In 1818 Mary Shelley wrote a horrific novel titled Frankenstein. It was such a hit back then, that it is still people still republish and make shows and movies from the book. Frankenstein, is about a young man, Victor Frankenstein, who is obsessed with science and trying to find the secret to life. While he is away at college, he thinks he has found it and begins putting a person together using various body parts. As soon as the person has life, Victor realizes his creation is a monster and immediately regrets the monster he has brought to life. He goes several years with hearing nothing from the monster and then finds it killed his youngest brother. On his return home, he decides he will track the monster down. It does not go so well though.