Entry Four: Monster

          The reason why I chose the book Monster By Walter Dean Myers because I wanted to know if Steve Harmon the protagonist in the story is going to jail or not. When I looked at the front cover I saw a African-American teenager being booked and he was taken into custody. I was curious to know if this book was a true story of if it was realistic fiction. Also, the photographs of a sixteen year old boy on trial for a felony murder drew my attention to this particular novel.
            One personal connection to the book is the main character Steve Harmon and I are in the same ethnic group, African-American. Also, I have family members that are police officers. Another connection is that after high school I want to attend college to major in criminal justice and become a F.B.I agent.
             I recommend this book to readers who like mystery, real life crime and drama. The characters in the story are interesting but the main character has a guilty conscience. The story teaches the reader about respecting people's property, there lives and the law. The problems in the story can be unpredictable. The author writes Steve Harmon life like a play to show how on single bad decision can change a person's life.

Entry Three: Monster

            The section of the book Monster made me want to read page 132 and 133. The quote Detective Williams said, "The body of the victim was lying halfway... his legs were half sticking out from behind the counter. I looked around the counter and observed a middle-age Black male of approximately 200 pounds. It was pretty clear that he was dead. I looked around the scene and saw a gun. I didn't know at the time if it was the gun that killed the victim or not. The cash register was open. The change was still there, but no bills. Also, there were several cartons of cigarettes on the floor and the clerk mentioned that several cartons of cigarettes were missing. We chalked the body, then had it turned." I believe this section hooks the reader because it provides dramatic details of the crime scene. The description from this section provides the detective and the reader a possible motive for killing of the clerk at the drugstore. This section of the book makes the reader want to read more to find out who did this crime and why. The character is trying to persuade the jurors that the clerk was the victim and the suspects on trial will have consequences. The reason why I chose this section because the author, Walter Dean Myers hooks the reader by describing the conflict of Steve Harmon.

Entry Two: Monster

       The book Monster by Walter Dean Myers is structured like a play. The book shows Steve Harmon is writing about how terrifying his experience when he says "the best time to cry is at night when the lights are out and someone is being beaten up and screaming for help" (Myers 1) in the Manhattan Detention Center. The book also has dates to show what happens before and after the trial everyday. It gives the opening credits to the characters that are acting in the book and shows that Steve Harmon wrote the script and directed this play. The book shows the designs that are set and props that are given by the State of New York. It says how Steve Harmon is transported in a van from the Detention Center to the Courthouse.
        Steve Harmon wants his defense attorney Mrs. O'Brien to convince the jurors in the courtroom that he did not commit a felony murder by giving a signal to James King  and Richard "Bobo" Evans. I think King wants the jurors to say he is not guilty but I do not think that will happen because Richard Evans and Osvaldo Cruz pointed him out at the scene where Nesbitt was shot. Richard Evans was already caught by the police but if he told what at the scene he would get ten to fifteen years in prison.
        One theme I have identified is stereotyping because Steve Harmon was being judged by his violent behavior as a black man. In the book Myers writes, "Steve spreads his arms to hug O'Brien but she stiffens and turns to pick up her papers from the table before them" (Myers 276). Mrs.O'Brien hesitates and Steve wants to give her hug because he was found not guilty, but she was afraid of him. Another theme I have identified is prejudice.  In the book Myers writes, "The prosecution try to connect him to my client. With him in gear, that prejudices my client" (Myers 172). Mrs. Petrocelli was connecting the client, James King and Richard Evans because of the crimes that are made by black men.

Entry One: Monster

The major characters are 16 year old boy Steve Harmon and James king are on trial for a felony murder for the clerk at the drugstore. Richard "Bobo" Evans is a major character too because he stole cigarettes from the drugstore and gets a lesser charge to go to jail for ten to fifteen years. The setting takes place in the courtroom where there is a trial that deals with robbery and murder. The conflict is man vs. society because Steve Harmon is an accomplice to a felony murder that happen at a drugstore that he did not commit. he  is sitting in the courtroom terrified, waiting for the jurors to decide if he is guilty or not. The defense attorney for Steve Harmon is Mrs. O'Brien. The other defense attorney for James King is Mrs. Briggs. Steve Harmon stays in a detention center for everyday until the trial ends. Why doesn't the book say where James King stays during the trial? What made Steve Harmon go along with a plan from James King and Richard Evans by stealing cigarettes, shooting a man when he didn't even do anything and stealing money from the cash register? I think Steve Harmon should have thought those things through when he had the chance.