Best novel we have read yet! I found this story very easy to read and very difficult to put down. I had a unique experience reading this book while travelling through New York City. It made me think of Steve's POV as he was travelling in the back of the van on the way to court. In fact, I put myself in his shoes and pretended that the bus I was riding in was actually the van that Steve rode in to court. But anyway, I enjoyed this story and it could definitely be used in a middle school/high school classroom.
I took a minority literature class in high school where the only story we read, that was teachable, were excerpts from the Autobiography of Malcolm X (which I loved). This story would be great to teach the many stereotypes that are present in today's society. Throughout this story Steve is trying to convince himself that he is not a monster but he is not getting much support from the people around him. His own lawyer doesn't trust him and she lets it be known throughout the text. I mean, Steve, who is 16, is trying to have a casual conversation about what O'Brien is going to be doing on the weekend. O'Brien pauses and gives a blank stare, then finally answers him. How is a client (especially a 16 year old) to feel confident when his own defense attorney shows signs of doubt? She talks with no confidence on page 24 when she says to Steve: "You have to believe in yourself if we're going to convince a jury that you're innocent." What kind of crap is that. How about rephrasing that and telling the boy that you believe he is innocent and that you are going to help him prove his innocence. Of course he believes he is innocent, maybe if you would just listen to him you would understand!!! Even after the trial is over, Steve leans in to give her a thank you hug... she turns her back. Yes she just helped this young boy win his trial, but she is just as prejudice as the rest of them. It makes you wonder that if he had a non-prejudice attorney he may have won the trial more handily.
That example sheds light on the hidden discrimination throughout the story. While reading this in your class of teenagers, see if they can pick up on the bigotry that is sprinkled throughout.
On another note I really enjoyed how the story was written. When I first looked at the text, I had a bad feeling. I hate hate hate reading plays and anything that resembles Shakespeare. However, this story was not at all what I thought it would be. I liked how it switched from scripted writing to journal writing. So that led me to think about my prejudices. Hear I am preaching about this attorney "reading a book by its cover," while I am judging this book on how it is written.
All in all, you can pull so many things from this book on identifying prejudices as well as reading a multifaceted genre. Like I said before, this would be a great book to go with a minority literature class or it could go with any English class for that matter.
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I am completely with you when you said about having a bad feeling when first looking at the text. It took me a couple of pages to get into it, but once I did, I didn't put it down.
ReplyDeleteI think this would be a good novel to have in a classroom. I agree that it can show the ideas of stereotyping.
I agree with you too, about Steve's lawyer. I didn't get the feeling that she had much confidence in Steve, and I was completely upset that she rejected his hug after winning his trial. If I were a lawyer and I just saved somebody from spending a lifetime in prison, I think I would be almost as happy as they were. Her character never settled with me. I had never thought of her being prejudice until reading your blog, and it definately could be a possibility.
For some reason, when reading your blog, I was reminded of To Kill a Mockingbird. I think it was your talk about the lawyer not believing in him, and it was the opposite in that book (the lawyer did, but no one else did). I wonder if this would be a good text to pair with Monster, if a "traditional" text is even needed. It's told from a kid's perspective, but from a young white girl, and it is lined with racism. Hmm...something to think about!
ReplyDeleteAGREED! This is another example of state-supplied defense attorney that looks at every case as just another day at the office without getting too attached or passionate about who they are representing. It's like she doesn't care either way. Sometimes she talks like she wants a win, but you are right: she doesn't show any support at all to Steve.
ReplyDeleteScreenplays have a lot to offer readers, especially reluctant readers, who prefer the breaks between lines and constant change in characters. It shows about the imagery in this novel that you were able to picture yourself riding the bus as Steve was, but with a much different destination.
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