Everything you need for every book you read. Steve Harmon is the narrator and protagonist of the story. Steve is a 16-year-old black kid from Harlem charged with felony murder for his involvement in a botched robbery that ended in Mr. Nesbitt ’s death.
Contrasting with the other three people implicated in the robbery, Steve has no criminal history and is a decent and sensitive kid. He describes his court case—in which his co-defendant is a man he knows from his neighborhood, James King —through personal notes and a screenplay he writes in his journal as the events happen.
Steve’s probable guilt is reinforced by the fact that the state prosecutor labels him a “ monster ” in her opening remarks, and this becomes the way that Steve sees himself throughout the novel, dehumanizing himself.
The novel begins with 16-year-old Steve Harmon writing in his book awaiting for his trial for murder. Musing on his short time in prison so far, he decides to record this upcoming experience in the form of a movie screenplay.
Kathy O’Brien Character Analysis. Kathy O’Brien. Kathy O’Brien is Steve ’s defense attorney. O’Brien is fairly humorless, but Steve feels as if she is the only person involved in the trial who actually wants to understand who Steve is as a person.
In his notes, Steve remembers that O’Brien warned him not write anything in his notebook that he wouldn’t want the prosecutor to... (full context) Sunday, July 12th. ...day. Steve looks over his movie and wishes that this life were only a movie.
In his notes, Steve records that O’Brien is angry today because Petrocelli is intentionally manipulating the jury, showing them the grisly photos... (full context) Saturday, July 11th.
Although O’Brien feels that their chances of winning the case are slim, she makes a genuine effort to defend Steve and display his good character, telling him that their main goal is to make Steve seem different from the other three obvious criminals involved in Mr. Nesbitt ’s murder.
O’Brien tells Steve that purely because he is a young black male, half the jury will already assume he is guilty from the moment they see him. Although O’Brien wants to defend Steve and understand who he is as a person, Steve senses that O’Brien does not truly believe he is innocent.
Steve tells her he’s scared, and that he’s writing this all down in his notebook... (full context) On his notepad, Steve writes “monster” over and over again, until O’Brien takes the pencil from him and crosses each “monster” out and tells him to believe... (full context) ...neighborhood.
When pressed, Bobo admits that he never talked to Steve himself and... (full context) ...that Bobo saw Steve come out of the drugstore immediately before the robbery. In response, O’Brien confirms that Bobo himself never spoke to Steve or saw him again, nor does he... (full context) Tuesday, July 14th.
Kathy O'Brien, Steve's lawyer, informs him on what will happen during the trial. At this stage, only two of the four accused – James King and Steve – will be tried, since the other two accused – Richard "Bobo" Evans and Osvaldo Cruz – have entered into a plea bargain.
The trial begins with the opening statements of the prosecutor Sandra Petrocelli, Miss O'Brien, and King's lawyer, Asa Briggs. Petrocelli labels the four accused men, including Steve, as "monsters.".
According to Cruz, the original plan was that Steve would go into the drugstore and signal if the coast was clear.
Before returning to the trial, Steve writes in his notes that he cannot psycholog ically handle writing down the tragic details of the robbery itself.
PZ7.M992 Mon 2004. Monster, published April 21, 1999 by HarperCollins, is a young adult drama novel by American author Walter Dean Myers. It was nominated for the 1999 National Book Award for Young People's Literature, won the Michael L. Printz Award in 2000, and was named a Coretta Scott King Award Honor the same year.
Monster. (Myers novel) Monster, published April 21, 1999 by HarperCollins, is a young adult drama novel by American author Walter Dean Myers. It was nominated for the 1999 National Book Award for Young People's Literature, won the Michael L. Printz Award in 2000, and was named a Coretta Scott King Award Honor the same year.
Petrocelli calls as a witness Osvaldo Cruz, who is affiliated with the Diablos, a violent street gang.
From 2013 to 2014, Jeffrey Wright portrayed Dr. Valentin Narcisse in the hit HBO period drama "Boardwalk Empire." Following the murder of his employee by Dunn Purnsley, he is given 10% of Chalky White's Onyx Club. Because of this deal, he is in close proximity to Chalky throughout the fourth season, allowing Wright much screen time with Michael Kenneth William. Narcisse's involvement with the club brings complications with Chalky and introduces Daughter Maitland (Margot Bingham), a beautiful singer with a haunted past who has an affair with Chalky and is implied to have given birth to his child.
Two years after the finale of "Boardwalk Empire," Jeffrey Wright was cast in another HBO series. This time, it was "Westworld," inspired by the 1970s movie featuring a western-themed amusement park with highly realistic animatronics where guests pay an insane amount of money to live out any and all fantasies without consequence.
Steve as Monster. Steve's greatest conflict is not really the trial itself, though it's certainly stressful and difficult. He fights his worst battles in his head, as he tries to figure out if he's truly a monster. That's what Prosecutor Petrocelli calls him, and he can't help but dwell on it.
Steve hung out with some shady dudes. His neighborhood was an honest-to-goodness thug-a-thon. James King, Osvaldo Cruz, and Freddy Alou made up a few of the tough guys Steve swapped dialogue with on occasion. King even invited him to play a part in the drugstore "payday" (14.2).
And like Shakespeare's Hamlet, the answer means life or death. If Steve is found guilty of felony murder, he's looking at twenty-five years to life in prison. Not cool for a kid in the middle of high school.
Steve, then, continually battles others people's perceptions of himself with his own belief in his goodness. He sees himself as a good, moral kid.
The only violence he considers is toward himself—suicide if he's convicted. Steve wants to believe in his bunny rabbit core, but he also cares a lot about what others think.
In Steve's screenplay, Kathy is "the defense attorney with doubts" (2.16). She's "all business as she talks to Steve" (2.32), and sees no need to believe her clients, or even to believe in them—her job is only to prove their innocence to a jury.
Steve isn't a person to Sandra. He is what she calls him: a monster. In her words, monsters are "people who are willing to steal and to kill, people who disregard the rights of others" (2.80).