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Sarah Kaczur
L408 Dr. Carter
Book Rationale #2
24 October 2006
Bibliographic Citation:
Myers, Walter Dean. Monster. New York ; HarperCollins, 1999.
Intended Audience:
Monster, by Walter Dean Myers is a book that is easy to read because of its journal and
movie-script format, and could therefore be used on mainstream eighth or ninth-grade students or
perhaps a group of language lab students. (Language lab being for students with problems
passing standardized tests and are placed in a lab for extra reading and writing skills). If I were
to teach this novel I would ideally use it to teach eighth-grade. Students who are thirteen and
fourteen years old are close enough to the age of the main character that they will feel a
connection to his age group.
In the ideal situation of mainstream 8th grade students, Monster would be used for wholeclass study. After researching online there are multiple creative ways to teach the book. One
idea was to have the class read the book together; assigning students to roles prior to engaging in
reading. As well, to have students feel their roles, the classroom could be made into a “pseudo
courtroom.” (A judge at the front of the room, jurors placed along a wall, prosecutor and
defendant tables, and remainder students can act as the public audience). To ensure that all
students are engaging there could be “exit-slips” designed for the end of each trial scene for
students to record whether they think Steve is guilty or innocent and their reasons/judgments as
to how they cam to their verdict. Throughout and after each scene, the class could have a closing
discussion over the reoccurring issues of racism, white society, the judicial system, unveiling
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evidence, etc. Topics to be covered/explored with students through discussion: Race,
Multiculturalism, Racism, Stereotypes, Civil Rights in the U.S.(past and present),
Ethnocentrism, Harlem, NY(history and currently), Socio-economic status in the United
States, Murder, Ethics, Judicial System in the U.S., Jail life, Fear, Persuasive Arguments,
etc.
Another approach to teaching Monster would be to have students engage in a journaling project.
With a journaling project, students are responsible for answering specific journal questions in
coordination with the text on a daily basis. This way each student would have more
opportunities to reflect on the topic areas and internalize what Steve Harmon goes through.
Providing students with a journaling project will give shy students a venue for expressing their
ideas; rather than the competitive classroom environment of acting out the scenes. Students will
connect with the personal tragedies of the author as well as outside potential discussion if read in
correlation with another novel; i.e. Scorpions, also by Myers, where a boy feels pressure to “act
like a man” with his brother in jail.
Brief Summary:
Steve Harmon, a 16 year-old African American male, is caught in the middle of a drug
store robbery and murder that may have him locked up in jail for twenty years to life. Until a
decision is made upon whether Steve is guilty or innocent, Steve remains living the horrible life
of a jail tenant. In jail Steve gets a taste of what his life could be as he feels the pangs of fear and
experiences in-mates whose end result is hopeless. As a reader you get a look on Steve’s
perspective and feelings about the situation via his disheartening journal entries. The other
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perspective Myers creates is a media driven look as Steve records the entire trial in a moviescript fashion. The connection between the two give the reader an insider and outsider
perspective that allows you to see the discrimination surrounding Steve in this current day case.
It leads one to believe that trials happen, frequently, where “justice” is unjust.
Relationship of Book to Program:
Ideally, students will take a rather active role in the novel due to its fast-paced reading
structure. As well, since it is an “easier” read the novel could be placed at the beginning of
instruction rather than the end. By placing an easy-read novel at the beginning of a school year
students would be able to feel successful; as though the class is attainable to all reading abilities.
Also, topic areas covered in this novel are broad enough to lead into further discussion with latter
units/novels. Mainly, the book would provide an engaging novel for all students to read and
could lead into a perspective or persuasive writing exercise.
Teaching Objectives:
The novel provides students with new insights to current society’s
perspectives/stereotypes on African American males and how false stereotypes can lead to
detrimental situation. Students will be able to reflect on how it would be to live in “Steve’s
shoes” by reading and engaging with Steve’s journal entries. Through a reflective journaling
process, students will have perspectives to the realities of social justice/injustice and gain insight
to social consequences. As well, students will gain understanding of the U.S. judicial system and
how persuasive arguing (critical thinking between defending and prosecuting lawyers,
anticipating an opposing argument, etc), can be/is a good skill to acquire.
Insight to Race/Racism in U.S.: Students will gain an overall understanding of how stereotypes
play into race; how racism is formed based upon assumptions rather than looking purely at facts.
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To get students discussing the topic could begin with broad stereotypes (i.e. males vs. females)
and lead to stereotypes specifically on race. Perhaps having students look for racism in other
avenues in the U.S. to compare how truthful Myers’ depiction of Steve’s situation; ideally
students will come prepared with other examples; in commercials, television programs, movies,
magazines, etc. When students bring in their proof of stereotypes of race in American society
the teacher could focus on tying in a historical movie depicting the civil rights movement;
perhaps the movie coming out soon, The Real Story of Louis Emit Till, so students can engage
with the civil rights movement in the shoes of a teenager.
Critical Reading: Students will gain critical reading experience by engaging in small and large
group reading; depending upon whether the teacher would have the students read the novel
together as a script or individually as homework. Role-play, worksheets, journaling, open
discussion forums, and outside resources (historical videos, current court cases with racial issues
involved, videos/television clips of jail living, etc), will all engage students to think critically
about Steve Harmon’s position and the perspectives of those surrounding him in the novel.
Composition Experience/Practice: Students will compose perspective and/or persuasive
papers; perspective papers could be included while the novel is being read and persuasive
argument papers could be a final project to the novel. As well, a journaling project could remain
in place with role-playing. If students were given 10-15 minutes a day to reflect upon a court
scene, a quote, one of Steve’s journal entries, etc, each student will be able to reflect and “digest”
the novel in their own way. As well, all of the writing experience and practice give the teacher
more means of assessing student participation and improvement.
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Ethical Experience:
Students will gain individual insights to what is means to be ethical while judging and
understanding the characters in the novel that may choose ethical or unethical decisions.
Students can relate ethics to their school system, sports teams, politics, etc., through large
discussion, journaling inquiry, or small group discussions.
Suggested Student Activities and Assignments:
Role-Play: Students would be able to volunteer as to who they would like to be in the role-play;
or to alleviate stereotypes/issues, students could choose roles out of a hat. Role-play lets the
students put themselves in the novel and engage with the text with an interactive means. As
well, when students engage in role-play they are participating and maintaining the same reading
speed as a whole. Role-play would be best used if students do not have copies to take home and
engage in individual reading, but could be used sporadically with a class of students who can
take their novel home and read for homework.
Journal Entries: Journal entries will be completed at the end of class as a reflective process;
where students “drain” themselves of their inhibitions, assumptions, inquiries, and hopes for the
main character, Steve, but also in relation to their own lives and ethical decisions. Possible
discussion topics will have students reflecting on an entire chapter or multiple chapters, quotes
from the novel regarding social inequalities, race, ignorance, ethics, truth vs. lies, etc. Journal
entries should be graded based upon student effort; stressing that a minimum of ¾ to a full page
of text should be submitted for full credit. Although students are responsible for participating in
class, shy or uneasy students can prove their understanding while reflecting to the teacher via
their journal. As well, the journals will provide the students with resources for choosing their
final paper topics and providing more evidence on their ethical beliefs.
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Exit Slips: Exit slip questions can serve as a quick assessment tool to who is completing the
expected reading and who is not; or those who do not comprehend the literature. As well, exit
slips at the end of class serve as a good reflective tool for students and can help aide in
assessment of class engagement with the material, understanding of discussion topics, and
further insight to class questions covering subject material. Exit slips can be used for students to
pose questions/concerns about class material/discussion for further planning or can simply be
given in place of students reflecting in personal journals; (if class goes longer than expected and
students do not have ample time to reflect. Exit slips could be used at the beginning of the unit;
prior to students engaging in the novel to help serve as tools for communicating questions, ideas,
concerns, etc.
Perspective Paper: Students will be given the prompt of placing themselves in the shoes of any
person in the novel; Steve, lawyers, the judge, the jurors, Steve’s parents, convicts in jail, etc,
and should be a smaller writing project. This could be used to assess individual creativity and
ability for students to define themselves in the life of another person. Essentially, this paper is to
derive some empathic reasoning and provoke and define ethical/unethical dialogue for each
student. Perhaps assign 10-20pts for the paper; while each journal entry may count as 3-5 pts
each.
Rough Draft: Rough drafts are necessity! Since this will be the first unit for the students it is
necessary to set up the rough draft accordingly; make sure students are aware that effort must be
shown in their rough draft to get full credit. However, remind your students that a rough draft is
a rough draft. The rough draft would focus on having students determine whether their
persuasive argument has anticipated all of its counter arguments. Students should then engage in
peer editing; giving students a chance to engage with others, formulate other ideas/opinions, and
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attempt to persuade their peers towards believing their argument. As well, this rough draft peerediting session will give the teacher a chance to make sure students have chosen appropriate
topics and responded to the assignment as asked. (30pts)
Final Paper: The final paper will show what level of insight students gained and understand
about persuasive writing and allow students to delve into a subject area of interest. The final
paper will have the requirements of the rough draft as well as more detailed rubric based on the
6+1 trait grading system; conventions, ideas & content, organization, sentence fluency, voice,
and word choice. (60pts)
(Perspective paper (10),
Rough Draft (30),
Final Draft (60)=
100 pts possible for writing evaluation)
Potential Problems with the Work:
Monster will hopefully elicit great discussion surrounding all of the mentioned topic areas but
potential problems could include students who are disrespectful of opposing views. Although
one would view this as a problem, I see the unit as an opportunity for ethical dialogue to take
place. Students need to confront issues of race and multiculturalism before entering high school.
If it is proof that young children can identify with race (the baby doll experiment), then why not
confront race and diversity with students. Students are faced with issues of race from early on
and should be equipped with the perspectives of race that Monster elicits.
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Collection of Information about Monster:
-2000 Coretta Scott King Honor Book, 2000 Michael L. Printz Award, 1999 National Book Award Finalist, 01
Heartland Award for Excellence in YA Lit Finalist, 00-01 Tayshas High School Reading List, and 00-01 BlackEyed Susan Award Masterlist
2000 Best Books for Young Adults (ALA), Hornbook Fanfare 2000, Michael L. Printz Award 2000, 2000 Quick
Picks for Young Adults (Recomm. Books for Reluctant Young Readers), and 2000 Best Books for Young
Adults (ALA)
http://www.harpercollins.com/books/9780060280789/Monster/index.aspx
Walter Dean Myers
1937Life:
Myers was born into a large West Virginia family in 1937, in the midst of the Great
Depression. Two years after his birth, his mother died, leaving his father with eight children to
care for and no job. In 1939, his father’s previous wife, a mixed-race (white/Native American)
woman from whom he had been divorced due to family pressures, came to take her two
daughters with her to New York, where she now lived with her second husband, Herbert Dean.
The Deans decided to adopt Walter along with his half-sisters, and so he came to grow up in
Harlem.
Though poorly educated themselves, the Deans taught Walter to read by the time he was
four. His mother had Walter read to her every day from True Romance magazine and eventually
from other sources, and his father and grandfather told him stories. Despite his obvious ability,
though, young Walter had trouble on the playground because of a speech impediment; he was
frequently involved in fights when the other children teased him, so much so that by the time he
was in fourth grade, he was threatened with suspension. Fortunately, his fifth grade teacher
recognized his writing ability and channeled his energy into creative writing.
Walter’s childhood life revolved around the church, which was not just a place of worship
but an activity center where he learned basketball and dance. He says, “I am a product of
Harlem and of the values, color, toughness, and caring that I found there as a child.”
His talents brought Walter a place in an accelerated junior high program and ultimately at
Stuyvesant High School, a strong academic environment (the same school that Steve Harmon
attends in Monster). Again, one of his teachers encouraged his writing, and he received some
writing awards; but his school attendance became spotty as he would spend days reading and
writing in the park rather than attending class.
Myers began hanging with the “wrong crowd,” and, knowing his family couldn’t afford
college, dropped out of high school at 15. He soon returned but then left again, and at the age of
17 joined the army to escape. After three years, he returned to civilian life, taking a factory job
in New Jersey and then a position with the Post Office. He married a woman he met in the Post
Office job and began once again to write – publishing stories and poetry in (mostly) blackoriented magazines.
Myers took college classes but did not finish school; meanwhile, his first marriage was
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falling apart under the strain. In 1970, he was hired as an acquisitions editor for Bobbs Merrill, a
publisher interested in developing more black writers for young people. Already, he had
published his first children’s book, a picture book published by Parents Magazine Press. Myers
had written it for a contest, “more because I wanted to write anything than because I wanted to
write a picture book.” In 1975, he wrote his first young adult novel, Fast Sam, Cool Clyde, and
Stuff. Two years later, he left Bobbs Merrill and undertook to write full time.
Supporting oneself by writing alone requires discipline. Myers’ daily routine begins with
early rising, usually before 5 a.m., for a daily 5-mile walk. He returns home and showers, then
starts into work by about 7: “I try to get ten pages done. Once I do my ten pages, that’s it.”
The idea for Monster goes back to a series of interviews with prisoners Myers did during
one of his attempts at college, in the late ‘70s:
I did 600 pages of interviews with prisoners in New York and New Jersey. And patterns began
to emerge. They all knew why they were in jail; they knew what crimes they had committed or
had been accused of committing, but they never seemed to be really sure of the path that had got
thm there. . . . All these people felt that they were good people. They were always talking about
whether they were guilty or innocent, and the discussion were legal arguments. (Rochman)
Later, he witnessed the trial of a 17-year-old charged with armed robbery and attempted murder,
right across the street from a high school, and was struck by the short distance between those
ordinary students and this young man’s situation.
Walter Dean Myers twice received Newbery Honor recognition (for Scorpions, 1989, and
Somewhere in the Darkness, 1993) and is a three-time recipient of the Coretta Scott King
Award. In 2000, Monster (a Coretta Scott King Honor book) was named the first winner of the
Michael L. Printz Award for “literary excellence in young adult literature.”
Monster:
The question of guilt or innocence: Do we think Steve is guilty or innocent? We have been
given pretty much all of the evidence that the jury is considering (plus a little more conveyed by
his journal writing) – so if we were on the jury, how would we judge?
Myers avoids a simplistic view of his character’s role. We know that Steve was in the store
the day of the killing, and that he had discussed his role with James King. Steve says he did not
signal the others; they say he did. We are never shown directly what happened when Steve
emerged from the store. Steve’s own father and his defense attorney both seem to have doubts
about his innocence. Under the law, if he conspired with others to commit a felony (the
robbery), and someone dies in the course of that felony (no matter how the death occurs), all of
the conspirators may be guilty of felony murder. So there are hints that he may be guilty.
On the other hand, we have ample testimony that he is basically a good kid – his teacher,
his mother, his relationship with his little brother. We don’t see him actually agree to take part,
just that he was present when the job was planned. If we believe that his job was to signal the
others that the coast was clear, we have to accept a relatively far-fetched argument that “no
signal” was the signal. And he never received his “taste” of the proceeds. Is this enough doubt
to find him not guilty? If he is “not guilty,” is he also necessarily “innocent”?
Additionally, there is the question of proportionate punishment. Even though some may
conclude that he is guilty under the law, life in prison seems a pretty stiff penalty for a first
offense, when he himself wasn’t even present at the time the killing occurred.
Myers says that when he talks to young people about Monster, their responses are
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interesting: “When I ask them, ‘So what’s the story with Steve?’ they come up with various
answers about his legal guilt, but eventually some kid does say that whether Steve’s legally
guilty or innocent doesn’t make any difference; he is guilty. And to me, that’s the essence of the
book. Apart from legal machinations, is he accepting his moral responsibility for what he’s done
or is he just trying to avoid it?” (Rochman)
The issue of the novel’s form: Myers uses the two types of narration – Steve’s journals and
his film script – as a means of showing how people create distance between their sense of
themselves and their actions. When Steve writes in the journal, we get an insight into how he
feels; when he writes about his crime, he uses the film script to distance himself from this act
That, at any rate, is what the author tries to do. Does it work? We are accustomed to
watching movies, and a film script – which provides cues as to closeup, long shot, and other
details of scene that a play script cannot – is a bit closer to traditional narration as well in its
ability to set the scene and mood. But it is still often more difficult to read a dramatic text, which
is normally intended to be performed, than a typical narration. Here, Myers is writing what
looks like a dramatic text, but what is intended to be read, not actually filmed. Does this create a
degree of difficulty in our understanding the book?
Between journal entries and the film script, we get a number of shifts back and forth across
time. This is not a simple narrative in chronological sequence. What effect does that have on
our reading experience?
The matter of Steve Harmon’s identity: We get various testimonials as to who other people
see Steve as being – the prosecutor describes him as a monster, his teacher sees him as a gifted
student and a gentle soul, etc. But, as always with the adolescent novel, the great task of this
character is to determine for himself who he is. What kind of evidence is there?
He seems to accept the prosecutor’s characterization when he names his film, “Monster,”
and again when he writes the word over and over on his scratch pad, until his lawyer makes him
stop and tells him, “You have to believe in yourself if we’re going to convince a jury that you’re
innocent” (24). Interestingly, she doesn’t seem to believe him, either, since she never states that
he is innocent during her summation, only that he should be found “not guilty,” and she shrinks
back from his attempt to hug her after his acquittal.
His brother Jerry admires him, and to Jerry, Steve says he would like to be Superman – but
his motive is that as Superman, “I’d kick butt” (58). This scene comes not long after one in
which he throws a rock and hits a tough guy, then runs away (42-43). Which is Steve’s true
“secret identity” – the guy who runs away, or the butt-kicking Superman?
In his journal, Steve writes: “I want to look like a good person. I want to feel like I’m a
good person because I believe I am. But being in here with these guys makes it hard to think
about yourself as being different. We look about the same, and even though I’m younger than
they are, it’s hard not to notice that we are all pretty young.” (62) Steve has to deal with some
strong prejudicial stereotypes that may affect jurors (and readers) – the fact that so many young
black men are or have been in prison, for instance, may predispose some observers to conclude
that they are all “monsters”; as Ms. O’Brien says, “You’re young, you’re black, and you’re on
trial. What else do they need to know?” (79) Steve is in danger, here and elsewhere, of
accepting the negative stereotype as his actual identity. At one point, he says that he feels like
the word “Monster” has been stamped on his forehead.
Steve’s sense of his self-identity is further strained when he realizes that his father is no
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longer sure of who he is. When Steve asks his father if he believes that Steve did nothing wrong,
the father is unable to give him the reassurance he asks for, and instead tells him about his own
aspirations for Steve, along with his failure ever to imagine visiting his son in prison (111-12).
Sources: “Author Profile: Walter Dean Myers,” Teenreads.com, http;//www.teenreads.com/authors/au-myers-walterdean.asp; Rudine Sims Bishop,
Presenting Walter Dean Myers, Boston: Twayne, 1991; Hazel Rochman, “The Booklist Interview: Walter Dean Myers,” Booklist 96 (February 15, 2000),
http://www.ala.org/booklist/v96/youth/fe2/69interv.htm; “Walter Dean Myers,” Contemporary Authors Online, The Gale Group, 2001; “Walter Dean
Myers,” http://www.aalbc.com/authors/walter1.htm)
A. Waller Hastings
Professor of English
Northern State University
Aberdeen, SD 57401
Return to Wally Hastings' Children's Literature Page
Return to Wally Hastings' Homepage
AUTHOR: Susan M. Landt
TITLE: Multicultural literature and young adolescents: A kaleidescope of opportunity
SOURCE: Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 49 no8 690-7 My 2006
COPYRIGHT: The magazine publisher is the copyright holder of this article and it is reproduced
with permission. Further reproduction of this article in violation of the copyright
is prohibited. To contact the publisher: http://www.reading.org/
Literature has the capacity to enter our lives, to interact with what we already know and believe,
and perhaps even to change us. (Salvner, 2001, p. 9)
As a child, I was fascinated by the magic of the kaleidoscope. By holding it to my eye, I could
view a wondrous scene; tap it a bit, and everything changed. The vision was never ending-always a delight to my eyes. For me, literature served a similar purpose; each book offered a new
delight for my mind. Whether I followed individuals through numerous adventures or
encountered assorted characters in various volumes, the effect was the same; each reading
brought new ideas and different perspectives--a kaleidoscope of dreams.
Because I was living in an isolated rural neighborhood in the days before television arrived,
reading was my window to the world. The stories guided my dreams; the characters populated
my imaginings. I learned of love, fear, triumph, and hope. I put myself in the lives of the
characters and imagined possibilities beyond my reality. It was through literature that a small girl
running barefoot in the summer and picking beans to earn money for the county fair discovered a
world full of possibility and promise.
It is these memories that reinforce my belief in the power of literature to open doors in our
minds. However, the kaleidoscopic visions I experienced, while beautiful and astounding to my
mind, now seem to have been small, white, and constrained. It would take years for the world of
color and diversity to be open for me, and more years for it to cease to be foreign and exotic. All
characters in the books I read were renditions of one another--merely older, richer, smarter, and
more experienced versions of myself.
Today, I devour literature written for middle school students and young adults, marveling at the
range of material available for, current readers. While young adult literature remains primarily
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Eurocentric, there are marvelous books available that provide readers with a diverse array of
perspectives. Quality offerings about nonmainstream cultures are slowly appearing at bookstores
and libraries. The challenge is to bring these to the attention of young readers. One way to
accomplish this is through educators. Providing teachers with information on quality
multicultural literature and strategies for including it in the curriculum will encourage them to
use this vital resource for their students' development.
A kaleidoscope does not offer one true picture; it morphs and changes at every move, proffering
a multifaceted, prismatic perspective. That is what I propose we offer to the developing minds of
our students: not a static, narrow vision, but a spectrum of perceptions and possibilities. My goal
is to facilitate awareness and availability of quality literature that can provide young minds with
a richer, clearer, and more accurate window through which to gaze.
Although there are wonderful selections of multicultural books available for readers of all ages,
this article focuses on literature appropriate for adolescents and young adults. I chose this midage range partly because, as Zitlow and Stover (1998) noted, "The opportunity and ability to see
how others experience life is especially important for young adults who are in the process of
becoming independent participants in a world much larger than their own school and
community" (Introduction section, para. 6). Providing a multitude of perspectives through
literature at this point in students' development is an effective way to help facilitate their
engagement in self and social understanding (Ford, Tyson, Howard, & Harris, 2000).
Multicultural literature encompasses a wide range of perspectives "of groups that have been
marginalized because of race, gender, ethnicity, language, ability, age, social class,
religion/spirituality, and/or sexual orientation" (Muse, 1997, p. 1). All of the above deserve and
require consideration when searching for literature to share with students. The examples within
this article, however, are delimited to the relatively narrow constructs of race and ethnicity in
order to provide depth of focus. By restricting the selections, it was possible to draw on a range
of offerings within an area, thereby illustrating the concepts with interrelated examples. This is
not an indication of lesser importance ascribed to other groups, merely an attempt to provide
analogous examples across a breadth of ideas.
Purposes for using multicultural literature
In order for students to encounter high-quality literature with a range of perspectives, it has to be
made available to them and highlighted in a way that tantalizes their interest. Teachers are in an
excellent position to accomplish this task. However, that does not mean they are prepared.
Teachers may not feel that they are sufficiently knowledgeable to select appropriate multicultural
literature for their students. Overwhelmed with the already high demands of teaching, they may
not have time for in-depth research required to locate and evaluate suitable selections. Teachers
may decide it is better to avoid integrating multicultural literature with their curriculum rather
than take the chance of including inappropriate choices. Therefore, this article seeks to do three
things: provide information concerning the importance of including multicultural literature in the
curriculum, present guidelines for selecting it, and offer high-quality examples.
Broader view of the world
A well-recognized goal of introducing multicultural literature into the classroom is to connect
students to the world by providing a wider view. Literature can open doors to other cultures and
introduce students to ideas and insights they would otherwise not have encountered. Rather than
reading about cultures in a fact-filled textbook, students experience a culture through the eyes of
other adolescents. They get to see people their age meeting challenges and solving problems.
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Unfamiliar aspects of other cultures--language, dress, beliefs--are less foreign when viewed
through the lens of familiar issues. Fine fiction, according to Mazer (1993), has "the power to
transform our understanding...[and] allow us to enter into another person's experience and to feel
it as if it were our own" (p. viii).
Literature can serve as a bridge to awareness and understanding and help students make
intercultural connections. Opening their eyes and their minds requires helping them discern the
similarities among cultures while learning to appreciate the differences. Multicultural books that
assist students in seeing the "commonalities across cultures...play an important role in helping
students cross cultural borders" (Cai, 2002, p. 121).When students reading about diverse cultures
discover similarities with their own, they begin to look beyond the differences and take a step
toward appreciating the cultural connectedness of all humanity.
Adolescence is a time of questioning and searching as young people strive to comprehend who
they are and how they fit in the world. Stover (2000) suggested a number of adolescent concerns
that are common across cultural borders, including the need to define oneself outside the realm
of family; come to terms with new visions of one's family as "less than perfect"; determine an
individual set of moral, ethical, religious, or political principles; come to terms with developing
sexuality and with the physiological changes brought on by puberty; develop positive
relationships with peers; think about the future; and forge a niche in the larger society (p. 108).
Students reading about these issues across a variety of cultures are able to appreciate the
commonalities as they see themselves mirrored within the similarities. In Yumoto's The Friends
(1992), three middle school boys grapple with friendship, bravery, and ethics as they confront
their tentative fascination with Zdeath. These youth struggle with intergenerational relationships,
expectations regarding education, and pressure from peers. The story takes place in modern-day
Japan, highlighting the universality of adolescent concerns. Yumoto's book speaks to all youth,
regardless of culture. Readers can relate to the boys' efforts to face their fears and establish their
developing identities as individuals.
Tangled Threads by Pegi Deitz Shea (2003) provides readers with a dual experience as they
encounter Mai, a 13-year-old Hmong girl, in a Thailand refugee camp and follow her to a new
life in the United States. Observing Mai and her grandmother before they immigrate equips
readers to better understand the difficulties faced in their new surroundings. While illustrating
the cultural differences faced by Mai and her family, Shea also focuses on the similarities
challenging young teens. Peer pressure, moral dilemmas, and issues of loyalty to one's fiends and
family confront Mai as she adjusts to the differing standards in her new country.
Another perspective is offered by Francisco Jimenez in The Circuit: Stories From the Life of a
Migrant Child (1997). Based on his own experiences and those of his family, Jimenez reveals the
conditions of life for migrant families in the United States as he describes the constant moves to
accommodate growing cycles that are critical to his family's survival. Attending school, we see
in Circuit, is problematic for migrant children on several levels. Lack of steady attendance
because of moving is compounded by the language barrier most migrant children face. In
response to a question about school, Roberto replied,
I remember being hit on the wrists with a twelve-inch ruler because I did not follow directions....
But how could I?.... [T]he teacher gave them all in English.... I always guessed what the teacher
wanted me to do. And when she did not use the ruler on me, I knew I had guessed right. (p. 14)
Kaczur 14
Seeing the struggles Roberto and his siblings go through to get an education can open doors to
understanding life differences and cultural inequities. Middle school students reading The Circuit
are introduced to a culture within their, own culture invisible or ignored by many.
Interrupting prejudice and misunderstanding
Crossing cultural borders involves understanding the similarities among cultures, while also
appreciating the differences. It is this second point that is crucial to interrupting the inner
boundary of prejudice and misunderstanding. Cai (2002) pointed out that "Ignorance and
prejudice are two main stumbling blocks to mutual understanding and appreciation among ethnic
groups. To remove these blocks we need more culturally specific books that give readers insights
into cultures other than their own" (p. 25). However, Cai warned against the limitations of many
books that "skim only superficial cultural differences" and "do not delve into entrenched bias and
prejudice." He cautioned that such books "appear to offer an easy way to cross cultural barriers"
(pp. 121-122). It is up to teachers to select appropriate readings and also to initiate discussions
that stimulate student thought on issues of difference.
Bauman (1997) described how she uses literature to "help students explore the lives of people
whose cultures are very different from theirs" (p. 104). Through questioning and discussion,
Bauman urged her students to consider such issues as who is missing from their textbooks and
how this might affect the self-esteem of those who are absent. She also indicated that frequently
these readings "generate discussion about acts of prejudice or discrimination that students
themselves have experienced in schools." She observes that "white students are often surprised to
learn that incidents of intolerance are happening here and now to their own peers" (p. 105).
In The Jacket, Andrew Clements (2002) portrays a young boy's gradual realization of his own
prejudice. When Phil, the middle school-aged protagonist, accuses a black schoolmate of stealing
a jacket, it kindles Phil's reflection on prejudice. He speculates about his assumption that Daniel
stole the jacket, asking himself, "What if Daniel had been a white kid? Would I have grabbed
him like that?" (p. 36). He confronts his mother with his growing concern, "How come you never
told me I was prejudiced?" (p. 37). Clements's story can unlock the silence surrounding
discussion of prejudice and empower students and teachers to openly address issues commonly
avoided.
Carvell (2002), influenced by her son's experiences, exposes the prejudice surrounding school
mascots in Who Will Tell My Brother? Evan, following in his brother's footsteps, is determined
to abolish his school's use of an Indian mascot. He meets stony opposition from the
administration and outward hostility from other students. Written in free verse, Carvell's spare
straightforward writing cuts directly to the heart.
The word has gotten out. The word is spreading that I have done the unthinkable. I have
questioned. I have questioned. I have questioned why we need this mascot. They stare at me
through the cold, hard eyes of those who feel threatened, whose pride whose tradition whose
bigotry and narrow thought is threatened. I, too feel threatened. (p. 73)
By bringing the issue of offensive mascots to young students through the perspective of someone
their own age, Carvell provides a vehicle for a stimulating discussion. Teachers interested in
thoughtfully engaging their students will do well to add this book to their curriculum.
Another excellent young-adult book that inspires discussion on issues of prejudice and
discrimination is Crossing Jordan by Adrian Fogelin (2000). In this story, Fogelin describes two
young girls determined not to let their families' prejudice discourage their developing friendship.
Kaczur 15
The For Sale sign on the house next door had hardly been up a week when Mama told us she'd
heard that a black family had bought the old Faircloth place. Daddy brought his fist down on the
table and the supper dishes jumped. "Place is gonna go downhill," he said.... "I'll just have to
build me a fence." (p. 1)
Cass and Jemmie, with their mutual interest in competitive running and shared reading of Jane
Eyre, slowly work on their families' antagonism. Through the girls' eyes, Fogelin exposes both
subtle and explicit barriers impeding cross-racial friendships. Without resorting to an "all
problems solved" happy ending, Fogelin still projects a hopeful future where families grow
alongside one another in a healthful learning way.
Reflection of self
Both of the above goals--exposing students to a broader view of the world and reducing
prejudice and misunderstanding--are important objectives for teachers. Another major goal
involves helping students see themselves in their reading. As Boyd stated, "In a profound sense,
children look to story for self" (1997, p. 107). As a young reader, I encountered variations of my
own culture. What must it be like for readers to find only images representing those unlike them?
"Students need to be able to make connections between literature and their everyday lives.
Children need to receive affirmation of themselves and their culture through literature" (Colby &
Lyon, 2004, p. 24).
Not seeing one's self, or representations of one's culture, in literature can activate feelings of
marginalization and cause students to question their place within society. Boyd (1997),
describing her childhood reading experiences, reveals "As an African American female child, I
never saw my face or the lives of my family, friends, and neighbors in the books I read" (p. 107).
Nothing that she encountered in her reading included images of self. This lack of reflection
affected her self-image and her feeling of belonging. Boyd recalled, "I realized that I was
invisible, excluded, disaffirmed, spurned, discarded, scorned, and rejected in the white world of
children's literature" (p. 107). What disastrous learning experiences her reading provided.
Boyd's destructive encounters with the invisibility of self in books should not be repeated.
Children today have more options available. Increasingly, children's and young adult literature
include selections by and about people of marginalized--or to use Cai's (2002) term--parallel
cultures. Teachers can be an important source of information about available literature. The first
step is recognizing the need for providing reading material that reflects students' cultural selves.
Reporting on a study of prospective teachers' understandings of the importance of using
multicultural literature, Colby and Lyon stated, "It was evident that many had not, until this
point, considered the dilemma that children of color face in regards to having access to
appropriate literature and an environment that acknowledges and celebrates diversity in the
classroom" (2004, p. 24).
Colby and Lyon (2004) shared prospective teachers' comments after reading the article "African
American children's literature that helps students find themselves" (Hefflin & Ralph, 2001).
I didn't realize that there are children that feel like they have nothing to read and relate to...as a
white child I never really thought about it because I already had books that I could relate to.... It
seems obvious that readers want to identify with characters, but I never considered how all-white
characters would affect African American students. (Colby & Lyon, p. 25)
Kaczur 16
These observations all share the same feature: not having given any thought to how students
might feel who do not see themselves reflected in what they read. This study reveals the
necessity of integrating multicultural literature into the classroom. These preservice teachers, one
step away from guiding their own students, were first encountering the significance of how
literature affects children's images of self and others and the importance of creating learning
communities that celebrate diversity.
If multicultural literature were an integral part of education, preservice teachers would not be
struggling to comprehend the necessity for infusing their teaching with a diversity of readings
and images for their students: It would be an expected part of their curriculum. Students would
not still be searching for reflections of their culture in what they read and see: they would enjoy
and learn from the diverse range of inclusive offerings.
How will integrating multicultural literature with the curriculum better serve students? As a
reiteration, Barta and Grindler (1996) presented Campbell and Wittenberg's (1980) six purposes:
1. It heightens respect for individuals. Children discover that all people have basic needs,
feelings, and emotions.
2. It acknowledges contributions of minorities. Many cultures have made contributions to the
world, and we should celebrate these accomplishments.
3. It brings children into contact with other cultures. Since children develop an awareness of
differences among people at an early age, it is important that they be exposed to books that
reflect a pluralistic society. This helps to eliminate ethnocentrism and encourages respect and
tolerance for others.
4. It enhances students' self-concept. Children realize that they have a cultural heritage of which
they can be proud.
5. It helps children realize that society has developed a value system that validates some
differences and minimizes others. This system is based on ignorance and misperception and its
existence promotes inequality.
6. It encourages students to detect prejudice and to work toward its elimination. (p. 269)
Selecting multicultural literature
Once teachers embrace the idea of integrating multicultural literature with their teaching, the task
of selecting appropriate material begins. There are a number of factors to think about when
selecting multicultural books for students. Many of these are the same as with any book:
developmental appropriateness, quality of writing, relevance of issues to students, general
accuracy, believability of characters, and interest level of the story.
There are other important characteristics to consider when choosing books that focus on
nonmainstream cultures. Guides and lists of criteria have been developed to assist teachers and
others interested in selecting quality multicultural literature. After reviewing a range of helpful
offerings (Agosto, n.d.; Cai, 2002; Higgins, 2002; Muse, 1997), I have synthesized them into the
following broad categories:
* The accurate portrayal of the culture or cultures depicted in the book includes not only physical
characteristics such as clothing and food, but relationships among people within the culture and
with people of different cultures.
* There is diversity within the culture; characters are unique individuals, not stereotypical
representatives.
* Dialogue is culturally authentic with characters using speech that accurately represents their
oral traditions. Non-English words are spelled and used correctly.
* Realistic social issues and problems are depicted frankly and accurately without
Kaczur 17
oversimplification.
* Minority characters are shown as leaders within their community able to solve their own
problems. Cultural minorities do not play a supporting or subservient role while whites are seen
as possessing all the power.
Substantiating cultural authenticity
Cultural authenticity--the accuracy of the language, customs, values, and history of the culture-can be difficult, if not impossible, to determine if one is not familiar with the culture depicted.
For instance, I do not know enough about the cultural differences among Native American
peoples to determine if a writer is accurately depicting a specific group, or if there are
inaccuracies that someone more knowledgeable would recognize. Therefore, it is important to
have a means of substantiating a book's cultural authenticity.
Determining the author's credentials to write from the perspective of a culture is one way to
ascertain a book's cultural authenticity. The question to ask is "What qualifies the author to write
about this culture?" If the author is not a member of the culture being depicted, does the author
have a background to qualify as an accepted representative? There is debate over whether only
authors from a culture are qualified to write about that culture. This question is deceptively
simple, with responses too complex and full of nuances to address here. As a general rule, a book
written by an author with an emic--insider--perspective is likely to be culturally authentic; a book
written from an etic--outsider--perspective may or may not be culturally authentic. Jacqueline
Woodson, an award-winning African American writer, addressed this topic of people writing
outside of their experiences, by stating,
My hope is that those who write about the tears and the laughter and the language in my
grandmother's house have first sat down at the table with us and dipped the bread of their own
experiences into our stew. (1998, p. 38)
When I am unsure of the cultural authenticity of a book, there are two important categories of
valuable information that I search: (1) specific cultural awards, and (2) websites devoted to
individual cultures.
When looking for appropriate books that feature a specific culture, a good place to look are the
awards for books from that culture. If a book received an award or is on the list of honor books
for the award, there is little doubt that it is culturally authentic. Following are major awards with
a few award-winning examples specifically appropriate for middle school students.
* Coretta Scott King Award (African American)
* Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (2000)
* Forged by Fire by Sharon Draper (1998)
* Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson (2003)
* The Pura Belpr Award (Latino/Latina)
* Esperanza Rising by Pam Mu oz Ryan (2002)
* Cuba 15 by Nancy Osa (2003)
* Tom s Rivera Award (Mexican American)
* My Land Sings: Stories from the Rio Grande by Rudolfo Anaya (1999)
* Breaking Through by Francisco Jimenez (2001)
* Sydney Taylor Award (Jewish)
* The Night Journey by Kathryn Lasky (1981)
* Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli (2003)
Kaczur 18
* Am ricas Book Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature (Latin America, the
Caribbean, or Latinos in the United States)
* Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez (2003)
* The Color of My Words by Lynn Joseph (2000)
* Mildred L. Batchelder Award (most outstanding children's book originally published in a
foreign language and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United States)
* Run, Boy, Run by Uri Orlev (2003)
* Samir and Yonatan by Daniella Carmi (2002)
There are, of course, many fine and appropriate multicultural books that have not received
awards. To track these down, I searched for websites focusing on outstanding books from a
specific culture or from a variety of cultures. The following are sites that provide a wealth of
resources.
www.asianamericanbooks.com/index.shtml (Asian American)
www.oyate.org (Native American)
www.isomedia.com/homes/jmele/joe.html (multicultural book reviews for K-12 educators)
www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/booklistsbook.htm (multicultural fiction)
As educators understand the importance of including multicultural literature in their curriculum
and become confident in their ability to select appropriate high-quality writing, students will
enjoy the benefits. Imaginary barriers dissolve as students see themselves reflected in a diversity
of cultures and recognize similarities across invented boundaries. What was strange becomes
familiar when viewed through age-mate perspectives. Doors open, eyes see, and minds grasp, as
young adolescents encounter self within other--a kaleidoscope of opportunity.
ADDED MATERIAL
Landt teaches at St. Norbert College (Boyle Hall 217, 100 Grant Street, Do Pere, WI 541152009, USA). E-mail to [email protected].
REFERENCES
Agosto, D.E. (n.d.). Criteria for evaluating multicultural literature. Retrieved February 1, 2006,
from http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~dea22/multicultural.html
Alvarez, J. (2003). Before we were free. New York: Knopf Books for Young Readers.
Anaya, R. (1999). My land sings: Stories from the Rio Grande New York: HarperTrophy.
Barta, J., & Grindler, M.C. (1996). Exploring bias using multicultural literature for children. The
Reading Teacher, 50, 269-270.
Bauman, S. (1997). Between the lines: Literature as a tool for tolerance. In D. Muse (Ed.), The
New Press guide to multicultural resources for young readers (pp. 104-106). New York: The
New Press.
Boyd, C.D. (1997). I see myself in there: Experiencing self and others in multiethnic children's
literature. In D. Muse (Ed.), The New Press guide to multicultural resources for young readers
(pp. 106-114). New York: The New Press.
Cai, M. (2002). Multicultural literature for children and young adults: Reflections on critical
issues. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Campbell, P., & Wittenberg, J. (1980). How books influence children: What the research shows.
Interracial Books for Children Bulletin, 11(6), 3-6.
Carmi, D. (2002). Samir and Yonatan (T. Lotan, Trans.). New York: Scholastic.
Carvell, M. (2002). Who will tell my brother? New York: Hyperion.
Clements, A. (2002). The jacket. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.
Colby, S.A., & Lyon, A.F. (2004). Heightening awareness about the importance of using
Kaczur 19
multicultural literature. Multicultural Education, 11(3), 24-28.
Curtis, C.P. (2000). Bud, not Buddy. New York: Scholastic.
Draper, S. (1998). Forged by fire. New York: Simon Pulse.
Fogelin, A. (2000). Crossing Jordan. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree.
Ford, D.Y., Tyson, C.A., Howard, T.C., & Harris, J.J., III. (2000). Multicultural literature and
gifted Black students: Promoting self-understanding, awareness, and pride. The Roeper School,
22, 235-240.
Hefflin, B.R., & Ralph, K.S. (2001). African American children's literature that helps students
find themselves: Selection guidelines for grades K-3. The Reading Teacher, 54, 108-118.
Higgins, J.J. (2002, January). Multicultural children's literature: Creating and applying an
evaluation tool in response to the needs of urban educators. New Horizons for Learning.
Retrieved February 1, 2006, from
http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/multicultural/Higgins.htm
Jimenez, F. (1997). The circuit: Stories from the life of a migrant child. Albuquerque: University
of New Mexico Press.
Jimenez, F. (2001). Breaking through. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Joseph, L. (2000). The color of my words. New York: HarperTrophy.
Lasky, K. (1981). The night journey. New York: Puffin.
Mazer, A. (Ed.). (1993). America Street: A multicultural anthology of stories. New York: Persea.
Muse, D. (Ed.). (1997). The New Press guide to multicultural resources for young readers. New
York: The New Press.
Orlev, U. (2003). Run, boy, run (H. Halkin, Trans.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Osa, N. (2003). Cuba 15. New York: Delacorte Press.
Ryan, P.M. (2002). Esperanza rising. New York: Scholastic.
Salvner, G.M. (2001). Lessons and lives: Why young adult literature matters. The ALAN
Review, 28(3), 9-13.
Shea, P.D. (2003). Tangled threads: A Hmong girl's story. New York: Clarion.
Spinelli, J. (2003). Milkweed. New York: Knopf.
Stover, L.T. (2000). Who am I? Who are you? Diversity and identity in the young adult novel. In
V. Monseau & G. Salvner (Eds.), Reading their world: The young adult novel in the classroom
(pp. 100-120). Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook.
Woodson, J. (1998, January/February). Who can tell my story? The Horn Book Magazine, 74,
34-38.
Woodson, J. (2003). Locomotion. New York: Scholastic.
Yumoto, K. (1992). The friends (C. Hirano, Trans.). New York: Random House.
Zitlow, C.S., & Stover, L. (1998). Japanese and Japanese American youth in literature. The
ALAN Review, 25(3). Retrieved February 24, 2006, from
http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/eiournals/ALAN/spring98/zitlow.html
Page last updated May 3, 2002
Kaczur 20
Editors:
James Blasingame [email protected]
Lori A. Goodson [email protected]
Volume 28, Number 2
Winter 2001
DLA Ejournal Home | ALAN Home | Table of Contents for this issue | Search ALAN and other
ejournals
The First Printz Award Designations: Winners All
Jean Pollard Dimmitt
On January 17, 2000, the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) of the
American Library Association announced the winning book and three honor books for the newly
created Michael L. Printz Award. The award honors the late Michael L. Printz, who was an
advocate for young adult literature. In addition to his duties as librarian at Topeka West High
School in Topeka, Kansas, he served YALSA as a member of both the Best Books for Young
Adults Committee and the Margaret A. Edwards Award Committee, and he taught young adult
literature to preservice and practicing teachers at Washburn University. Printz was knowledgable
and enthusiastic about the value of young adult literature. It has been said of him that "finding
the right book for the right student at the right time was not just a slogan to Mike - he lived it"
(ALA, Who Was Michael Printz). It is fitting that this major new award commemorates his life
and work.
The Printz Award, sponsored by Booklist magazine, honors the best young adult book
published the previous year. The winner and up to four honor books will be selected by a
YALSA committee on the basis of literary merit. Recognizing that literary merit is hard to
define, YALSA has enumerated the following flexible criteria that are to be demonstrated by the
books: "story, voice, style, setting, accuracy, characters, theme, design (including format,
organization, etc.), and illustration" (ALA, Michael L. Printz). Winning books do not have to
exhibit all of the characteristics, and they may be in any genre.
At the midwinter meeting of the ALA, Frances B. Bradburn, chairperson of the selection
committee, announced the first winner of the Printz Award: Monster by Walter Dean Myers. The
committee also designated three honor books: Skellig by David Almond, Speak by Laurie Halse
Kaczur 21
Anderson, and Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger. What do these books have in common that make
them unusual and outstanding examples of young adult literature? They are structurally
sophisticated, and they have memorable characters who deal with significant issues. These
significant issues or themes sometimes overlap. Monster, Speak, and Hard Love deal with the
search for identity; Skellig, Speak, and Hard Love explore friendship; and all four novels
examine facets of truth.
Monster
As is frequently the case with young adult literature, the protagonist of each novel is also
the first person narrator. In Monster, sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon, who is on trial for murder,
analyzes his part in a robbery that results in a storekeeper's death. He seeks to determine who he
is-a monster, as the prosecutor labels him and as the title reflects- or a human being. He has
taken a film class in high school and contends with the pressures of the trial and incarceration by
pretending to film the courtroom events. He has also been given a notebook which serves him as
a journal. In this he writes:
I can hardly think about the movie, I hate this place so much. But if I didn't think of the movie I
would go crazy. All they talk about in here is hurting people. If you look at somebody, they say,
"What you looking at me for? I'll mess you up!" ...
I hate this place. I hate this place. I can't write it enough times to make it look the way I feel. I
hate, hate, hate this place!! (Monster, 45-46)
In his cell he is constantly afraid, and in the courtroom he is constantly afraid. This fear
distorts reality, and the supposed filmmaking and the journal help Steve to cope. The film serves
a second purpose as well. Although Steve conveys events in his own voice, he describes the
scenes in the courtroom from different distances - closeup, middle, or long range - and from
different participants' points of view through snippets of dialogue.
When presenting the award, Bradburn observed, "The detached style of the screen play,
juxtaposed with the anguished journal entries, reveals the struggle within Steve's conscience"
(ALA, Walter Dean Myers). In addition, the multiplicity of views given through the snippets of
dialogue forces the reader to examine Steve's role in the crime and the extent of his guilt.
In the case of Monster, format contributes to structure and theme. The cover of the book
replicates a police record, which includes fingerprints, and the book jacket bears a mug shot.
Once the reader opens the book, he or she sees that the courtroom scenes are in typical type on
white paper whereas the journal entries appear to be printed by hand on gray paper. These
differences reinforce the sense of distance and intimacy as well as take the reader from the world
of the courtroom where clear distinctions are made into the world of the mind where truth and
fear blend to create a gray reality.
Kaczur 22
Skellig
Skellig is less innovative structurally than Monster, but it is no less demanding for the
young adult reader because Almond relies heavily on two complex stylistic devices: allusion and
symbolism. This book is especially challenging for the literal-minded, objective reader. It calls
for one of Coleridge's willing suspensions of disbelief. Michael, the protagonist and first person
narrator, who has moved with his family to a new home, discovers a creature in the dilapidated
garage. The creature identifies himself as Skellig and appears to be an infirm man with angel
wings. He has a close affinity with owls, to the extent that owls feed him and that he regurgitates
pellets of indigestible matter as owls do. The mythical allusions and the literary allusions
contribute to the skeptical reader's ability to accept the story as well as to the theme.
On Michael's first day back at school following his discovery of Skellig, Michael's English
teacher tells the story of Icarus, the young dreamer who attached wings to his back with wax and
then flew too close to the sun causing the wax to melt and him to plunge to his death (13-14).
Icarus' wings are artificially affixed, but the presence of a myth about a winged man begins to
soften the reader's resistance.
The second mythological allusion is to the legend of Proserpine, who was allowed to return
once a year from the underworld where Pluto had taken her. Her return corresponds with the
arrival of spring and the renewal of life. The allusions are more directly connected to the struggle
for life experienced by Michael's premature baby sister, but they also serve to remind the reader
of the possibility of miraculous happenings.
In addition to these references to myths, there are no less than ten references to William
Blake or to his work. Three of these allusions refer to either the repressive nature of traditional
education or its practices (50, 59, and 90). In the third, Mina baits Michael about his having been
labeled a mature reader and asks him which level he thinks Blake's deceptively simple little
poem "Tyger" would be for (90). Introducing "Tyger" also introduces the question of creation,
because the poem asks who could and then who dared make the tiger. This poem, one of the
Songs of Experience, expresses an ambiguous position toward the creation of the tiger. Skellig
himself is an ambiguous figure. He is dirty and has bad breath, yet he has angel wings and
embodies love. The reader familiar with the poem moves easily from the question of who made
the tiger to who made Skellig.
Two quick references to Blake occur in an argument between Mina and Michael (109 and
110), but in others Almond uses Blake to introduce mysticism and the existence of angels, thus
continuing to soften the reader's resistance to the spiritual nature of this tale. The final Blake
reference comes when Michael questions a physician about the healing nature of love. He
inquires, "Can love help a person get better?" and the doctor responds with a quotation implied
to be from Blake: '"Love is the child that breathes our breath/ Love is the child that scatters
death"' (161). When Michael asks if the words are William Blake's, the doctor says, '"We have
an educated man before us,"' (161) implying that the words are Blake's. Whether the lines are
Blake's or an imitation of his style, they encapsulate the theme of the novel: the power of love.
Kaczur 23
In addition to the numerous allusions in Skellig, Almond employs symbols in the novel.
Mina watches a family of blackbirds and teaches Michael to listen and to observe nature via the
birds. The fledgling birds' journey to maturity parallels the baby's struggle for life and her
eventual recovery. Moreover, the parents nurture the baby birds into adulthood just as Mina and
Michael physically nurture Skellig and as Skellig spiritually nurtures the children.
Skellig himself may be a symbol. When Michael asks Skellig what he is, Skellig replies,
"'Something like you, something like a beast, something like a bird, something like an angel'"
(167). The reader recognizes that he or she is like Skellig - part beast, part angel. This opens the
possibility that Skellig is in fact a manisfestation of a part of Michael. Almond's choice of names
may also be a hint in that direction. Skellig Michael is a small, rocky island off the southwestern
coast of Ireland, where a monastery by the same name exists (Skellig Michael). If Skellig
Michael is one island and one monastery, perhaps the novel's Skellig and Michael are two facets
of one being: the spiritual and the physical.
Speak
In Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, as in the other novels, the protagonist serves as first
person narrator. Melinda Sordino tells the story of her freshman year at Merryweather High
School, where she experiences social and emotional isolation. Little by little snatches are given
which enable the reader to piece together the events that occurred before school started that
result in this state of affairs. Melinda had gone to a beer party with friends. She drank three
beers, and Andy Evans, a senior, danced with her and then raped her. It is not until page 135 that
the reader sees the actual event. When Evans asks if she wants to, she is confused and silent. She
is after all thirteen and drunk. When he has her on the ground, however, she says no. He covers
her mouth with his hand, and "In my head, my voice is as clear as a bell: 'NO I DON'T WANT
TO!'" In shock, she calls 911 for help, and the police come, but she becomes frightened and
walks home during the confusion, leaving everyone at the party to think she called the police
because the party was getting out of hand. As a result, she is regarded as an informer, and treated
as an outcast.
The time span of the book is an entire school year. Melinda's grades fall; she skips class and
school. Her only companion is Heather, a new girl, who dumps Melinda when she no longer
needs her. Melinda becomes increasingly silent at school and at home. It is at this point that two
potent symbols emerge.
The first is the closet at school that becomes Melinda's refuge. When she cuts class, she
needs a place to go, and she discovers an unused broom closet. Her retreat to this secret place
reinforces her loneliness and isolation. She decorates it by hanging a picture of Maya Angelou.
Angelou, of course, was raped as a child herself. Melinda also brings some of her art work to this
room. Art is the only class in which Melinda experiences any success.
It is fitting that Melinda finally breaks her silence in this room. As spring wears on and she
does some yard work, she seems to rejuvenate. She decides that she no longer needs the room
and is cleaning it out when Evans locks her in and proceeds to attack her a second time. This
time she fights back; she finds her voice at last and screams and screams. The lacrosse team,
Kaczur 24
practicing nearby, hears and comes to the door to find her holding a broken piece of mirror at
Evans' neck. The room serves as a cocoon. It offers protection until she recovers her voice and
heals enough to leave its shelter.
The second major symbol is the tree that she persistently tries to carve throughout the novel.
Her art teacher has his students draw a slip of paper from a bag at the beginning of the year. The
students are to work all year on drawing the object named on the slip. Melinda 's slip said tree.
Her teacher has not ordered adequate art supplies, so Melinda must carve her tree in tiles. Effort
after effort fails until Melinda comes to terms with what happened to her. She thinks:
IT happened. There is no avoiding it, no forgetting. No running away, or flying, or burying, or
hiding. Andy Evans raped me in August when I was drunk and too young to know what was
happening. It wasn't my fault. He hurt me. It wasn't my fault. And I'm not going to let it kill me. I
can grow. (198)
Once she accepts what happened and realizes she is not to blame, she can move on. She
carves a tree with realistic, imperfect details but with new growth and birds in the top. The tree,
of course, symbolizes herself. She cries as she finishes the picture, tears which dissolve the final
block to her talking.
Hard Love
The protagonist and first person narrator of Wittlinger's Hard Love is John Galardi, Jr., a
high school junior who lives with his divorced mother and who writes under the name Giovanni.
John publishes a zine (a homemade magazine containing one's own writing) and reads others.
Through one of these zines, he encounters Marisol Guzman, who is a year older. They meet on
weekends in Boston, where John goes to visit his father. John, like Melinda, is emotionally
isolated in part due to his father's leaving his mother and in part due to his mother's reaction to
abandonment. After teaching school each day, for years she had come home to sit in the dark.
Even more emotionally scarring for John, she has avoided touching her son for the six years
since his father left . This becomes even more pointed when she develops a relationship with
another man.
This unnatural lack of touching occurs like a refrain and takes on symbolic overtones. It
represents the fact that there is no real communication between mother and son. John also fails to
connect with his father. The two have dinner every Friday night, but then the father pursues his
social life. It is through writing and the friendships that develop as a result of his writing that
John finally breaks through his isolation.
Hard Love, the novel's title, bears significant weight, for it is hard love that brings John to
the point described in the last sentences of the book: "I'm ready, I think, to join them. Very
anxious, more than a little scared, susceptible now to anything that might happen" (224). Diana
Tree, another zine writer with whom John has corresponded, plays a part in John's readiness.
They meet for the first time at the conference, and Diana is obviously taken with John, but John
is too involved in working through his feelings for Marisol to respond romantically. He has,
however, responded to her writng, and he appreciates her sensitivity to his feelings. At a
Kaczur 25
campfire on the beach, Diana sings the song "Hard Love" seemingly to John. The song speaks of
love in an unhappy home and impossible love as hard love, but the lyricist recognizes that hard
love changes people and restores lives. He writes:
And I'll tell you how you change me as I live from day to day How you help me to accept myself
and I won't forget to say, Love is never wasted, even when it's hard love. For the love that heals
our lives is mostly hard love. (227)
John loves Marisol, who as a lesbian cannot return a like love. She can love him only as a
friend, and does. It is this hard love that has made John ready to join life.
Like Myers, Wittlinger uses the format of the book to her advantage. The design of the
novel replicates characteristics of a zine. Each chapter begins with slanted print as if the book
had come through a home computer's printer with the paper crooked. In addition, when zine
articles do appear, they are surrounded with illustrations as if they were in a zine.
Just as Myers establishes psychological intimacy with Steve Harmon's journal entries,
Wittlinger creates immediacy through the illusion that the reader is often reading John's zine, that
is, his writing. John's writing reveals who he is. Marisol realizes this. When reading one of his
pieces, she says, "' There's the moment of truth. ... That's the line that lets me know this cocky
guy is real, that he's not just a slick jerk who doesn't care about anything"' (76).
John's notebook entry and his letters and poems are printed as if they were printed by hand
on lined notebook paper. Marisol's letter to her birth mother and her poem to John are neatly
typed, and Diana's letter to John is handwritten on what appears to be stationery. The format
clearly sets these pieces apart, calling attention to their importance in the story and revealing
something of the character of each writer. Thus, like Myers, Wittlinger uses format visually to
develop character and to underscore theme.
The Search for Self
These four novels deal with three themes that are important to young adults. First, most
young adults struggle to come to terms with who they are, and Monster, Speak, and Hard Love
all contain characters who are searching for their identity. When the prosecutor refers to Steve
Harmon as a monster, he begins to examine his life, trying to repudiate for himself the attorney's
claim.
When he is found "not guilty," the question remains. He opens his arms to hug O'Brien, his
attorney, at the moment of victory, but she turns away (276). Is it because he is black and she is
white? Is it because she is young and thinks this would be unprofessional? Does she think he is
guilty? In his cast of characters, Steve has described her as "the Defense Attorney with Doubts"
(10). The conclusion that he imagines for the screenplay ends with a grainy black and white
picture of him - "It looks like one of the pictures they use for psychological testing, or some
strange beast, a monster" (277).
Kaczur 26
The novel itself ends with a short section written five months after the trial. It finds Steve
still trying to discover who he is by constantly filming himself. He says, "In the movies I talk and
tell the camera who I am, what I think I am about" (279). His mother is simply happy that he is
not in jail, but the distance between him and his father grows (280- 281). Steve is trying to find
"one true image" of himself because he is haunted by wondering what O'Brien saw that made her
turn away. The novel literally ends with that question.
Melinda Sordino in Speak, like Steve Harmon, must come to terms with what she did and
did not do. Unlike Steve, however, she is the victim. She seems to feel the guilt and shame that
rape victims often report experiencing. The terrible social isolation she is subjected to
exacerbates her inability to deal with the attack. Little by little, she realizes that "it wasn't my
fault" (198). She finally knows herself, and this knowledge enables her to talk about the event
and sets her free to be known and understood by others.
Although self-knowledge is not a major theme in Hard Love, it is present as a supporting
one. Hard Love deals primarily with John's emotional isolation and his need to connect with
people, but the novel makes clear that knowledge of one's own identity is necessary before being
able to establish a meaningful relationship with others. Marisol realizes this. Early on John is not
even sure what his gender orientation is because he has not thought about it. John jokes, "Maybe
we ought to take a poll. I could decide my sexuality based on the conclusions of a survey" (56).
Marisol reprimands him about not caring and tells him in no uncertain terms that he should care:
"If you don't know who you are, how is anybody else supposed to get to know you?" (56) The
issue of John's sexuality is quickly resolved because of his attraction to Marisol, but his success
in breaking through the wall he has built to protect himself is much slower.
In spite of Marisol's declaration about her sexuality, she has questions about who she is as
well, and, like many teenagers, she believes that she must leave her parents to discover herself.
At one point she tells John:
I have to leave to find out who I really am inside this person my parents have tried to
manufacture. But I don't run from my feelings. Believe it or not, I love my parents. Sometimes it
scares me to think about leaving them and going off by myself. What if I can't make it on my
own? (64)
In spite of her affection for her parents and her self-doubt, her first goal is learning who she
is. Nor does she lose this desire as the novel continues. The women she met at the zine
conference invite her to return to New York with them, and she explains her decision to go in
these words: "I have to do this, Gio. I have to see who I am without my parents hovering over
me. Or you" (210). Thus, while not a major theme, discovery of self is a part of John's journey to
connection and Marisol's journey to independence.
Friendship
Friendship is a second major theme shared by three of the four novels. Skellig deals with the
power of love both within a family and among friends. Michael shares his discovery of Skellig
with Mina, and she eventually helps Michael move Skellig to a safer place. They share visits to
Kaczur 27
Skellig as well as his care, and experience a mystical dance with him in which both children have
angel wings like Skellig's. When Skellig disappears, he leaves three white feathers, one each for
Michael, Mina, and the baby. Through their friendship with Skellig, both Michael and Mina
learn much about the spirtual power of love.
Michael's friendship with Mina includes more than their shared relationship with Skellig,
however. He learns things from her necessary to his full participation in the miracle of Skellig. It
is through Mina that Michael becomes acquainted with William Blake's poetry and ideas.
Through these he casts off some of his repression and becomes more open to the possibility of
angels. Moreover, he gains comfort and companionship during his baby sister's illness. It is in
Mina's home that he encounters the myth of Proserpine and comes to understand its significance
in regard to his sister's struggle for life.
The subject of friendship occurs in Speak also. Social isolation is the opposite of what
Melinda knew in middle school. There she had friends; she had a best friend. When Rachel, her
former best friend, starts to date Andy Evans, Melinda's fear for Rachel's safety moves her to
action. She sends Rachel an anonymous note, warning her about Andy. Rachel goes to the prom
with Evans in spite of the note, but when he begins to behave inappropriately, she leaves him in
mid-dance. Perhaps Melinda's warning prepared Rachel in some way that enabled her to act
quickly, thus extricating herself from possible rape. Although Melinda and Rachel's friendship
has been irreparably damaged, the remnant that survives helps both girls. The results of the
absence of friendship and of a single act of friendship in the novel testify to the importance and
power of friendship in the lives of young adults.
Hard Love also speaks of the power of friendship. Through a mutual commitment to
writing, John meets two young women who become his friends. The first, of course, is Marisol,
the gifted Puerto Rican adoptee. Although John's feelings for Marisol turn romantic, at first their
relationship is friendship. It is through Marisol and the writing that she encourages that John
overcomes the sterile emotional existence he has held onto as protection from the pain in his life.
An irony associated with this friendship is that he becomes more dishonest as his relationship
grows with a woman who demands absolute honesty from her friends.
John's second friend is Diana Crabtree. As with Marisol, his first encounter with Diana is
through her zine. He responds by letter, and she invites him and Marisol to the zine conference.
Unlike his relationship with Marisol, honesty characterizes this friendship from the beginning.
John lies to Marisol that Giovanni is his real name, and it is not until they are double-dating at
John's prom that she discovers that Gio is plain John. It is perhaps a small point, but when John
signs his letter to Diana, he thinks about which name to use and decides to use John. It is this
friendship, built from the beginning on truth, that promises at the end of the book to develop into
something more.
It is important to note that in two of the three novels that deal with friendship, the friendship
is between a boy and a girl, not between people of the same gender. Such friendships have
become more prevalent as more freedom is ac- corded to women. Once girls had to worry too
much about impressing boys, whereas today they can be themselves. This enables real
friendships to develop between the genders, a condition well documented in these books.
Kaczur 28
Truth
All four of the Printz books have one thing in common. Each comments on truth in some
way. In Monster, the question is, "What is the truth about Steve Harmon?" Was he the lookout in
the robbery gone awry? Does fear distort truth to the point that it becomes slippery? These are
not easy questions to answer. In the meeting between Steve and King, his co-defendant, where
King explains the role of the lookout, he asks, "You down for it?" Steve never answers; he
simply looks away (150). Moreover, it would appear that Steve was in the store shortly before
the robbery attempt. In his journal he writes: "What did I do? What did I do? Anybody can walk
into a drugstore and look around" (115). Another, later journal entry reads: "What did I do? I
walked into a drugstore to look for some mints, and then I walked out. What was wrong with
that? I didn't kill Mr. Nesbitt" (140). Yet on the witness stand, Steve testifies that he never
discussed acting as a lookout and that he was not in the drugstore on the day of the robbery
(223). Bobo Evans, the second robber, has testified that because Steve gave no signal as he left
the store, he and King proceeded with the robbery, thinking no bystanders were in the store
(182). Events are ambiguous, and testimony is conflicting. The reader and the jury must sort out
the truth, and their conclusions may or may not be the same.
Myers presents several prisoners who convince themselves that they are not guilty of the
crimes with which they are charged. Does Steve's fear of punishment make him deny his actions
and in fact make him believe he is not guilty? At one point Steve tells his attorney, "I'm not
guilty," and she replies, "You should have said, "I didn't do it."' Only when prompted in this way,
does Steve say, "I didn't do it" (138).
The truth may be absolute, but fear can distort it and make it difficult to recognize. Myers'
novel drives that point home. In addition, because Steve is the narrator, the reader sympathizes
with him. The reader is touched by this sixteen-yearold who is alone in prison, but never alone,
this boy who is so afraid for his present safety and for his future. Does the reader's connection
with the narrator make the truth even more difficult to grasp? Myers' novel may well raise more
questions than it answers, but it will surely stimulate the reader to think about the nature of truth.
If Monster questions what is true and how fear affects truth, Skellig questions what is true
(real) and whether the truth must be real. When Michael first discovers Skellig, he thinks Skellig
is dead, but he quickly says, "I couldn't have been more wrong. I'd soon begin to see the truth
about him, that there'd never been another creature like him in the world" (1). Thus, truth is
associated with Skellig from the first, and as previously discussed, Almond uses allusions to help
the reader accept the existence of Skellig. However, Almond also introduces the possibility that
Skellig is a dream. When Michael decides to take Mina to see Skellig for the first time, he says,
"I don't even know if it's true or if it's a dream," and Mina replies, "... Truth and dreams are
always getting muddled" (52). Then when Michael actually takes Mina to see Skellig, he worries
that she will not see him, that "maybe dreams and truth were just a useless muddle in my mind"
(74). However, like Michael, Mina sees Skellig. Is this a dream? No, Michael and Mina discuss
their visits to Skellig while they are completely awake in the daytime throughout the book.
Michael's mother also sees Skellig. This occurs, however, under dubious circumstances, because
when she tells her husband about it, she acknowledges that she has been in and out of sleep, but
she describes seeing this filthy winged man pick the baby up and dance with her. She says that
Kaczur 29
the baby also appeared to have wings. At first she had been afraid, but then she was reassured by
the occurrence (158- 160).
Although the reality of Skellig is an intriguing question, the issue may be resolved by
simply recognizing the novel as a fantasy. A more pressing issue is whether or not the truth must
be real. Can the abstact, the imaginary, the spiritual be true? Almond strongly suggests that it
can. The children are discussing the possible evolution of the archaeopteryx into today's birds
and beyond when Mina whispers the name Skellig. Michael's reaction is "I stared back. I didn't
blink. It was like she was calling Skellig out from somewhere deep inside me" (99). What is deep
inside Michael, that Skellig represents, is the power of love. The lines attributed to Blake and
spoken by the doctor contain Almond's answer: "Love is the child that breathes our breath/Love
is the child that scatters death" (161). Human beings are at least part love, and in the instance of
Michael's baby sister, love conquers death.
Truth is an essential issue in Speak as it is in the other novels. Although the incident itself is
not revealed in detail until mid-book, the reader soon understands that Melinda has been raped.
Melinda, like many rape victims, struggles with the question of whether she is somehow to
blame. However, Melinda does finally realize that the attack was not her fault (198). When she
understands the truth, she is able to speak again. When she can can recognize the truth and speak
it, Melinda is free to move on and, like her tree, to attain new growth.
Truth plays its part in Hard Love, too. From the first of their friendship, Marisol lets John
know how important the truth is to her. She chastises him for feigning that nothing is important
to him , and she declares, "I don't lie, and I don't waste time on people who do" (27). It is
apparent that Marisol demands the truth from her friends because she has had the courage to
reveal her gender orientation. She says, "You tell the truth even if its painful, especially if it's
painful" (27). Although John promises Marisol that he will not lie, he realizes that he starts lying
more after he meets her (85). He lies about his name. He lets Brian and Emily think that Marisol
is his girlfriend (99), and he lies to himself about Marisol's gender orientation. Their relationship
is threatened when he tries to kiss her at the prom she has agreed to attend as his friend. She
eventually writes John a poem telling him that he is not listening and that that makes her
"invisible" (145). John finally does accept the limitation that Marisol's gender orientation places
on their relationship and thanks her for touching him. She responds that she loves him as much
as she can (223). Accepting the truth is a lesson in "hard love."
Thus, each protagonist in these novels must deal with the truth in some way. Steve Harmon
must decide the truth about who he is, while Michael must decide what is true about the spiritual
world. Melinda Sordino must accept the truth that the rape was not her fault, and John Galardi
must listen to the truth Marisol speaks before he can set his stalled life in motion. Through
analyzing the nature of truth and its impact on fictional lives, young adult readers should be
better able to explore its intricacies in their own lives.
The selection committee has chosen a variety of well-written and stimulating books to
receive the first Printz Award and the honor designations. Each novel is an enticing story told in
a strong voice about well-developed characters elucidating thematic ideas important to young
adults. Appropriately Monster, the prizewinner, is the most innovative of the four books, with its
Kaczur 30
one voice at two distances. The inaugural selections give the award statue. If such outstanding
books continue to be chosen, the award will soon become wellknown and respected as a guide to
the best in young adult literature.
Note: Thanks go to Ms. Carol Ball, librarian at Northern Hills Junior High School and at
the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library. When I could not locate these lines in Blake,
she employed her electronic expertise to conduct a search, using Granger's Poetry Index,
Bartlett's Quotations, and an online Blake concordance, none of which identified these lines as
Blake's. -jpd
Works Cited
Almond, David. Skellig. Great Britain: Hodder Children's Books, 1998. New York:Delacorte, 1999.
American Library Association (ALA). Michael L. Printz Award Committee Polices and Procedures.
26 August 1999. ALA. 11 April 2000. http://www.ala.org/yalsa/yalsa/info/printzinfo.html.
American Library Association (ALA). Walter Dean Myers Wins First Michael L. Printz Award. 26
January 2000. ALA. 5 June 2000. http://www.ala.org/yalsa/printz/2000winnerpr.html.
American Library Association (ALA) Who Was Michael Printz. 18 January 2000.
ALA. 5 June 2000 http://www.ala.org/yalsa/printz/mikeprintz.html.
Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1999.
Myers, Walter Dean. Monster. New York: Harper Collins, 1999.
Skellig Michael. 22June 1998. 14 May 2000. http://www.unesco.org/whc/sites/757.htm.
Skellig
Michael.
Skellig
Rocks.
Michael
Skellig
http://homepage.eircom.net/~caoim/oileain/sceilg.html.
Website.
14
May
2000.
Wittlinger, Ellen. Hard Love. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1999.
Jean Pollard Dimmitt is an associate professor of English and coordinator of English Education
who teaches young adult literature, English methods, and advanced composition at Washburn
University, in Topeka, Kansas.
Editor's Note: Laurie Halse Anderson discussed Speak in the Spring/Summer, 2000, issue of The
ALAN Review, pages 25-26.
Reference Citation: Dimmitt, Jean Pollard. (2001) "The First Printz Award Designations: Winners All
The ALAN Review, Volume 28, Number 2, p. 54.
Kaczur 31
URL: http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/ALAN/v28n2/dimmitt.html
Monster
About the Book
“The best time to cry is at night, when the lights are out and someone is being beaten up and
screaming for help.” With this dramatic sentence Steve begins the story of his jail experience and
his trial for felony murder. The charge has resulted from his alleged involvement with a grocery
store holdup in which the owner was shot and killed. Because Steve increasingly feels like an
outside observer of his own life, and because he studies film at a prestigious New York City high
school, he writes most of his story in the form of a screenplay. In his mind he calls the movie
Monster, after what the prosecutor has called him. The word torments him—along with fears
about what will happen to him, concerns about how his family is responding to his arrest and
trial, and questions about the nature of truth.
Reading Strategies
Since most of the book is in screenplay format, before reading you may wish to assign roles and
have the class read Monster aloud together. Students can pick roles out of a hat so that no one
feels he or she is being stereotyped.
Analyze Point of View
We hear Steve’s story through his own point of view. How does this affect the way the story is
told? As students read, ask them to think about when Steve’s point of view might be different
from an “objective” one.
Evaluate Fact and Nonfact
Point out to students that the job of a reader is in one respect similar to that of a juror: both must
sift through stories and determine what they do and do not believe. As students read, ask them to
record examples of statements they think, within the context of the novel, are Fact and Nonfact.
Afterward present students with these questions: Are fact and nonfact the same as truth and
nontruth? How might characters in Monster answer this question?
Questions for Group Discussion
•
•
Is justice served in Steve’s case? Do you think Steve served as lookout man for the
robbery? If he did, do you think he should have been charged with, or convicted of,
felony murder? Ask students to role-play lawyers in the case and present arguments for
both sides. Follow up by asking how they would vote if they were on the jury.
Steve imagines the defense attorney is looking at him wondering “who the real Steve
Harmon was” (p. 92). How would you answer this question? Steve himself says he films
his life to try to “look for one true image” (p. 281). Why do you think the question of
who he is remains so important to Steve?
Kaczur 32
•
•
Reread the prisoners’ debate about truth (p. 220). Who is right? What happens to truth in
the legal system? Are the lawyers seeking the truth? Which witnesses in the trial do you
think were telling the truth and which were not? Look back at the testimony and try to
determine what led you to form your opinions.
What do you think of the screenplay format as a way to tell this story? When is the form
most effective? When is it least effective? The advice Mr. Sawicki gives about film is to
let the audience “predict without predicting” and to “keep it simple” (pp. 19 and 214). Do
you think Steve achieves this with his movie? Use examples from the text to support your
answers.
Discuss Quotations
Present the following (or other) quotations from Monster to the class. Ask students to explain
what the words mean in context and discuss how they feel about the ideas expressed. (Unless
otherwise indicated, the speaker is Steve.)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
“This is not a movie about bars and locked doors. It is about being alone when you are
not really alone and about being scared all the time” (pp. 3–4).
“Most people in our communities are decent, hardworking citizens who pursue their own
interests legally and
without infringing on the rights of others. But there are also monsters in our
communities—people who are willing to steal and to kill, people who disregard the rights
of others” (Petrocelli, p. 21).
“It’s funny, but when I’m sitting in the courtroom, I don’t feel like I'm involved in the
case. It’s like the lawyers and the judge and everybody are doing a job that involves me,
but I don't have a role. It’s only when I go back to the cells that I know I’m involved” (p.
59).
“Half of those jurors, no matter what they said when we questioned them when we picked
the jury, believed you were guilty the moment they laid eyes on you. You're young,
you’re Black, and you're on trial. What else do they need to know?” (O’Brien, pp. 78–
79).
“ ‘All they can do is put me in jail,’ he said. ‘They can’t touch my soul’ ” (Acie, p. 89).
“I think about myself so much, about what’s going to happen to me and all, that I don’t
think about my folks that much. I know [Mama] loves me, but I wonder what she’s
thinking” (p. 91).
“Seeing my dad cry like that was just so terrible. What was going on between us, me
being his son and him being my dad, is pushed down and something else is moving up in
its place. It’s like a man looking down to see his son and seeing a monster instead” (pp.
115–116).
“What did I do? I walked into a drugstore to look for some mints, and then I walked out.
What was wrong with that? I didn’t kill Mr. Nesbitt… Sunset said he committed the
crime. Isn’t that what being guilty is all about? You actually do something?” (p. 140).
“His film footage shows me what he’s seeing and, to a large extent, what he’s thinking.
And what he sees, the humanity of it, speaks of a very deep character....
It is my belief that to make an honest film, one has to be an honest person” (Sawicki, p.
237).
Kaczur 33
•
“They are all equally guilty. The one who grabbed the cigarettes, the one who wrestled
for the gun, the one who checked the place to see if the coast was clear” (Petrocelli, p.
261).
http://www.harperchildrens.com/schoolhouse/TeachersGuides/myers.htm#monster
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