Discussion 4 – MONSTER by Walter Dean Myers – Racial Prejudice
First, if you haven’t already, go to the page below, and do what is required of you. Then, come back and DISCUSS.
Is the story in any way about racial prejudice? Did Steve’s race make a difference in any way? Use to details from the book to support your position on this topic.
Within the boundaries of the Judicial system, there should be no discrimination in any way possible. Contradictorily, to be completely objective of a subject matter is morally impossible. So in this case, and in every case, race has a factor. With the statistics and stereotypes generalizing African-Americans into a group that is associated with the many harmful activities, such as drugs, murder, theft, and almost anything. I do believe this is a very good and “entertaining” plot device in the book Monster, as it makes the story, a story.
yes sometimes because later during the story the judge
meantions or says something like your young, black, and on trial.
Beacause steve is black this makes him(in the eyes of the jourors) a criminal and a killer.if steve where white this would make the jorors think he hung out with better people and lived in a nicer place therfor making him a better person.i do believe this book is about racial prejudice.
There once was a young emitt till. Who was hacked over the head with a axe, had his eye cut out, had a hole shot through his head, “nudered him”, had his ear cut off, tied to barbed wire, and thrown into a lake. THIS IS A TRUE STORY. All because he touched a white woman, without knowing any better. So yes. The book does involve some racial prejudice. Steve’s lawyer thought he was going to be guilty, because he was black, on trial for a felony murder, and he was black. That may not be excactly what she said, but she said something close to that.
My oppinion about monsters being about racial prejudice is that Walter Dean Myers wrote a book centered around raciscim but you coldn’t totally take it out of text that the jury or defendant was against steve because he was black.”your young , you’re black, and you’re on trial,” was the words that came out of O’Brien’s mouth yet this words are very true and are often used as a reason to bring down a black male. In the story though it doesn’t say if there was any whites aruond at the time of the murder so its probably concluded that there were just blacks around, and if these young men come in apperal that looks as if they could care less then of course these men will look dirty in the eyes of the jury. What if the jury consist of more blacks than whites or the judge is black. Maybe the jury doesn’t see steve as murderer, but simply as a boy in the wrong place at the wrong time. Just as a side comment don’t forget Steves lawyer is white.That could be one of the reasons why she starting to doubt his innocents maybe. the only way I could think of the jury seeing steve as a gangster is if they see him in associatation with king, bobo, and people like that. That’s why O’Brien wants to seperate steve from them. (ps. I know that this response is kind of long and I’v just made it longer.)
I have to agree with the other comments, racial prejudice does play a big part in this plot. Because of Steve’s color he was treated differently in the eyes of the Judge, Police, and Jury. He may have been responsible for some things that took place, like being an accesorie to murder, but the way the story is told and the way his lawyer represents him, he did not kill Mr. Nesbit. Since Steve’s color he may get in trouble for something he did not do.
I agree with Jacob B, they are judging him because he is African-American. I bet they won’t do that with a caucasian male. That is what’s messed up with the United States citizens. (jury)
I think ethnicity has everything to do with this book because it’s a common way of thinking that if a problem happens and someone who is not Caucasian and is near the scene of a crime is to blame. Without being racist in any way, most Caucasians (now and in the past) have blamed non-Caucasians for the bad things in their life. This is a common problem in courtrooms especialy when the jury or judge is not of their ethnicity. All court is, is a group of people’s opinion about you it’s just like any political election it’s a popularity contest.
I disagree with Riley D because O’Brian even said “Your young, black, and on trial. What else do they need to know?” So by her mentioning his race and how it affects the trial, the trial is obviously affected because of his race.
In the book “Monster” there are some signs of racial prejudice against the main character Steve. In the beginning there was a statement his attorney, Ms.O’Brein made. She stated, “You’re young, black, and on trial, what else do they need to know?” To me this a very racist statement, but then again it’s true towards a mojority of African-Americans. To my knowledge when an African-American goes on trial he/she is more likely to get judged of their apperance. This just doesn’t go for African-Americans, but as well as Mexicans, Puerto-Ricans, and even some Whites. All people can be judged differently according to their race.
Admit it, we have all been judgemental in life in one way or another. The true esscence of racial prejudice is being judgemental and making a judgement on a general group or race. African-american people have been stereotyped to the point where people are scared that they will steal or harm them, even when they don’t know that person. This is racial prejudice and it happens throughout the trial in “Monster”.
As an African-american, Steve is faced with an accusation that he stole drugs and murdered assisted in the homocide of a man. Since Steve is black, it is more likely that the jury will have the mindset that because he is black, he probably commited the crime. This is the unfortunate, bitter truth. The way the jury perceives Steve is affected by the color of his skin.
This book, Monster by Walter Dean Myers is the epitome of racial prejudice. As soon as they saw that he was African American on trail he was guilty, that he was like all the other African Americans that were in this same position were guilty for what ever crime they were brought thier for. His lawyer is extremly bright for realizing this and knowing that all she could do is make him look like a human, and he realizes how hard that can be, because he is starting to see himself as guilty. He belives his innocents and is starting to see guilt on his face, so what does the jury, who donsn’t know him personally and only know what their told about Steve think? Don’t forget the thought of how many other African Americans have been covicted for the samething, so is it really so hard not to prejudge him because of his race? Would you (the reader) be able to see past that, are you really that innocent?
I think the story Monster does have to something to do with racial prejudice because his attorney tells him you’re black, you’re young, you’re on trial and the jury already has that verdict in her mind. Also because there is no white people in the jail and you can tell by the way he describes their actions and by the way the inmates talk. Probably if he was white and young and on trial the jury wouldnt have that verdict and would only give him a little bit of time because he/she would think that he didnt mean to or he will not do it again. So yes racial prejudice does have something to do with this book Monster.
I agree with Jenna who agrees with everyone else about the fact that Steve’s being African American gets him automatically blamed for taking part in the crime.
I think the book is about racial prejudice. When O’Brien said, “You’re young, you’re black, and you’re on trail,” to Steve I think that she was being racist because studies showed that African Americans are more likely to be in jail. With that information given, I think she doesn’t like Steve because he was African American. Like other people have said she probably wouldn’t say anything like that if her client was white.
I disagree with everyone that says that MONSTER by Walter Dean Myers is about racial prejudice. I disagree because I think that Steve being black is not a valid reason for him being on trial. Yes, he may be young, black, and on trial but I belive that if Steve was white he would still be going through the same process. The book can state that Steve is black, young, and on trial one-thousand times, but in the end the decision that is made about his innocence or his guilt doesn’t directly correlate or relate to wether he is guilty or innocent. That is my position on whether Steve’s race and racial prejudice plays a role in the story
Steve races does make a difference in the book, if he was white, he would have got a slap on the wrist and gone on with his life. Petrocelli the procecutor told Steve that he is black, and on trail thats all the juror needs to send him to jail. Since Steve is black the jury wants to send him to jail just because they think he is dangerous to society. Every is innocent until proven guilty, so i think the jury should judge someone by the contents of their character not by the color of the skin
I dont think this book is about racial prejudice even though the people on trial are black. People say that the back people usually do the crimes just because of their color. There are also some racial comments in the book. “You’re young, you’re black, and you’re on trial.” When some people see a black person they automatically think they are up to no good. Other people look at all people the same. Those who automatically think black people are up to know good try to get to know the person and realize that they mean no harm. On the other hand some black people like violence, and make the race seem bad by acting out or being loud and boligerant. In this story Steve means no harm to anyone. Just because of his skin color they seem to think different. When they see that the evidence proves to them thinking of him the wrong way they try to act like nothing is wrong.
The past comments I all completley agree with. Because of Steve’s race, he is being judged without hesitation. Most people at this time period thought very low of African-Americans, not even giving them a chance to show who they really are. Steve would most likely have a much easier trial if the jury were more open minded towards his race.
I think that Steve’s race does effect his testimony. I believe that if he was white they wouldn’t be so hard on him. When they were questioning Steve’s teacher, they were asking about the neiborhood, what it was like. O’Brian commented that “you’re young, you’re black, and you’re on trial. What else do they need to know?”
The novel “Monster” by Walter Dean Myers does have some racial prejudice in it. Steve’s race plays a huge part in the book. In the book it says ‘You’re young, you’re black, and you’re on trial. What else do they need to know?”, this shows that if he wasn’t black then it would’ve made a difference in the trial. When the jury sees that the accused is a black person, most of them will automatically believe that they are guilty. Though, if they see a white accused person then they would not automatically make judgements until they hear the person’s testimony. I agree with Laila H when she says that blacks and hispanics are usually convicted without legitimate proof that they are guilty. It can be true most of the times, because of their skin tone they are judged a different way then a white person.
I really think Steve being African-American has a lot to do with the story because the other person on defense is a thug. They both are black and they both look like they have done something like robbing a drug store. Steve’s lawyer says that he is black and that is going to make it a lot more difficult to prove him innocent. If Steve was caucasian O’Brien (attorney) would think it is an easy case.
In my opinion, I think that because Steve Harmon is black, he is being judged by the jurors and other characters. By the comment from O’brien, “You’re young, you’re black, and you’re on trial, what else do they need to know?,” proves that this is an issue in the book. Just because Steve is black, doesn’t mean that he commited the crime. On t.v., people see that African American’s are doing all of the crimes when in reality, that’s not always the case. Because the jurors are being stereotypical, Steve will have a hard time winning his case.
I do think that this book MONSTER has alot that plays on racial prejudice because alot of people in general just say “oh its because im black” without even thinking the real reason why they say it. Alot of things are basically judged on peoples apperances because of history. Most kids parents or grandparents were born during segrigation and they were raised into thinking these ways… They are wrong but it still happenes there really isnt anything that people in general can do about it. So I can see how in this story some people can just try and assume that a black person did something. Also alot of people think that some balck people are trouble just because of the way they act and how they used to act in say the 1940’s and so on. But in this book the jurors are picked randomly so there is no telling what these people were raised to beleive. My opinions of others are different than someones opinion of others so you never know what people are thinking about certain people.
I believe that the book is mostly based on racial differences. Most people think oh hes black he must be rude and a trouble maker , or if someone is hispanic they automaticlly think the same thing but then they see someone of white race and they think oh they must be good and up to no trouble . So i think its mostly about how the judege , lawyers , or the jury sees it , if they are against a race they are probably going to do anything they can to make that person is guilty or if they are not they will probably be equal.But in steve’s case most of them are racist so thats mostly the reason why he would probably be sentenced.
I think that the fact that Steve is African American makes a huge difference in the story. Many people stereo type African Americans as people who rob other people and people who shoot and kill people and also as people who walk around all loud and ghetto and things like that. This is true for some African A,mericans but others are nothing like that. I wouldn’t consider Barack Obama to be one of those ghetto murderers and robbers. Look at him now. He is the President of the United states.
African Americans shouldn’t be stereo typed by the way a mojority of them act because they’re not the only ones who act that way. Other races get arrested for crimes just like African Americans and it’s not fair to us to always point to the black person 1st.
In conclusion, Steve’s race does make a difference in the story beacause if he were native american, no one would suspect him of anything, but since he’s african american, they automatically assume is was him that commited the crime.
“Monster” By Walter Dean Myers. I think that Steves race does make a difference in the book because the have a different type of language in the book than you would find in a book about a caucasian that is in the same situation. Like O’Briean said in the beggining of the book “Your young, black, and on trial the jury already has the verdict in there mind.”
I agree with the people saying that Steve’s ethnicity has something to do with story and the affect on the trial. If Steve wasn’t Black, there wouldn’t even be a trial or a story, they would be blaming the blacks and latinos, thats just the way people think.
I do think that steves color makes a difference not in this court room but defenitly in alot because the image that alot of young african americans have set for us most of the time when you look on the tv you mostly see african americans on tv. Steves apperence i think does not really make a differnce in this court due to the fact that almost everyone if not everyone is african american.
Yes I think that Steves race had an effect effect in all ways. Because when most people think of an African American in jail that no they couldn’t be proven not guilty and,yes there alwys guilty.This book is mostly about racial prejiduce.Answer this Dylan B. do you think that most of the time when black people are accused of something that they are always guilty? They (economy)always think the black people are alwys up to something.
I think the story doesnt have amything to do with racial prejudice, but steve’s race does affect his results on trial. Steve as he is on trial people beleive that he was part of the crime because he is young and black. With in the book O’brien made the statement “your young, your black, and your on trial, wat else do they need to know”? So i beleive steve’s race does effect the story because
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Steve being black does make a difference. He is being tried for murder of a store clerk. Maybe he didn’t kill the guy, but he will be going to jail if the people think he kill the store clerk. He have to make good decisions while he is in jail or he could be in there for a longer time
I think that Steve’s race does make a difference in the story because people might judge him without even knowing him and might think of him differentyl like stereotypes.
i m not done yet i got to go
I do not think that the story is about racial prejudice but in fact is about Steve’s skin colour. He’s African American. That’s the only think that the jury has against him. In addition to what Mrs. O’Brien said, that Steve is”young, you’re black, and on trial” which is really the only statement us as readers needed to know to inference that Steve will be falsly accused of murder.
To me the book MONSTER by Walter Dean Myers has alot of racial prejudice. The main character, Steve Harmon is young, black male that is on trail for the murder of Mr. Nesbitt. To me the Jury thinks that Steve is guilty because of his race. Steve hangs around with criminals that are also the same race as him and he is getting blame for the murder that someone else did.
Well, the only racist quote that I heard was when O’Brien was talking to Steve & said, ” You’re young, you’re black, & you’re on trial.
I think steves race does make a difference in the story. Steve is African American. This changed dialouge, setting, and what happens in this story. An example of speech that is different is “Yo”. Also, It could affect whether he goes to jail or not. Sadly, some people can be racist. So if that judge is racist to African Americans, Steves race affects alot.
I don’t think the book is about racial prejudice, but Steve’s race does make a difference in the book. Because back then and still some what now, being black and commiting a crime seems different. -unfinished
I think Steve’s race does make a difference in the story. Steve is African American. This makes a difference in the setting, speech, and thoughts of the story and characters. The setting is in the hood, which is where a lot of African Americans live. The speech is slang which is how a lot of people in the hood talk. An example is when James King says “you in?” The thoughts of the people in jail are of fighting and some of them were African American. One other thing that makes Steve’s race make a difference in the story is when Mrs. O’Brien says “You’re young, you’re black, and you’re on trial, what else do they need to know”. I thought this made the jury racially prejudice.
This story is not focus on racial prejudice because it’s not the main idea or theme of the story. The story is about Steve and journey through the trial and how it affects him and his view on life/family.”Your black, your young, and you’re on trial that’s all you need to know.” That’s what O’Brien told Steve at the beginning of the novel. This is one of the circumstances that refers to his race. Sure, it makes a couple references to the black and Hispanic population in jail but that isn’t the main focus of the book. The book does deal with racial discrimination but its not the main focus of the book.
I think Steve’s race did make a difference. Its just the way it is today in society. People think that blacks and hispanics people are more frequent to do crimes than any other races, like white. I beileve that that if he was white people wouldn’t have been accused of anything orm they wouldn’t have gave him a big of a sentence. In society, they just think of blacks and hispanics as bad people but not all of us are like that. We are people just with a darker skin tone. Since Steve is a dark skin tone, they accused him because he looked suspicious and it looks like something a black person would do. Even though any race can commit a crime. So, yes, I do believe that his skin tone makes a difference in the way people looked at him. ” Your young , your black and your on trail . “
I do believe that Steve’s race has something to do with the story because if Steve was white, they would let him off with a warning and the trial probably would be dismissed becasue of his skin tone. Usually hispanics and blacks are convicted and even if they didn’t do it.
I also believe that the only reason Petrocelli is so hard on King, steve and Bobo is most likely because they are young, black individuals.
There was one part in the book when Petrocelli said that there are nice citizens and the community and there are also monsters that kill, steal and do bad things in the community also. Yes, who ever kills is a monster and does bad things, but I don’t think she would have said that if the suspects were white.
I do believe that the fact that Steve is African-American has some effect on his testimony. People think differently when there are different races involved in a case, they feel African-Americans are more to blame then other races. If Steve was of white ethnicity they probably would’ve just let him off with a warning, but because he is black he is not second-guessed.
I think that Steve being black does affect the story, because they see how he is black, and how James King is black. They immediately put them into the same category just because of their looks. They judge them before they hear their pleas for innocence and then its harder to change their minds.
MONSTER by Walter Dean Myers is, in many ways about racial prejudice. The main character, Steve, is black, and many of the assumptions made, are made because he’s black. Black people are thought to always be the ones who do something wrong, especially when it comes to the law. When in court, most people automatically think “Oh, well he’s black, so he probably did it”. This is definitely true in MONSTER. If Steve weren’t black, Myers wouldn’t have such an interesting story. It would have been over on page 3.
The story has some racial prejudice in the quote, “You’re young, you’re black, and you’re on trial,” said by O’Brien is the only racial prejudice I’ve heard of in the book. I don’t think that Steve’s race made any difference because they never mentioned him being black in court.