clozanosnthsreading

Does the book address broader social issues?  (e.g., inequality, racism, abortion, hunger, etc.)  What stance does the author take on this issue?  How do you know?  Do you agree with the author?

In this book I believe the author did try to address the social issues. I say this because in this book it is a young black male who has everything going for him. He goes to school he tried to play sports, but were no good at them. So he focused on school and tried to get the best of grades he could get. The social issue I believe the author was addressing was racism. I say this because the main character Steven went to a store to get some snacks then go home. While he was getting snacks Mr. Nesbitt the owner of the store was getting robbed. When Steven walked in they shot Mr. Nesbitt and the people that robbed Mr. Nesbitt knew Steven and they blamed everything on him. When Steven did not even do anything. “Anybody can walk into a drugstore and look around. Is that what I’m on trial for? I didn’t do nothing!”(115) Another reason why I think the author chose racism is because during the trail his lawyer was pointing out facts that proved that Steven was innocent, but it seemed like they did not even care. The jury made up their mind to send a young black male into prison who had things going for him. Until Stevens white English teacher went up on the stand to tell the jury that he was a good kid and that he caused no trouble ever. I agree with the author that this is racism because a lot of minorities go to jail for know reason. They just go to jail because of their color of their skin and because the way society looks at minorities.

What is the significance of the title of your book?  What does the title mean? Does it mean more than one thing?  How do you understand your book better because of the title?

The title of this book means more than just what is says. The title says Monster and it not a monster that kids are scared of in the closet. It is the type of monster when people are scared of you or if you do something bad and people see the monster in you, but in this case Steven is being called a monster for no reason. He is accused for a crime for something he did not do. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time and he is a good kid. He went to school, never caused trouble, but still being called a monster from somebody that does not even know him all that well. “Lady who is the prosecutor called me monster.”(5) I understand the book better because he is in jail for a crime he did not commit and the people that he thought was his friends turned there back on Steven because they thought he was a bad person when he did not do anything wrong. Also it helps me understand the book better by not to judge people to quick. I say this because when I was first reading the book I thought he really did the crime and was a bad kid and just thought he was an average bad kid who followed the crowd and did not listen to the rules and did his own thing. I thought he was really a monster. Then after reading the book more it showed me that he is a good kid. He went to school and he wanted to do good in life and he was not a follower he was a leader. He did not listen to the people who said lets do this and lets do that. He always said no because he knew the outcome of the situations that they were going to do.

What point of view does the author use?  What are the advantages to the author’s chosen point of view?  (What is the author able to do, because they chose to tell the story with that point of view?)  How would the book be different if it employed a different point of view (e.g., 1st person instead of third person, or a different first-person narrator)?

The point of view the author shows is first person. Through a 16 year old eyes that is convicted for a crime. The author was able to show how the kid feels. If he is scared, nervous, mad or even sad. For the author put in a saying to show that the kid is maybe scared or even nervous. (Steven) “I thought you you’re supposed to be innocent until you’re proven guilty? (O’Brien Stevens lawyer) That’s true, but in reality it depends on how the jury sees the case.”(82) Another why it is good in first person is because it shows other characters how they feel about the situation. For example that quote shows that O’Brien is not sugar coating anything. He is telling Steven straight up it is up to the jury to make you innocent. That is how it helps in first person so we can see how the characters feel and see how they respond to each other. Now if the author puts the story in a 2nd person point of view then it would not be the same. It would not be the same because another person is telling the story and we can not see how the character really feels. We can not see how the character feels and what he really wants to say. Also we can not see the story from their point of view. We are seeing the story through another person who is not really their and not really in the action, but with first person we can see the point of view through the characters eyes and see how he feels about situation and see how characters emotions like if he is sad, mad, nervous. Also see how or if the character overcomes obstacles.

What is the setting of the story?  Does the setting create an obstacle for the characters? How?

The setting of the story is very backwards. I say backwards because it starts out with the main character  Steven Harmon in jail talking about how people are getting beat, killed and how he is scared. So Steve made came up with a solution to make his time in jail while he waits his trail and his sentence. His solution was to make everything like a movie. “Maybe I could make my own movie. I could write it out and play it in my head. I could block out the scenes like we did in school. The film will be the story of my life. No, not my life, but of this experience. I will write it down in the notebook they let me keep. I will call it what the lady who is the prosecutor called me. Monster.”(5) This helped Steven throughout the book because writing in his notebook made him okay. If something happened in the jail or in the trail. He went back to his notebook and wrote about it. It was a obstacle for Steven because if he did not get to write in his notebook then he would get mad and start to let his thoughts get the best of him. For example when he wrote in his notebook then he thought that he was contributing in some type of way, but then when he did not write then he would think that he is not contributing and that nothing is involved with him. “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.” This is how Steven over came these obstacles in jail, the court room, the lawyers, the judge and the prosecuter. By turning everything into a movie of his own the he directs, makes his own choices and decisions and directs it by himself with no help.

My name is Chris and I like sports. The sports I dominate in are basketball and football. When I grow up I want to be a great in the NBA like Magic Johnson or Allen Iverson. The book I like the hunger series and the dairy of the wimpy kid series. I like these series because they were very interesting and entertaining. Also the diary of the wimpy kid series helped me thru middle school. The books I don’t like are boring books like books that are plain or there is no meaning to it. Those books are just plain. I want to know what the writer is trying to tell me, not just oh this guy did it, no I want to guess and then at the end be surprised like this guy did it man that is crazy. So I do not like boring plain books. My favorite character in literature is Katniss Everdeen because she fights for what she believes in. In the first  Hunger games she was going to kill herself with Peeta, but the people of the games stopped it and she changed changed the games after that. My least favorite character in literature is Jewel from the Marvel Universe because she is boring and she does not really have a role as a superhero. My favorite reading environment is in my room listening to music because I concentrate and I go into my own little world and I’m by myself. The favorite book I like from last year is the book Monster. I like Monster better from the other book I read is because it is a 16 year old kid that is convicted for a crime he did not commit and he puts the whole thing into a movie and he goes back in time like a flashback and tells us about his neighborhood and people that he knew that tells us a little about him. The 10 additional things I learned from reading.

1 .is that I learned new words that built up my vocabulary.

2. My reading got more fluent.

3. I looked at the back of the book to see how the story is.

4. I looked up words I did not know.

5. Should not wait last minute to read my book.

6. Do everything ahead of time so you can make adjustments to make it better.

7. Make sure to answer all the questions perfectly.

8. Pick a book you really want to read.

9.