Introduction
The text being taught in this multicultural literature unit is Monster, a novel written by Walter Dean Myers. This book follows a young African-American, 16-year-old boy, named Steve Harmon. We find out that Steve loves film and did pretty well in school, up until he was accused of playing an active role in a gang related murder as a lookout, that is. Steve’s love for film motivates him to tell his story as a screenplay. Writing in an “as-it-happens” style, we follow Steve and his court proceedings in an exciting narrative of his pursuit of freedom. At the same time, we also receive monologue-like snippets of him reflecting on what is going on and his feelings throughout the entire process. We learn about the juvenile detention center and how Steve struggles in the conditions of the jail; his screenplay is the one thing he can rely on to keep him out of trouble and entertained. This gripping and emotion-packed novel that is set in Harlem provides a great description of the court system and what it is like to be convicted of a crime that puts your life in the hands of 12 other people who do not know you or seem to care.
The vocabulary and concepts highlighted by this book are those that relate to film and the court system. Since the book is written in the manner of a screenplay, a significant part of teaching this unit will include introducing film terminology including, but not limited to: medium shot, close up, fade, pan, cut, and point-of-view. At the same time, students will be introduced to the court system of the United States. Understanding how juries work, the process behind, “innocent until proven guilty,” and learning the definitions of: prosecution, defence, objection, sustained, among others, will allow students to fully understand this book and begin to apply these definitions to their humanities classes and real life; a great jumping off point for learning about important cases in American history.
The background knowledge of the book will give students insight into lives of people living in Harlem and the constant battle they go through in fighting for their lives. The fight shown through the court case is a fight against racism as O’Brien tries to get the jury to see Steve as different than the others convicted of the murder. As young Steve Harmon tells his story of possibly facing a prison sentence of 25 years, we get to feel his anxiety, fear, and identity crisis.
The genre itself should be challenging for students, as most should not have read many movie scripts. As it is formatted in a completely different way than a novel, focusing on dialogue and requiring students to use their imagination in order to “fill in the gaps” of blocking, visualizing the scenes, and thinking about how a director can interpret scenes. There are much more audience-types to think about that can affect the meaning: director, actor, and audience, and we like the fact that this book opens the conversation to talk about how this affects a text.
The importance of the book in terms of teaching about multiculturalism is that it is not written from a white lens like most books in the English canon. Furthermore, it challenges stereotypes of race and complicates the American experience, questioning the basic ideals of equality of freedom, justice, and opportunity.
This is a unit created for CI 402 at the University of Illinois by Christina Cho, Alexander Bell, Ari Kravetz, and Jeanne Zeller.
Last updated on April 2, 2012.
The vocabulary and concepts highlighted by this book are those that relate to film and the court system. Since the book is written in the manner of a screenplay, a significant part of teaching this unit will include introducing film terminology including, but not limited to: medium shot, close up, fade, pan, cut, and point-of-view. At the same time, students will be introduced to the court system of the United States. Understanding how juries work, the process behind, “innocent until proven guilty,” and learning the definitions of: prosecution, defence, objection, sustained, among others, will allow students to fully understand this book and begin to apply these definitions to their humanities classes and real life; a great jumping off point for learning about important cases in American history.
The background knowledge of the book will give students insight into lives of people living in Harlem and the constant battle they go through in fighting for their lives. The fight shown through the court case is a fight against racism as O’Brien tries to get the jury to see Steve as different than the others convicted of the murder. As young Steve Harmon tells his story of possibly facing a prison sentence of 25 years, we get to feel his anxiety, fear, and identity crisis.
The genre itself should be challenging for students, as most should not have read many movie scripts. As it is formatted in a completely different way than a novel, focusing on dialogue and requiring students to use their imagination in order to “fill in the gaps” of blocking, visualizing the scenes, and thinking about how a director can interpret scenes. There are much more audience-types to think about that can affect the meaning: director, actor, and audience, and we like the fact that this book opens the conversation to talk about how this affects a text.
The importance of the book in terms of teaching about multiculturalism is that it is not written from a white lens like most books in the English canon. Furthermore, it challenges stereotypes of race and complicates the American experience, questioning the basic ideals of equality of freedom, justice, and opportunity.
This is a unit created for CI 402 at the University of Illinois by Christina Cho, Alexander Bell, Ari Kravetz, and Jeanne Zeller.
Last updated on April 2, 2012.