Thus, much of the novel is presented in the form of a third person screenplay. Steve’s escape from the surreal experience of jail is through imagining that he, a film student, is depicting events as a movie. Harmon introduces himself in the first person, journaling about the hell of being locked up, his constant fear, and the ways he has had to adapt to avoid physical and sexual assault. Chronologically, the narrative starts with the main character, 16-year-old Steve Harmon, a Black high school student from Harlem who is incarcerated in the Manhattan Detention Center waiting to go on trial for murder. Myers alternates between different points of view and genres of literature. There are references and depictions of gun and physical violence, drug use, and sexual assault. Readers should be aware that the text contains adult language. The 20th anniversary edition from Harper Teen, upon which this summary is based, includes several extra features, including a study guide and a candid interview with Myers. The focus on a young man accused of a serious crime suggests a parallel, yet Monster is intentionally ambiguous regarding the guilt or innocence of the protagonist. The completion and release of the novel occurred during the arc of the conviction and eventual exoneration of the Central Park 5, Black teenagers who were wrongfully accused of attacking a white female jogger in 1990, then released in 2002.
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