Secondly, the novel provides good life lessons about peer pressure by tackling the notion that people should trust themselves instead of trying to please others. These moments share the lesson of self-perception to readers. Through these moments, the way Steve thinks about himself changes, and changes the way he sees himself and interacts with others in his life. This shows that Steve Harmon’s parents are really hurt to see their son in jail and that Steve is also hurt to see that he failed to achieve his parents’ expectations or that his parents assume that they raised their son poorly. Everything was pouring out of him and I hated to see his face. He wasn’t crying like I thought a man would. When his father visits him in the prison, he writes, “I’ve never seen my father cry before. Steve questions himself and his actions which help him understand himself better. This shows there is more to him and his personality than other prisoners. In this case, Steve Harmon wants to be seen as a normal teenager, not some typical black-skinned criminal he is painted as in society. Who was Steve Harmon? I wanted to open my shirt and tell her to look into my heart to see who the real Steve Harmon was”. In his notes, he writes “Miss O’ Brien looked at me – I didn’t see her looking at me but I knew she was. Steve Harmon cares about what the jury thinks about him, but he does not want that to define him and who is he is. These are all good life lessons about self-perception, peer pressure, and judgment through the character Steve, and how all should use them in one’s daily life.įirstly, the novel provides good life lessons about self-perception by showing how what people think about themselves is powerful. Finally, Steve is proving to the jury that their judgment of Steve being guilty is wrong and that they need to listen to his side of the story first before judging. He soon realizes that proving to your own friends that you are worthy by breaking the law is not worth it and needs to listen to his own instincts instead of trying to be others. Furthermore, Steve is dealing with the consequence of proving to his friends that he is a “tough guy”. Steve handles the way people perceive him as a criminal by proving them wrong. At first, Steve goes through a questioning period where he questions if he is truly a monster and is a criminal like a prosecutor says he is. Steve Harmon deals with obstacles that have been thrown at him during his trial. Walter Dean Myers, the author of the novel Monster, touches upon the life of a character named Steve Harmon living in Harlem, as he is on trial and teaches us life lessons of self–perception, peer pressure, and judgment.
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