Monster: Themes | SparkNotes

Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work.

The Alienation of Imprisonment

In response to the trauma of his imprisonment and trial, Steve Harmon experiences alienation, the feeling of being cut off from other people and even at times from reality. In prison, Steve lives with many cruel and violent men, but he feels alone. He does not recognize himself when he looks in the mirror. Steve’s alienation leads him to start thinking about his prison experience in terms of a movie. Writing the screenplay for his movie helps Steve cope with the trauma of the trial, during which Steve is forced to look at pictures of the victim, hear details of the murder, and confront the criminals who accuse him.

In the courtroom at his trial, Steve often feels uninvolved in his own case. He thinks of himself as having the word monster tattooed on his forehead. Steve notices how some people ignore his presence, like the prison guards. He also notices how other people turn away from him. At one point he looks out the window and down at all the people moving around on the street. He is no longer one of them, no longer a part of that world. Steve fears that his lawyer thinks he is guilty and that even his father sees him as a monster. As the trial progresses, Steve thinks of himself more and more as a character in a movie, not a real member of society.

Racism Enables Injustice

Racism helps explain why and how Steve Harmon goes to jail and why it will be so difficult for Steve to get out. Racism is a given in Steve’s life. He lives in a Black and Latino neighborhood that suffers from gun violence and police indifference. As Kathy O’Brien, his lawyer, bluntly informs Steve, many people will be against Steve just because he is young and Black.

Sandra Petrocelli, the prosecuting attorney, blatantly appeals to racism in making her case against Steve and his fellow defendant, James King. In her opening speech, Petrocelli gestures toward them as she talks about monsters in the community. As she presents the State’s case, Petrocelli does her best to associate Steve with other young Black men, several of whom have criminal records. O’Brien advises Steve that to counter Petrocelli’s tactics, Steve will have to separate himself from other young Black men in the eyes of the jury.

The flashback scenes in which James King plans the robbery, as well as the court testimonies of the medical examiner and police detectives, illustrate how racism enables injustice on a community scale. King and Bobo Evans think of the drugstore as a “getover,” a business not important enough to merit serious police attention. The officials’ testimony reveals that the crime scene was processed as quickly as possible and that the police got their clues from informants rather than from routine detective work. With such official indifference, people in the neighborhood simply expect injustice.

Identity Depends on Belonging

To define himself, Steve Harmon must decide what groups give him a sense of belonging. As the story begins, Steve does not know who he is. He does not recognize his face in the mirror. Steve knows he does not belong in prison, so he decides that he belongs in a movie. When he composes his screenplay, Steve is reasserting his former identity as a filmmaker and screenwriter.

Steve defines himself through several groups, and his relationship with each group changes during the story. Steve’s family provides physical and emotional support. Mr. Harmon’s college education and Mrs. Harmon’s gift of a Bible are clues that Steve belongs to a respectable, churchgoing family with high hopes for their children. However, his parents look at him differently after his arrest.

Steve attends a special high school and belongs to a film group. He applies what he learned from his film group to the task of recording the events of his case. Later in the trial, Steve gives filmmaking as an alibi. Mr. Sawicki, Steve’s film club mentor, makes the alibi credible by talking about Steve’s skill and honesty.

As Steve confronts a possible prison sentence, he begins identifying himself with other prisoners, especially those who are on trial, waiting for their verdicts and sentences, or appealing their cases. Kathy O’Brien coaches Steve on how to project an identity that is different from other prisoners. Steve’s attempts to bond with O’Brien express his need to belong among innocent people.

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