LENS2_SErdman

Just another Episode  Steve was just like any normal African American teenage boy growing up in Harlem, until he is on trial for a burglary and murder. //Monster// written by Walter Dean Myers tells the story about Steve and his case. //Monster// is written from the point of view of Steve, how he views things going on, what people look like to him, and how he feels about everything that is going on. A major difference in the style that //Monster// is written is that it is all written in the form of a personal diary and a screen play of actions as they occur in Steve’s life. Taking the idea of the book written as a screen play makes a connection to the television show //Law & Order.//  //Law & Order// is a crime show that shows the process that the legal system goes through when a serious crime has been committed. On the television show it always starts out as showing the crime scene before the police arrive. Throughout the show we see the police officers or detectives investigate the crime scene, suspects, and any leads that may help them solve the case. Finally, when they find the “suspect” the audience gets to see the court case and proceedings. All of these scenes and actions are shown through the eyes of the law and the government. In some cases when they cannot convict the person they know was guilty they will still put someone on trial so justice was served.  After reading //Monster// the reader knows right away that the major difference between the television and the book is that the book is from the point of view of the defendant. Seeing things through the eyes of Steve in //Monster// allows one who has seen //Law & Order// to gain an understanding of how it might feel to someone sitting on the other side of the court room. Reading about Steve’s emotions he went through throughout the whole case is an eye opening experience to the reader because it makes one think how they would feel if they were in his shoes. Most of the suspects in //Law & Order// are what a stereotype of a “criminal” would be such as an ethnic minority, poor, a druggie, or someone who did not have a family involved in their life. In //Monster,// Steve is an African American boy from Harlem so according to //Law & Order// he would be guilty. //Monster// forces the reader to not make the stereotypical decision and see things from an “innocent” boy’s perspective.  When the reader has something to compare a book with such as another book, a class, or even a television show helps the reader to gain another perspective of situations like //Law & Order// and //Monster//. Comparing two different pieces of work not only gives the reader the opportunity to think about many aspects. Just by looking at the cover of //Monster// I would have automatically assumed the main character was guilty because he was black. I know that is not right but as humans our minds fall into that belief because of television shows like //Law & Order.// Another reason why comparing two pieces of work is important is because once the reader is done comparing sometimes they learn a lesson, like to not assume something about a person. This was a lesson learned for //Monster//. I enjoyed comparing these two items because it did open my eyes to other aspects and to look at all sides before assuming something.

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