Iris's+Monster+Movie+Trailer

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All images created by Iris

I feel that the book Monster has many powerful themes in it, but I think one of the strongest themes in the book is about the effects of stereotypes. Steve is mentally trapped by all the stereotypes being attached to him. He is a victim to stereotypes because of his race. Steve is a young African- American man who is being accused of murder. On his first day in court, Petrocelli said, “There are monsters in our community. People Who are willing to steal and kill” (21). She was referring to Steve and King. She stereotyped these two young men without even talking to them. He should have just as much chance as anyone else to be called innocent, but he does not because of people judging him on his appearance. Now stereotypes have affected not only Steve’s feelings but his future. Stereotypes could cause him to go to jail for something he did not do. When everyone assumes the worst in him, he starts to believe it to. Steve is so used to people calling him a monster or other stereotypical names that he started to call himself that. He almost lost himself because of stereotypes, but because of his strong will he made it through.

The author characterized Steve with a strong personality, and I think it really benefited my experience reading the book. If some people repeatedly got mean stereotypes thrown at them, preventing them from doing their best in life, they might not be able to handle it. However, because of Steve’s persistence and kind heart, he is found innocent, despite all the obstacles. Although this is a fictional story, it has a lot of truth in it. There is probably a young man just like Steven going through being stereotyped. He is probably feeling isolated and trapped; he probably feels like a monster. So if you are making a stereotypes about a person, you should think about the affects of what your saying. The effects could be bigger than you think!

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