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Walter Dean Myers and the writing of Monster
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From: Ginny Moore Kruse <gmkruse>
Date: Fri, 30 Jul 1999 08:41:19 -0500
Yesterday while she was in the CCBC, Helen Charmillon-Pohl (H.S. Librarian, Kaukauna, Wis.) reminded me that the prepublication copy of
"Monster" issued by HarperCollins to reviewers, etc., contains a helpful opening statement written by author Walter Dean Myers. After talking with Helene, we decided to reprint Mr. Myers's statement from the promotional prepublication bound galley for the CCBC-Net community. Here it is.
Dear Reader,
I had checked the appointment time, put fresh batteries in my tape recorder, and gone over my questions carefully. Still, as the bus rattled through upstate New York toward Greenhaven prison, I was nervous. I had never interviewed a multiple killer before. Over the next months I would interview killers, stickup men, prostitutes, and drug pushers. My questioning would lead, I hoped, to one asnwer: What were the steps that led a person from innocence to criminal acts and, eventually, to prison?
After accumulating some six hundred pages of interviews, I came to notice a common thread - that no one went from being completely innocent to living in jail in one dramatic step. There always seemed to be interim stages. Decisions to bend, not break, the law. Minor infractions such as bullying or truancy would lead to petty thefts. Petty thefts and fare beating might lead to street-corner drug sales. Each experience, basically involving a lack of a positive moral decision, would give permission for the next experience. Eventually a line would be crossed in which the probability of being caught was the only governing restriction.
"Monster" is the story of one young man, Steve Harmon, who has given himself the luxury of what seems to be a minor involvement in a crime. He has little to do, and the reward of being an "in" member of a tough crew is tempting. But for Steve, as for so many of the people I interviewed, things go terribly wrong.
In "Monster," Steve digs deeply within his own soul to regain the moral awareness that he has allowed to elude him. Using the form of a movie, Steve plays back the events that led to the death of a drugstore owner, and to his being on trial. Everyone tries to appear innocent, but Steve learns that innocence lost is not easily regained.
The idea for this book came to me most clearly as I sat in a courtroom watching the trial of a seventeen year old charged with armed robbery and attempted murder. Out of the window I could see the local high school, where kids were pouring out into the warm day. The sounds of their laughter drifted into the wood-paneled courtroom while, on the stand, a witness pointed out the frightened young man sitting at the defense table. At that moment, "Monster" was born.
...Walter Dean Myers
If you have a response to what Walter Dean Myers or someone else already wrote, or if you have something to say about "Monster" in general, you're welcome to write today or during the weekend. I noticed that we didn't remark about the visual and design elements in
"Making Up Megaboy" or "Monster." Each book would be quite different without them. Thank you to each person who contributed a comment throughout the month. This has been a difficult theme for many of you to approach, and we appreciate everyone's attention to the observations about these two highly original, important books.
...Ginny
Ginny Moore Kruse (gmkruse at ccbc.education.wisc.edu) Cooperative Children's Book Center (www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/) University of Wisconsin - Madison
Received on Fri 30 Jul 1999 08:41:19 AM CDT
Date: Fri, 30 Jul 1999 08:41:19 -0500
Yesterday while she was in the CCBC, Helen Charmillon-Pohl (H.S. Librarian, Kaukauna, Wis.) reminded me that the prepublication copy of
"Monster" issued by HarperCollins to reviewers, etc., contains a helpful opening statement written by author Walter Dean Myers. After talking with Helene, we decided to reprint Mr. Myers's statement from the promotional prepublication bound galley for the CCBC-Net community. Here it is.
Dear Reader,
I had checked the appointment time, put fresh batteries in my tape recorder, and gone over my questions carefully. Still, as the bus rattled through upstate New York toward Greenhaven prison, I was nervous. I had never interviewed a multiple killer before. Over the next months I would interview killers, stickup men, prostitutes, and drug pushers. My questioning would lead, I hoped, to one asnwer: What were the steps that led a person from innocence to criminal acts and, eventually, to prison?
After accumulating some six hundred pages of interviews, I came to notice a common thread - that no one went from being completely innocent to living in jail in one dramatic step. There always seemed to be interim stages. Decisions to bend, not break, the law. Minor infractions such as bullying or truancy would lead to petty thefts. Petty thefts and fare beating might lead to street-corner drug sales. Each experience, basically involving a lack of a positive moral decision, would give permission for the next experience. Eventually a line would be crossed in which the probability of being caught was the only governing restriction.
"Monster" is the story of one young man, Steve Harmon, who has given himself the luxury of what seems to be a minor involvement in a crime. He has little to do, and the reward of being an "in" member of a tough crew is tempting. But for Steve, as for so many of the people I interviewed, things go terribly wrong.
In "Monster," Steve digs deeply within his own soul to regain the moral awareness that he has allowed to elude him. Using the form of a movie, Steve plays back the events that led to the death of a drugstore owner, and to his being on trial. Everyone tries to appear innocent, but Steve learns that innocence lost is not easily regained.
The idea for this book came to me most clearly as I sat in a courtroom watching the trial of a seventeen year old charged with armed robbery and attempted murder. Out of the window I could see the local high school, where kids were pouring out into the warm day. The sounds of their laughter drifted into the wood-paneled courtroom while, on the stand, a witness pointed out the frightened young man sitting at the defense table. At that moment, "Monster" was born.
...Walter Dean Myers
If you have a response to what Walter Dean Myers or someone else already wrote, or if you have something to say about "Monster" in general, you're welcome to write today or during the weekend. I noticed that we didn't remark about the visual and design elements in
"Making Up Megaboy" or "Monster." Each book would be quite different without them. Thank you to each person who contributed a comment throughout the month. This has been a difficult theme for many of you to approach, and we appreciate everyone's attention to the observations about these two highly original, important books.
...Ginny
Ginny Moore Kruse (gmkruse at ccbc.education.wisc.edu) Cooperative Children's Book Center (www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/) University of Wisconsin - Madison
Received on Fri 30 Jul 1999 08:41:19 AM CDT
