Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Monster, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Dehumanization and Racism
Lies and Self-Interest
Endemic Violence
Injustice
Summary
Analysis
In his notes, Steve writes that the guards take inmates’ shoelaces and belts away so that they can’t kill themselves, since “making you live is part of the punishment.” He feels like he has no part to play in his court case; it is only something that is happening to him, rather than something he participates in. O’Brien says that Petrocelli is bringing out her witnesses to build a connection between Steve and King, but Steve thinks that Petrocelli is just showcasing all these terrible people and “reminding the jury that they don’t look any different from me and King.” That’s why Steve likes the scene he wrote with himself and Jerry—it makes him seem a real human being. Steve’s cellmate likes the screenplay and says he’ll tattoo “monster” on his forehead when he gets out. Steve feels like he already has that tattoo.
It is ironic that Steve is not allowed to kill himself in jail, even though Petrocelli wants to give him a death sentence, highlighting the absurdity of the justice system. Steve’s desire to portray himself as a real person—a human being—suggests that he feels dehumanized by Petrocelli’s remarks and her strategy of lumping Steve in with all sorts of career criminals. Steve’s sense of dehumanization is confirmed by his feeling that he has “monster” tattooed across his forehead, suggesting that it has become his new identity.
Themes
A preacher comes into the recreation room and some of the inmates want to talk to him, but one of them starts swearing and shouting that it’s too late for any of them to convince themselves they’re good people. Steve agrees, in a way—he wants to feel like a good person, to convince himself that he is. Steve notices that although he’s the youngest, every man in the jail is fairly young. He understands why O’Brien is trying to make the jury see Steve as a real person. That night he’d had a dream that he was in the courtroom, “trying to ask questions” but nobody could hear his voice.
Steve’s hope that he can convince himself that he is a good person demonstrates the manner in which the trial and his time in jail are changing his conception of himself, while also hinting that he has something to feel guilty or ashamed of. Steve’s dream of being unheard suggests that he feels powerless in the courtroom, having no say in what his own fate will be, since it is now being decided by strangers.
Themes
The screenplay resumes in the courthouse. Steve and King are handcuffed to the bench. The attorneys, the judge, and one of the guards stands around the bench, chatting about termites and one of the detectives’ hemorrhoid problems, which is preventing him from testifying.
Again, the courtroom officials’ casual conversation suggests that they only view the proceeding as a rote process they’ve performed hundreds of times, not a life-and-death decision over an individual’s fate.
Themes
Petrocelli questions Detective Karyl on the stand, who investigated Mr. Nesbitt’s murder. He describes the murder scene as gruesome. Aside from the opened cash register, he didn’t find any clues at the crime scene. He questioned a few people he thought might know something until Zinzi called him and told him about Bolden, who told him about King and Bobo Evans. The screenplay cuts to a precinct where Detective Karyl, who is white, and his black partner Detective Williams question Steve, having just arrested him. King told them that Steve fired the gun. Williams insists that they don’t need Steve for the case, but Karyl assumes Steve is guilty and says he hopes the they give Steve the death penalty. Steve envisions himself strapped to a table while a man prepares to give him a lethal injection.
Detective Karyl’s claim that he followed due process during his investigation and didn’t cut corners conflicts with Steve’s memory of Karyl’s conduct during his arrest. Karyl’s automatic assumption of Steve’s guilt and stated hope that they execute him displays gross dehumanization and injustice, suggesting that such operators of the justice system only want to inflict a maximum punishment rather than pursue justice or the truth. It’s implied that Karyl is white, which suggests that Karyl’s unjust treatment of Steve is at least partially motivated by racial prejudice.
Themes
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In the courtroom, Briggs presses Karyl on why they couldn’t find any fingerprints or actual clues. Karyl insists that they did their work carefully, but the technicians couldn’t find anything. Briggs accuses Karyl of skipping the investigation altogether and just finding someone in prison who’d testify for him. Cut to Steve’s jail cell: Steve says he’s innocent and he wants to live, but an older prisoner says it doesn’t matter much—somebody died, so somebody else will go to jail.
Although Briggs himself is not an objective party either, his accusation that Karyl did not do his job properly seems to hold up and suggests that the justice system is committing a great injustice by relying on such people. If the investigators who testify did not even perform a full investigation, Steve’s case should rightfully be thrown out.
Themes
Steve meets privately with O’Brien in a waiting room. O’Brien says the court case isn’t going well, since nothing is making Steve look particularly innocent. Steve remarks that he ought to be innocent until proven guilty, but O’Brien says that although that should be the case, since he’s a young black male, half the jury automatically assumes he’s guilty of anything. The prosecutor will get the benefit of the doubt, and Steve will automatically be assumed to be a monster. O’Brien’s role is to argue that the prosecutor simply made a mistake.
O’Brien’s admission that the jury will automatically assume Steve’s guilt because he is a black male suggests that the American ideals of liberty and justice for all are thwarted by racial prejudice and the malpractice apparently common within the justice system. In this way, the justice system seems to inflict injustice on young men such as Steve as often as not.
Themes
O’Brien mentions that, later in the day, Osvaldo Cruz will testify. The screenplay cuts to a Harlem street corner, where Steve sits with 14-year-old Osvaldo and another kid. Osvaldo repeatedly insults Steve, and Steve weakly says he could beat Osvaldo up, but they all know that Osvaldo is backed by his gang the Diablos, and they’d thrash Steve if he did. Back in the courtroom, Osvaldo “timidly” testifies that Bobo threatened to hurt him unless he helped with the robbery and that he was terrified of Bobo, who has a violent reputation. Petrocelli keeps asking leading questions, which both the judge and Briggs criticize. Osvaldo continues that he was afraid of Steve and King, as well. When Briggs and Petrocelli start to become more hostile towards each other, the judge declares that they’ll adjourn for the day.
Once again, Steve’s memories of Osvaldo and his character completely contradict the image of himself that Osvaldo tries to present on the stand, suggesting that he is lying to avoid his own sentencing in the murder. This demonstrates yet again the lies and false statements used to advance the court case. Petrocelli’s constant leading questions—which is an illegal practice in a trial—suggests that she is trying to manipulate witness testimonies and that she is more interested in winning the case than in operating by fair rules or uncovering the truth of Mr. Nesbitt’s death.
Themes
