Monster

One of the main themes in Monster that Steve Harmon has to deal with is identity. Steve constantly struggles with how he sees himself: whether or not he is like the others involved in the robbery homicide, or if he is different from them. This struggle for identity contributes to the story because Steve and his attorney, O'Brien, try to convince the jury that he is not anything like Bobo Evans, Osvaldo Cruz, and James King. I think that this is very important to the story because Steve is trying to decide if he fits the stereotype of being a monster, when in his mind he has not done anything wrong and should not be on trial for this crime. But slowly the reader witnesses how Steve and his attorney  start to believe that he is just as much as a monster as the other guys are even though he did not take the money or pull the trigger of the gun that killed Mr. Nesbitt. I think that at least one point in everyone's life, we all struggle with finding our true identities, but it can be difficult to really be able to allow yourself to discover who you really are. It can be difficult because some people might think that they have to fit a certain image or stereotype. Which is why I think that Steve had such a hard time finding himself because he has to fit the mold for being a black teenage boy on trial living in Harlem, NY; which unfortunately, causes him to work harder to convince the jury that he does not fit that stereotype for the crime that occured.