Monster

Myers alternates points of view and genres across the text, combining Steve’s first-person journal with the artifact of his screenplay. The text uses varying font sizes that sometimes appear handwritten and at other times have a typewritten quality. His first-person journaling draws readers into the depths of Steve as a complex individual who is capable of self-reflection, growth, and empathy. The shift to a third person screenplay format allows Myers to demonstrate the powerlessness that Steve’s interiority has once he is wrapped up in the criminal justice system.

Monster presents readers with a potentially problematic protagonist, and Myers works to keep the truth of Steve’s guilt or innocence somewhat murky. If he informs readers that Steve was not in on the robbery, the story becomes a struggle to prove innocence. If he informs readers that Steve is indeed guilty, Steve becomes a much less sympathetic character, reducing the degree of concern readers have regarding his treatment and future. By keeping the reader at arm’s length about Steve’s true guilt or innocence, he invites readers to consider why we consider some characters worthy of our empathy and not others.