MONSTER

I did this project as an assignment named "Repurpose of a Book" for my professor Doug DuBois. I searched everywhere for a reference book. After a while, in the free section of Bird Library, my eyes got stuck on a book named "Monster" by Walter Dean Myers. I also became interested in another book called "The United States Constitution: A Graphical Adaption," written by Jonathan Hennessey and illustrated by Aaron McConnell. It illustrates the US Constitution in the form of comics / cartoons. Both books were damaged, probably by water, but I liked the damaged textures of these two books.

After returning home, I researched the two books thoroughly. Monster, published April 21, 1999, by HarperCollins, is a young adult drama novel by American author Walter Dean Myers. It was nominated for the 1999 National Book Award for Young People's Literature, won the Michael L. Printz Award in 2000, and was named a Coretta Scott King Award Honor the same year. It contains a script that tells the story of Steve Harmon, a 16-year-old African American boy, who is on trial for his alleged role in a robbery that led to the murder of a convenience store owner. The prosecution portrays him as a monster who aided in a fatal crime, while Steve maintains his innocence. The narrative delves deep into the psychological and systemic challenges faced by young Black men in the American judicial system, exploring themes of racial prejudice, the presumption of guilt, and the devastating impact of criminal proceedings on an individual's sense of self.

Then, I searched online for which amendments from the US Constitution were used in Steve's case. I thought, what if I try to portray the monster in a very political way? From the second book I collected, I cut some portions of the comics from the same US Constitution amendments used in Steve's case. I selected the Getty Images website and collected many photos depicting some major global wars and conflicts to date. I went through every page of the novel, highlighted some scripts, juxtaposed the script lines with the political images I gathered from Getty Images and also used the comics from the second book. I also physically manipulated the pages of the novel book for the sake of visual juxtaposition, which I intended to do. The book also includes Photographs of Steve wearing a striped shirt, emphasizing his prisoner status and illustrations by Christopher Myers, the author's son, which complement the text and provide additional layers of meaning that helped make my juxtapositions of meaning of the term "Monster".

The novel explores the themes of Identity and Self-Perception and also questions the Justice System. Its ambiguous ending, which leaves some questions unanswered, has sparked discussions among readers about guilt, innocence, and the nature of truth. With my repurposed book, using the original scripts as references, I also question similarly about global wars and conflicts and their impact on contemporary life and society.