Ms. Finger ELA 2018-2019 Name: Block: Vocabulary Test (Formal): November 16th Entire Packet Due (Formal): November 30th Bio Poem Due (Formal): December 14th
Monster By: Walter Dean Myers The film will be the story of my life. No, not my life, but of this experience. I ll write it down in the notebook they let me keep. I ll call it what the lady who is the prosecutor called me. Monster ( 4-5) Character List: - Steve Harmon: 16 yrs old, on trial for felony murder - Kathy O Brien: Steve s defense attorney - Sandra Petrocelli: prosecutor - James King: also on trial for felony murder - Asa Briggs: lead defense lawyer for James King - Mr. Sawicki: film club advisor at Steve s high school - Alguinaldo Nesbitt: 55 yr old storeowner, murder victim - Bobo Evans: prisoner who admits to participating in felony murder to receive a deal - Jose Delgado: store employee, found Nesbitt s body - Salvatore Zinzi: prisoner who told in order to receive a break, heard about case from Bolden while imprisoned - Wendell Bolden: told Zinzi what he knew about case, found out when he bought cigarettes - Detectives Karyl & Williams: investigating the case - Osvaldo Cruz: 14 yrs old, member of the gang Diablos, admits to being involved in the crime, his job was to slow down anyone who pursued King and Evans - Allen Forbes: city clerk - Dr. James Moody: medical examiner - Loretta Henry: 58 yr old, retired school librarian, was in drugstore on Dec 22 nd - Dorothy Moore: King s cousin, says that King spent the afternoon of Dec 22 nd with her - George Nipping: 50 yrs old, testifies that he has known King for years and that King is left handed - Freddy Alow: hangs out with Osvaldo Cruz - Mr. Harmon: Steve s dad - Mrs. Harmon: Steve s mom - Jerry Harmon: Steve s little brother 2
This is not a movie about bars and locked doors. It is about being alone when you are not really alone and about being scared all the time. ( 3-4) Movie Terminology - fade in a smooth move in to an image from black - fade out a smooth move out of an image into black - cut to a move from one shot to the next - voice over (vo) the voice of an unseen narrator or character - medium shot (ms) a shot in which the subject does not appear to be too close or too far from the viewer - close up (cu) a shot in which the subject fills the screen and details are noticeable - long shot (ls) shot in which the subject is shown at a relatively small scale - flashback cinematic device in which an earlier event is inserted into the normal chronological order of a narrative - point of view (pov) the image onscreen is what one of the characters sees Terms Definitions 1). prosecutor lawyer representing the court case for the government 2). defendant in a court proceeding, the person charged with a crime 3). defense attorney/ lawyer representing the person charged with a crime defender 4). felony a serious crime that can be punishable by jail time 5). accomplice helper in a crime or attempted crime 6). motions arguments or proposals for action by a judge in a trial 7). admissible evidence or testimony that is allowed in court 8). appeal a legal step taking a case from lower court to a higher court for review 9). affidavit a sworn statement made by someone who will not be at the trail 10). cross-examines questions a witness a second time to discredit earlier answers 11). stoolies stool pigeons slang for police officers 12). hostile an unfriendly or non-cooperating witness; a witness called by the other side 13). sustained allowed to stand in a court proceeding 14). overruled not allowed to stand in a court proceeding Terms Definitions 15). montage rapid succession of different images, etc. in a film; composite of juxtaposed elements 16). mosaic picture or pattern made by arranging small bits of colored stone, glass, etc 3
17). manslaughter killing of a human being unlawfully but without deliberate intent or under strong provocation 18). parole early release of a prisoner on the condition of good behavior 19). alleged brought forward as an argument without proof 21). acquit(ed) declare not guilty 22). reformatory institution for reforming juvenile offenders 23) Juvenile A young person 24) Traversed To travel through 25) Apprehended To catch and arrest someone who has not obeyed the law M ost people in our community are decent, hardworking citizens who pursue their own interests legally and without infringing on the rights of others. But there are also monsters in our communities people who are willing to steal and to kill, people who disregard the rights of others. (21) I wanted to open my shirt and tell her to look into my heart to see who I really was, who the real Steve Harmon was. That was what I was thinking, about what was in my heart and what that made me. I m just not a bad person. I know that in my heart I am not a bad person. (92-93) S he writes down what is being said, and what is being said about me, and she adds it all up to guilty. I m not guilty, I said to her. You should have said, I didn t do it, she said. I didn t do it, I said. (138) 4
Monster by Walter Dean Myers Deep Dive into Themes and Central Ideas RL 7.2: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text. RL 7.5: Analyze how a drama s or poem s form or structure (e.g., soliloquy, sonnet) contributes to its meaning This quarter we will concentrate on the idea of themes and central ideas in text. We will also learn about how the structure of a book or piece of work contributes to the book s meaning. Pg. 1-44 1. What is the main idea of the prosecutor's opening statement? 2. The defense attorney s opening statement? 3. How does O Brien discredit Zinzi? 4. How does the author develop the theme of separation? 5. Victimization? 6. The search for self-esteem? 7. Impact of crime on individuals/neighborhoods/society? 5
Pg. 45-88 8. How does Briggs discredit Bolden? 9. How does Myers develop the theme of the Impact of friends a person chooses? 10. Peaches says You can t even hardly make it these days. They talking about cutting welfare, cutting Social Security, and anything else that makes life a little easy. They might as well bring back slavery times if you ask me (50). Is Peaches whining? Or does she have a legitimate observation? 11. What does O Brien mean when she says, You re young, you re Black, and you re on trial? Do you agree with this? Pg. 89-136 12. How does the author develop the theme of Victimization? 13. What does O Brien mean when she says, You re young, you re Black, and you re on trial? Do you agree with this? 14. How does the author develop the theme of separation? 6
Pg. 137-200 15. What does Steve learn about making poor choices? 16. Steve says that the trial isn t about race (146). Do you agree or disagree? Doesn t race always play a role in our society? 17. Reread what Steve wrote in his diary on page 91. His testimony on page 165 seems to be a lie. Why does Steve lie in court? 18. How does Petrocelli discredit Mr. Sawicki s testimony? Pg. 201-281 19. What is the main idea of the prosecutor s closing statement? 20. The defense attorney s closing statement? 21. If you had been on the jury how would you have voted? 7
22. Discuss the role of race in the text. For example, does it matter what the race of the judge, attorneys, and defendants is? What about Mr. Nesbitt's race? 23. How would the story change if Steve were European American? 24. What about issues of class? Would the story be different if Steve's parents were wealthy? T he movie is more real in so many ways than the life I am leading. No, that s not true. I just desperately wish this was only a movie. (159) I think about December of last year. What was the decision I made? To walk down the streets? To get up in the morning? To talk to King? What decisions did I make? But I don t want to think about decisions, just my case (270). 8
Objective: The purpose of this strategy is to help you demonstrate knowledge of a character by following written prompts about the individual. Myers book Monster provides several examples of effective characters to write about: Steve, O Brien, Petrocelli, King, Mr. or Mrs. Harmon, etc. See the example below for inspiration but please don t copy it. Directions: Line 1: First Name Line 2: Three traits that describe the character. Line 3: Relative of. Line 4: Lover of (3 things). Line 5: Who feels (3 things). Line 6: Who needs (3 things). Line 7: Who fears (3 things). Line 8: Who gives (3 things). Line 9: Who would like to see (3 things). Line 10: Resident of. Line 11: Last Name 9
Bio-Poem Example: Steve Young, Black, Naïve Brother of the hood. Lover of freedom, innocence and yesterday. Who feels scared, alone and resentful. Who needs to experience adulthood, life outside of prison and to learn the hard way. Who fears being alone, the dark and life in a steel cage. Who gives feeling to his writing, hope to one in the same situation and an example of what can happen when you have bad friends. Who would like to see his next birthday out of a bright orange suit, his mother stop crying and his father s dreams become a reality. Resident of the Manhattan Detention Center Harmon **Please set your poem up like the example on a separate sheet of paper. I will be hanging these in the classroom and it is for a formal grade. 10