Mikaela Elvey
December 5, 2014
Freshman Communications

Final Essay Monster is an experiment in form and structure, demonstrating Steve's venting his passionate perplexity. The definition of a monster is a person with no remorse, no real feelings towards others, and no regret. I believe that Steve is not a monster because he was involved in the murder, but did not harm anyone, he was only the lookout boy. Steve's greatest conflict is not really the trial itself, though it's certainly stressful and difficult. He fights his worst battles in his head, as he tries to figure out if he's truly a monster. Steve sees himself as a good, moral kid. Yeah, he's made mistakes, but he's not a criminal especially when he compares himself with the crazy thugs he's splitting a cell with. While they beat each other up over a look, Steve never once contemplates using violence against others. The only violence he considers is toward himself suicide if he's convicted. Some examples that prove this are that O’Brien moves on to Steve's role, pointing out that nobody is even trying to prove he pulled the trigger. Instead, they are only trying to prove his involvement. Also according to the State and O’Brien testimony, Lorelle was in the store during the robbery. O'Brien points out that if Steve was a lookout, he did a rotten job there wasn't even a signal. All the witnesses said that Steve walked out of the store; O'Brien jumps on this fact. O’Brien reminds the jury that he was open and honest on the stand, that his nervousness was because of how high stakes the trial is, and that he's different from every other criminal the jury has seen. Jail terrifies Steve. He's scared stiff of the guys in there. No way he's one of them, and no way has he belonged there. He's not violent. "Everyone in jail either talks about sex or hurting somebody or what they're in for". Sure, Steve thinks about why he's there, but sex and violence? He's only looking for ways to escape them. He's a good kid. His favorite teacher, Mr. Sawicki, calls him "talented, bright, and compassionate". He loves his little bro, Jerry, too. "I’m just not a bad person," he writes in his journal, "I know that in my heart I am not a bad person". As of our society and the generation that we live