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Kim Dietrich Literature for Young Adults Dr. Sherry 10 Feb 2011  Transmedial Approach: // Monster //  // Monster //, written by Walter Dean Myers, seems to be a novel that will soon become one of the classics that will be read in schools across America. The novel is written in a way that is intriguing and leaves the reader constantly wondering, “Is Steve Harmon guilty or innocent?” Even as one nears the end of the novel, it is not always clear as to the answer of that question. The novel reads as a movie script would, but also includes journal entries from Steve that give the reader insight into who Steve the character is. This novel could easily be transformed into a movie. The entire novel is written in the way that a movie script would be written, even including stage directions and the exact places in the novel to fade in/out for example. Steve even explains where he would do a voice over of what is occurring in the novel. It made it easier to imagine each scene, each character, and exactly what the setting was of the scene. For example, the passage, “We see STEVE writing on a pad. CUT TO: The pad. O’BRIEN is writing a note under STEVE’S question, which reads ‘What’s that about?’ She writes; ‘The wound was on the left side of the body, which might mean that the shooter was right-handed. It’s a weak argument’” (Myers, 213). While reading this scene, I felt it was simpler to picture Steve writing and O’Brien answering as it would be in a court room. If // Monster // was transformed into a movie, I believe it would be a very helpful and resourceful tool in the classroom. It would help in teaching this book because it is written as a movie script. Personally, sometimes I got confused at parts with the different stage directions and moves that Steve was trying to “direct,” so I believe that showing parts of the book as a movie would help students in understanding exactly what Steve is describing. Students who tend to be more visual learners would also benefit from the movie scenes. I also believe that there could be some challenges in making the movie. For example, Steve has his own journal entries in the novel, which could be difficult to express in the movie. At first, I was thinking that Steve could do these just as voice overs, but then realized that there are other parts in the novel that he has specifically laid out as voice overs. So then I thought that maybe since they were journal entries, they could show Steve in his jail cell writing in a journal and have the character read the journal entry aloud. Creating // Monster // into a movie could help students relate more to the character of Steve. The manner in which Myers chose to write the novel seems to make it more possible to create a movie out of this novel. Back to personal page