is important because it gives the reader insight into Steve's morals.

2. Steve's journal entry on Wednesday, July 8th, illustrates Steve's thoughts regarding how his race and age affect how the jury perceives him.

3. The flashback scene that depicts Steve hanging out next to Osvaldo Cruz is significant. This scene personifies both characters and reveals that Steve has been hanging around with criminals to gain respect.

4. Steve's journal entry on Friday, July 10th, indicates that he just left the store before the robbery took place and reveals that he was willing to participate in the robbery to be "tough" like James King and Bobo.

5. Steve's testimony is significant, as he tells the prosecutor and jury that he doesn't recall where he was or what he was doing at the time of the robbery.

6. The closing arguments from Briggs, O'Brien, and Petrocelli are significant and provide a summary of the witnesses and evidence connecting James King and Steve Harmon to the crime.

7. At the end of the novel, James King is convicted and sentenced to twenty-five years in prison, while Steve Harmon is found not guilty.

There are many important events in Monster by Walter Dean Myers. Defining something as the most important in a text is up to the reader and the answers must be considered as subjective. (Subjective means something is based upon an individual's opinions and feelings.) Therefore, when examining the fifteen most important events in Monster, many lists will not be exactly the same.

Outside of that, one could look at the following as being some of the most important events in the novel.

1. The opening of the novel. In the opening, readers find out that Steve is in a cell in jail. He is describing why the best time to cry is at night. This is important given it shows his fear.

2. The "scene" between Steve and his family. Here, readers see how his family members are affected by his arrest and trial.

3. The scene with the transcriptionist and the court officers. This scene is important because it shows the lack of sympathy those involved in the court/trial process. The transcriptionist only wants the trial to be long so that she can make more money.

4. The flashback to Steve and his brother. This scene is important because it shows Steve as who he really is (on the outside).

5. The scene with Steve running from the man who was almost hit by a rock he threw. This scene shows Steve's mischievous side. Could be looked at as criminal to support those who believe him to be guilty.

6. The scene with Steve on the porch talking about making money. Again, this scene could be examined further to try to convince others that Steve is guilty if one does not believe he is.

7. The scene where Steve is with his lawyer and asks her if they are going to win. This scene is important because it shows his lawyer's difference of opinion regarding his trial. She states that "it probably depends on what you mean by "win." Certainly, each of them have a different view on what win means.

8. The testimonies. Each of the testimonies given either support Steve's defense or dispute them. The fact that many of those who testify in the trail have criminal records show the problems of the courts.

9. The verdict. The verdict scene is important because of how both Steve's mother and lawyer react. Reader's can see why Steve's lawyer has acted as she has throughout his trial and why his mother has stood by him.

10. The closing scene. The closing scene of the novel provides closure for some and anger for others. Therefore, the conclusion is not a conclusion for some readers. Instead, the conclusion leaves some feeling as if they have found no closure.

In the novel Monster, by Walter Dean Myers, the protagonist, Steve Harmon, is telling his own story (therefore, first-person narration) in play form.  He is incarcerated and awaiting trial.  Steve's story includes the present day (the trial) and flashbacks that reveal to readers, indirectly, Steve's true character.  The while Steve is the protagonist, the antagonist would seem to be the judicial system.  Steve, being black, has already been labeled as guilty (many of the subordinate characters support this thought) and, therefore, deemed a monster.  There is just as much internal conflict exemplified in the novel as external.  Steve's internal conflict surrounds the fact that he no longer recognizes himself and questions if he truly is a monster.

At the conclusion of the novel, Steve is found innocent.  Unofrtunatley, there are still people who question this- his lawyer (O'Brien) and his father (who has moved away because-according to Steve- he does not know who his son really is.)

Three important events in the novel are planning the robbery, the robbery itself, and the verdicts.

The structure of the novel allows for considerable ambiguity, but the reader is led to understand that Steve listened to the robbery plan but did not actively participate in it. As Peaches played a very similar role, it remains unclear why she was not likewise charged.

The robbery itself is the decisive incident, especially because it goes wrong so badly. From the perspective of Nesbitt, the deceased victim, whether Steve participated along with Evans and King does not make a difference. The violent outcome, however, makes the crime and his alleged complicity more serious.

The verdicts—not guilty for Stevie and guilty for King—help bring closure. Absolute certainty is of course not possible, but the reader who feels sympathy for Stevie will likely feel relief that he is freed and that justice is achieved for the innocent victim.

This question will have different answers to it, but I think you could find some level of common ground in what is articulated. I think one of the major events would be the trial, itself. Examining Stevie's state of mind during the trial through his own perceptions, the perspectives of the prosecutor and his own lawyer could also constitute as major events. A major event that is never really answered because it cannot would be whether Stevie actually committed the crime with which he is charged. Is he the "monster" as he is depicted? Certainly, the time he spends in his cell would constitute as another major event along with the verdict of the trial.