Student Question

What does the jail cell symbolize in Monster?

Quick answer:

The jail in Monster is symbolic of the potential monster that Steve is. The mirror in Steve's jail cell causes him to question himself and wonder where he belongs.

Expert Answers

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The various settings are important pieces to Walter Dean Myers's Monster. The settings are important because of how they function in terms of the overall plot, but the settings are equally important in their symbolism and how they reflect Steve's inner conflicts.

A major part of the novel is Steve's inner conflict about what kind of person he is. Steve wants to believe that he is a good person; however, he is starting to believe that he is a monster. The jail doesn't help those thoughts. In Steve's mind, the jail partly serves as evidence that he is a monster. A reader could claim that jail is the home of monsters: it's the symbolic habitat of where evil dwells, and Steve's experience there confirms that notion. He is surrounded by people that he believes are truly monsters.

The jail houses violence. It houses fear. It houses betrayal. It's filled with everything that Steve doesn't want to believe about himself, yet the jail also houses a mirror. The mirror forces Steve to see his reflection, and that reflection has the jail as the backdrop. It has the names of previous inmates scratched on it. The mirror absolutely makes Steve question who he is and where he belongs. It shows him that the jail might indeed be his home, because he is a monster, and monsters live in monster caves, like a jail.

There is a mirror over the steel sink in my cell. It's six inches high, and scratched with the names of some guys who were here before me. When I look into the small rectangle, I see a face looking back at me but I don't recognize it.

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