Walter Dean Myers, the author of the novel Monster, discusses the life of a character named Steve Harmon living in Harlem, while he is judged and teaches us life lessons about self-perception, peer pressure and judgment. Steve Harmon faces the obstacles thrown at him during his trial. At the beginning, Steve goes through a period of questions in which he wonders if he is really a monster and if he is a criminal as a prosecutor says. Steve deals with people's perception of him as a criminal by proving them wrong. Additionally, Steve faces the consequences of proving to his friends that he is a "tough guy." He quickly realizes that proving to his own friends that you are worthy by breaking the law is not worth it and that he must listen to his own instincts instead of trying to be others. Finally, Steve proves to the jury that their judgment that Steve is guilty is wrong and that they must first listen to his side of the story before judging. These are all good life lessons about self-perception, peer pressure, and judgment through Steve's character, and how everyone should use them in their daily lives. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay First, the novel provides good life lessons about self-perception by showing how powerful what people think about themselves is. Steve Harmon cares what the jury thinks of him, but he doesn't want it to define him and who he is. In his notes he writes: “Miss O'Brien looked at me – I didn't see her looking at me but I knew she was looking at me. She wanted to know who I was. Who was Steve Harmon? I wanted to open my shirt and tell him to look into my heart to see who the real Steve Harmon was.” In this case, Steve Harmon wants to be seen as a normal teenager, not a typical dark-skinned criminal as he is portrayed in society. This shows that there is more to him and his personality than the other prisoners. Steve questions himself and his actions help him understand himself better. When his father visited him in prison, he wrote: “I have never seen my father cry before. He didn't cry like I thought a man would. Everything was coming out of him and I hated seeing his face. What have I done? What have I done? ". This shows that Steve Harmon's parents are really hurt to see their son in prison and that Steve is also hurt that he didn't live up to his parents' expectations or that his parents assume that they raised their son badly. son. Through these moments, the way Steve views himself shifts and changes the way he sees himself and interacts with others in his life. These moments share with readers the lesson of self-perception. Second, the novel provides good life lessons about peer pressure by addressing the notion that people should trust each other instead of trying to please others. As a society, people need to start finding their own judgment when personally making decisions without letting others think for them. If someone other than you makes a decision, it will likely result in bad consequences or regret. In Steve's diary he states: “King curled his lips and narrowed his eyes. What is he going to do, scare me? Suddenly he looked funny. All the times I had looked at him and wanted to be tough like him, now I saw him handcuffed and trying to scare me.” This shows that Steve Harmon realizes that being tough and being someone else will cause you to break the law and possibly go.