Monster

On p. 281, when Steve says "What did she see?", he's having an identity crisis. Throughout the book, you can't tell if he really did the crime or not, or if you are seeing the real Steve. The truth is, Steve doesn't even know if what he did was a crime. He's having a hard time realizing if he did something against the law or not, but once the jury says Steve's not guilty, he figures he's ok until Miss O'Brian looks away and doesn't take his hug, which leads him to question his identity.

On p.221, when Steve says "Truth is truth. It's what you know to be right," he saying that the truth is what will get him out of this case since he believes he's innocence. Steve is still new to the world and doesn't know that people will lie about anything to get out of something. He doesn't even know if he's guilty, the jury may find him that way.

On p.265, when King says "Naw, ain't nothing to it. If the man wants you, he got you. Ain't nothing to it, man." In this quote, King is pointing out the racial flaws in the court system. King is telling Steve that the chance he has will have to be bigger than the color of his skin. King believes everything is decided on race, but that may not all be true like how King got sent to jail but Steve did not.

On p. 143, Steve thinks this of a man in jail he's talking to, "He was trying to convince himself that he wasn't guilty." A fact is that Steve is doing the same things as the other man, so Steve may be guilty himself. Everyone in jail may be trying to tell themselves they're not guilty, but the court decides, not them, their fate.

On p. 159, when Steve says "and there was still to much Sunday left in my life," sunday is a symbol for racism. All the racism in the jail, courthouse, and in the world is all a bit to much for Steve. He wants everywhere to be like his home: safe and equal. Being blamed for the crime brought Steve out of his house and into the real world where he learned the hard way all the racism going on out there and how it affected his life.