Wednesday July 8th And Thursday July 9th Monster Notes

Wednesday July 8th Wendell Bolden was imprisoned for breaking and entering (B and E). Steve writes that the authorities take away shoelaces and belts to prevent prisoners from committing suicide.

Wednesday July 8th One of the prisoners (Sunset) asks if he can read Steve’s screenplay. Lynch is on trial for killing his wife. Detective Karyl describes the scene of the murder.

Wednesday July 8th The Detective Karyl admits that there were no fingerprints at the scene of the crime. An older prisoner told Steve, “If you do the crime, you have to do the time”. Osvaldo Cruz is a member of the Diablo’s. To become a member of the Diablo’s you have to fight another guy in the club to show heart, and leave your mark on somebody (cut them where it shows).

Wednesday July 8th Osvaldo Cruz has a tattoo of a devil’s head on his left forearm and a tattoo of a dagger on the back of his right hand between the thumb and forefinger. Osvaldo is 14 years old and the youngest member of the crew.

Wednesday July 8th Osvaldo was apprehended when he got in a fight with his girlfriend and she found out he got another girl pregnant. Osvaldo’s part in the alleged crime: Osvaldo was supposed to stand outside the drugstore and push a garbage can in front of a potential pursuer.

Thursday July 9th Steve realizes he can face a prison sentence of 25 years to life. Acie is another prisoner who held up a check-cashing place and shot the guard. He was to be sentenced for 25 years to life. Acie said, “All they can do is put me in jail, they can’t touch my soul.”

Thursday July 9th After the jury had left the courtroom, Kathy O’Brien took out the pictures of Mr. Nesbitt’s body and put them on the table in front of Steve. As Steve gets dressed for court he thinks about his mama in the kitchen ironing shirts.

Thursday July 9th A group of junior high school students come into the courtroom to view a real trial. Mr. Harmon told Steve he use to think about scenes of Steve playing football at Morehouse college.

Thursday July 9th Rudy Giuliani is the Mayor of New York at the time of the robbery. Rudy Giuliani was a real person. He was once a real Mayor of New York. In the book Giuliani has a press conference stating he is determined to stop crime in all areas of the city.

Thursday July 9th According to Osvaldo Cruz, Steve was the look-out for the drugstore robbery. To join the Diablo’s Osvaldo had to fight another gang member.

Thursday July 9th Osvaldo claimed he was scared of Richard “Bobo” Evans, and that is why he took part in the drugstore robbery.

Thursday July 9th Walter Dean Myers created a juxtaposition which means he placed to people (Osvaldo and Steve) near each other with the intention of comparing and contrasting them. In this this entry between Osvaldo age 14 and Steve age 16. He compared how they were both gang members, and both had supposedly been part of a robbery/murder.

Thursday July 9th In contrast Osvaldo was a troubled youth joining the Diablo's, getting a girl pregnant, and getting arrested for beating up his girlfriend. Steve may be a liar, but is a relative decent kid whose never been in trouble and now may have made some questionable decisions which are impacting his family deeply.