ShmoopTube

00:04

Monster, a la Shmoop. There’s something in your closet… and

00:14

it ain’t just your laundry hamper.

00:21

When you first showed up on this planet . . . . . . there were only two people who really

00:25

mattered to you. But that didn’t last long.

00:28

By the time you left elementary school . . . . . . you cared a lot less what your ma and

00:32

pa thought. . . . . . and a whole lot more about what these

00:34

guys thought. Which isn’t such a bad thing, as long as

00:37

your friends stay out of trouble . . . . . . but what about when they don’t?

00:42

In Monster, Steven is a teenager on trial for murder.

00:45

From the opening of the novel, we’re not sure if Steven is guilty of a crime . . .

00:48

. . . or just a guy with bad luck who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

00:52

One thing we do know . . . . . . is that Steven could have used some

00:55

better friends. So why didn’t Steven just walk away when

00:59

James tried to recruit him as part of his “crew”?

01:01

Is peer pressure that powerful? Well, most of us don’t like being on the

01:08

outside. We want to be “cool.” We want to be accepted.

01:13

Even when we hear that little voice . . . . . . telling us maybe these aren’t the

01:16

kind of folks we should be hanging around with.

01:19

But you’ve got to admit, some people are hard to say no to . . .

01:23

. . . and fear makes us do a lot of things we know we shouldn’t do.

01:29

Steven might have gotten involved with James because he was afraid of what might happen

01:32

if he didn’t. Then again, maybe fear had nothing to do with

01:36

it. Maybe Steven was so unsure about his future

01:38

. . . . . . and tempted by James’ promise of easy

01:40

money . . . . . . that he let the loudest voice in the

01:43

room tell him what to do. That’s the thing about peer pressure . . .

01:47

. . . the people doing the talking make what they’re selling sound pretty sweet . . .

01:51

. . . and it takes a whole lot of strength to resist.

01:56

Some people are good at standing up for themselves . . .

01:58

. . . and some people aren’t. So, why do we have so much trouble resisting

02:03

peer pressure? Shmoop amongst yourselves.

Full Transcript