Monster book autobiography

Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member

memoir by Sanyika Shakur

Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member is a memoir about gang life written in prison by Sanyika Shakur.

Background

When asked how Sanyika Shakur got his gang nickname "Monster" he replied, "Well, America produced me," but he basically said that he beat a dude so badly that the police said whoever did it was a monster, and the label stuck.[1] He also blamed the community he used to stay in as the reason why he joined a gang.

He said, "The community as a whole is sick," and continued to blame his environment for turning him into a criminal.[1]

In a book review by Counter Culture, they said, "Shakur does not blame his mother or his school for becoming a young gang banger."[2] Shakur also attributed his "understanding of life" to "Afro-centric Islam."[2] Larry Taylor wrote,"Older gangsters set the example, cultivate and train the younger boys, children." He said the reason children get into gangs is because of older gang members and that is why Shakur got involved.[3]

Major themes

Critics suggested that one of the main themes of Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A.

Gang Member is that violence does not solve anything.

He'd just done battle with the enemy, pumping eight blasts from a sawn-off shotgun into a group of rival gang members. From then on, Kody channeled everything into gang life - earning the gang name of Monster. Written from his prison cell, this autobiography is an account of the violent life of Monster Kody Scott. Gang Member describes sixteen years as a gangbanger in Los Angeles.

Coleman Jr. stated that Monster is filled with "senseless violence" and "gang warfare."[4] These two similar elements of the book fill the memoir and result in death, injury, and jail sentences. Metcalf mentioned a few themes of the book as "self-improvement, aspiration, education, and empowerment of minorities."[5] Overall the book displays force and power obviously throughout.

Style

Kakutani, from The New York Times, wrote, "The volume attests to Mr. Shakur's journalistic eye for observation," and has "novelistic skills as a story-teller."[6] Metcalf mentioned, "The stylistic features of Monster in terms of its narrative structure help the reader to understand the author's social, political, and cultural messages (regarding nonviolence and escaping the gang)."[5] Chill wrote, "Through Shakur's free flowing style," it is easy to read and called it "Ghetto Poetry."[7]

Reception

Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A.

Gang Member has received multiple positive reviews in the past several years. In one of Josephine Metcalf's passages from her journal, The Journal of American Culture, she says it is "noteworthy for its emphasis on both the frisson of violent gang exploits and the sober salutary reflection of politicized and educated hindsight."[5] Another positive review came from Michiko Kakutani, writer for The New York Times, in which she wrote that Monster is a "galvanic book" and even titles her article by describing the manual as "Illuminating" and "Raw."[6] Kakutani also praised Shakur's "quick, matter-of-fact prose" and wrote that his violent life was "memorably depicted."[8][9] Chill reviews this book and said it "answers many questions to how someone actually becomes actively involved in a gang" and is "introspective and analytical." Chill also stated, "Some will find it nearly impossible to put down."[7]

Monster also received a few negatives reviews.

Metcalf quotes David Brumble, who says he"scrutinizes Monster in terms of classical tribal warrior cultures, [and] believes that Shakur's preprison years are the most generative."[5]

Publication history

In , at the Frankfurt Book Equitable, Morgan Entrekin, publisher of Grove Atlantic Inc., announced that he had acquired world publication rights to Shakur's memoir, setting off a storm of interest in the book as an genuine document of the urban African-American experience.

A convention-goer from Sweden was quoted as saying, "We see so much of the violence of the American inner city; now here's a voice that comes from inside that can explain it to us." The rights to publish in at least seven foreign countries were quickly sold.[10]

Shakur claims to have made US$, from writing Monster.[11] Shakur also changed dramatically after publication and went advocate to criminal life with another sentence to jail in and many previous criminal activities.

Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member is a memoir about gang life written in prison by Sanyika Shakur. When asked how Sanyika Shakur got his gang nickname "Monster" he replied, "Well, America produced me," but he basically said that he beat a man so badly that the police said whoever did it was a monster, and the name stuck. [1].

He went to jail for violating parole.[12]

References

  1. ^ ab"Monster Kody Scott aka Sanyika Shakur- 83 Gangster Crip".

    Streetgangs. Archived from the original on Retrieved 19 May

  2. ^ ab"Book Review: MONSTER The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member". Counter Culture.

    Monster: The Autobiography of an L. Gang Member is a memoir about gang life written in prison by Sanyika Shakur. When asked how Sanyika Shakur got his gang nickname "Monster" he replied, "Well, America produced me," but he basically said that he beat a man so badly that the police said whoever did it was a monster, and the name stuck. He said, "The community as a whole is sick," and continued to blame his environment for turning him into a criminal.

    Retrieved 19 May

  3. ^Taylor, Larry. "Monster: The Autobiography of an LA Gang Member". Archived from the original on 11 September Retrieved 19 May
  4. ^Coleman (). "Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A.

    Gang Member".

    Account Options Connexion. Version papier du livre. Monster : The Autobiography of an L. Gang Member.

    ETC: A Review of General Semantics. 51 (2): Retrieved 16 May

  5. ^ abcdMetcalf, Josephine (December ). "Monster, Dreams, and Cultural Studies: Exploring Gang Memoir and Political Autobiography".

    The Journal of American Culture. 34 (4): – doi/jxx. ProQuest&#;

  6. ^ abKakutani, Michiko (23 July ). "Book of the Times; Illuminating Gang Life in Los Angeles: It's Raw".

    The New York Times.

    Monster : The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member - Google Books: Written in solitary confinement, Kody Scott’s memoir of sixteen years as a gangbanger in Los Angeles was a searing best-seller and became a classic, published in ten languages, with more than , copies in publish in the United States alone.

    Retrieved 16 May

  7. ^ abChill (16 June ). "Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member". Call & Post.
  8. ^Kakutani, Michiko ().

    "However Mean the Streets, Have an Exit Strategy". Modern York Times Book Review.

    “The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member” by Sanyika Shakur also known as “Monster” Kody Scott is a raw frightening portrait of gang life in South Central, Los Angeles. In the sixth grade he joined the Eight Tray Crips.

    Retrieved

  9. ^Kakutani, Michiko (). "Illuminating Gang Being in Los Angeles: It's Raw". New York Times Book Review. Retrieved
  10. ^Horowitz, Mark (December ). "In Search of Monster". The Atlantic Monthly.

    The Atlantic Monthly Group. Retrieved

  11. ^"Monster Kody (OG Crip)- Talking About The Manual "Monster"".

    Account Options Connexion. Version papier du livre. Monster : The Autobiography of an L. Gang Member.

    VoiceOfReezun. Archived from the original on

  12. ^"An Interview with Sanyika Shakur". kersplebedeb. Archived from the original on