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Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member documents the struggle between two large gangs. The book begins with the initiation of Kody Scott, at the tender age of eleven, into the Eight Tray Gangster trips.  He undergoes beatings, which forces him to fight back to prove that he is tough enough to join the gang.  His first action involves murdering a shootout with a rival gang member, and he quickly earns a reputation and becomes a gang member.  Kody worked hard to build his reputation, held loyal to his homeboys, and began his work of building up the Crips. His leadership potential became more apparent with time. The act of beating a man so ruthlessly led to his being branded as a monster when a police officer stated that whoever had done that must have been a monster.

Monster Summary

The chapters contain a great account of the triumph of Kody in a quest for survival over overwhelming odds.  From the time the monster joined the Eight Tray Gangsters, he aspired to be the greatest by achieving the status of the Original Gangster.  He recalls that since he would be proud of himself for flashing out a gang sign in his school photo, this was his sign of total devotion to the gang. It would take a long time for him to conclude that his life must change.

Throughout the book, he declares that he took part in many gang activities and admits that he was happiest when working for the gang. He claimed that he had killed many people, had been shot as many as six times, and was in and out of the hospital, but as soon as he got out, he would get shot again. He is later arrested and taken to Juvenile.

His time in prison led him to reflect on his past life, and he becomes conflicted about being part of a gang.  He distances his life from gangs and eventually sees the advantages of responsibility, especially to the family he once abandoned.  His once-elevated ideologies of gang life are distorted to the point that he sees his mistakes in his actions as a gang member.  He joins a Muslim group and acquires a new identity as a Black Nationalist. The odds he endured make him a true survivor who could move from a world of violence to peace.

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

The themes of this book are meant to show the lives of people in the gangs in South Central Los Angeles.  The life of Kody proves that any person can change for the better by the power of will. 

• Theme of Violence. The most dominant theme is the theme of violence.  The autobiography is filled with scenes of gang warfare and senseless violence.  Violence leads to the nonphysical or physical injury of the victims, and the book depicts various such incidences in association with drug abuse.  An illustration of one act of senseless violence is the incidence in which Kody kills both his friends and enemies for financial gain.
• The theme of Delinquency. It explains why many youths participate in criminal activities. Through Kody and the pressures placed in his path, the readers are enlightened on why Kody engages in delinquent acts.  Almost all chapters reveal the theme of delinquency, which exposes the cold-blooded killings caused by the Eight Tray Gangster group.  The group commits crimes such as robbery, kidnappings, jail riots, jail rapes, and police abuse. Kody’s involvement in these crimes led him to acquire the nickname monster.
• Theme of Family Relations. Another significant theme is the theme of family relations. Kody tells his readers about his family life and the economic destitution that the family lived in. His family played a significant role in his enrollment into a gang as his parents often had fights, he felt alone, and the only way he would belong was to join a gang.  The surrounding environment thus failed to teach him what was considered a normal life. The people who surrounded him had the most negative influence on him; if he had different role models, he would not have ended up in a life of crime.
• Theme of Religion. It is not depicted directly throughout the book; however, towards the end, the theme appears as Kody is converted to the Islamic religion. He changes his name to Shakur Sanyika and picks the Islamic Jihad notion of ‘struggle till death’ to combat the racist oppressors. Even though it took longer for him to acknowledge his wrongdoing, the author illuminates the significance of religion in propagating the change to society.  The perception is that religion has a significant influence on violence, and any person can change his life using religion.

Strengths and Weaknesses of the Book 

Every book has its strengths and weaknesses. The book, which is an autobiography of Kody’s criminal life, has its strengths focused on the fact that it has given readers an excellent opportunity to view the factual life of gangsters and criminals. It is written by someone who spent thirteen years as a gang member.  Unlike many books with a second or third perspective, Shakur Sanyika attracts the reader’s attention with his account of real-life events and less imagination.  Moreover, he brings the unruly South Central Los Angeles into a vivid view, making the readers feel the impact when reading.   

Despite the strengths, there are also some weaknesses in the book. In the first chapter, the author focuses on his poor background, which brings out the perception that his poor background is attributed to his enrollment into a gang. His family, however, did not contribute to his poor decision.  Some readers would want to be identified as Americans, and the fact that they are Italians or Spaniards does not mean that they come from Italy or Spain.  He also goes to great lengths in his depiction of the thug life as he paints a picture that is too brutal. The book also portrays blacks as aggressive people who fight racism with a crime. Such racial associations do not add value to the book but instead create flaws, as crime is not predisposed but affects all people.

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

Despite the weaknesses that the book depicts, the book unveils a lot of value in the context of criminal justice, criminological theory, and perceptions from the media and the public. From a criminological point of view, power is a great contributor to crime.  Kody, for instance, says that he joined the gang because it allowed him to develop his power.  He also acknowledges that his acceptance into a gang was the beginning of the loss of his innocence as he began doing things that he could not imagine a person as young as he would. By age sixteen, he had built his reputation, even to earn him the nickname monster.  Gaining a reputation is the major inspiration of a gang member; this is because with reputation comes power. The power that Kody longed for, which he finally got, led him to become the most feared gang member. He, therefore, reveals more about power and criminological theory.

Criminological Theories in Monster Autobiography

Criminological theories reveal that frustration and aggression contribute to crime. From a psychological point of view, aggression is when a person reacts to being frustrated. Kody, as shown in the autobiography, is frustrated by his poor background; he cannot achieve his goals and, as such, turns to aggressive behaviors to act as a counter to his frustrations.

Criminological theories further relate poverty to crime. In the Sanyika Shakur Monster chapter summaries, Kody is raised in a poor, unstable family, and he tries to depict how much he suffered before he decided to join the criminal life. His recruitment was based on the fact his miseries would finally end. Additionally, the theory also tried to reveal the length to which poverty in the surrounding environment can shape a person’s social life. 

Monster Autobiography vs Criminal Justice

The Monster Autobiography can also be placed in the context of criminal justice, which deals with minorities and ethnicity. The book condemns the capitalist society as Shakur shows that the ruling class of the United States has made the working class gravediggers. The black, thus, has a way of dealing with minority treatment and injustices by using guns.

The Differential Association theory states that “all behavior, pro-social and anti-social, is learned, and that we choose the most rewarding behaviors. Kody’s book adds to the understanding of this topic as Kody, during his initiation, had taken part in a shooting that left him feeling guilty. When the chance to choose between right and wrong came along Kody’s way, he chose wrong as he chose the approval of gang members over adherence to the law. Research has noted that there are push and pull forces that play a vital role in the shaping of a person’s life. Factors such as racism contribute to the increase in crime rates as black people who feel oppressed engage in crime. Shakur uses “struggle till death” to counter the oppression he faces.

Society and Cultures  

The Monster Autobiography is also a good illustration of sociology as it demonstrates how the various cultures co-exist in the culture of American society. It gives a great example of how people take on different societal endeavors. The provided information ranges from the various factors that lead up to the action of violence.  

Public perception lies heavily on the opinion that Monster provides a reader with new insight and new experiences of a seemingly chaotic world.  Shakur educates his readers about the chain life of gangs and acts as an eye-opener to the world’s dramatic gang lifestyles and revolutionaries. 

The Monster Autobiography thus provides an accurate perception of various topics in its powerful literature, which gives the reality of things that plague American society. It is a great information source that tackles society’s challenges in a realistic way that opens up the minds of its readers.

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