Monster & Incognegro

Monster and Incognegro, even though are two different books in many ways they have a lot of the same issues. Some of Incognegro bigger themes deal with "passing" which is acting similar to different race, or a different attitude, behavior. This in other words is a stab at cultural identity, not being able to be who you are because you will be refused certain privileges is unfair. Zane, the main character in Incognegro had to deal with this when he went down south. He had to dress and do his hair like a white man in order to be able to walk freely and not be lynched. Monster you could say also deals with "passing" Steven is not a "bad" kid, however he wants to fit in with the "Tough" guys so he starts mixing around with them. Both these books relate to power and privilege because for example, Monster if it was a group of white young adults, they may have gotten off easier, or not had the chance as automatically seen as guilty because they were of color. And in Incognegro, if Pinchy was white he wouldn't have gotten blamed for the murder of the women found in the woods. The police officer even said I never thought you did it, but we needed someone to blame. This shows that in these books white people do have more privilege.