This story was published in the collection “Short stories from 145th street” In 2000. Monkeyman by Walter Dean Myers is a story that captures the African American experience in the neighborhoods of Harlem, New York. This is a young adult story and the main theme of this story is courage. The plot focuses on a guy named Monkeyman and how he stood up to his bullies. The bravery that Monkeyman showed influenced a positive change in the narrator.
Monkeyman | Summary
The narrator talks about what’s happening in their “hood”. There’s a new gang Tigros that has been stirring up trouble in an attempt to build up a reputation for themselves. They have even stabbed a kid. The narrator desires to leave that place as soon as possible, especially after what happened with Monkeyman. There’s a quiet kid who’s always reading, sometimes he climbs up trees and sits up there reading a book and that’s why he’s called Monkeyman.
One day a lady Tigro gets into a fight with a girl named Peaches. Peaches wins but as she’s returning the lady Tigro tries to cut her with a razor blade. Monkeyman sees this and stops that girl. The lady Tigro leaves but informs the whole gang about this incident and they all start to come after Monkeyman, threatening to beat him up or kill him. For some time nothing happens then comes a guy named Clean. He wants to join the Tigros but for him to get accepted, he needs to beat someone up. Clean plans to use the opportunity by hurting Monkeyman.
Peaches is grateful to Monkeyman for saving her and wants to do something to help him. She encourages the narrator and a few other friends to talk some sense into Clean. They try but fail, Clean lacks the brains to understand what they wanted to say. Clean tries to smuggle a knife into school and gets suspended. The Tigros group comes to the school and stands outside waiting for Monkeyman. One of the teachers calls the police and all of them are arrested, one of the guy’s from the gang threatens Monkeyman again. However, instead of being afraid, Monkeyman invites the gang to meet him at the Memorial Park at 11 pm.
The narrator and his friends go up to the park to watch what will happen. The narrator is afraid to see a huge group of rough-looking Tigros members. Monkeyman is late at first and people assume he left the town but he shows up with his grandfather and his godmother. He takes off his shirt and spreads his arms, waiting for the beating to come. Clean starts hitting him. A few more people gather up and watch Monkeyman get beaten. Soon, Clean loses interest and decides it’s no use wasting his time like this. They all leave and Monkeyman survives. However, later someone from the gang stabs Monkeyman. That guy gets arrested and gets a long sentence while Monkeyman struggles between life and death. After a while, he survives and talks to the narrator about being accepted into a good college. He says after his studies are over he’ll come back to this place to open a studio. The narrator says he’ll become a doctor and come back to this place to fix up guys like him. He has gained a new respect for Monkeyman.
Monkeyman | Analysis
Narrated in the first person by an unnamed narrator this is a thrilling short story about young kids getting caught up in trouble. In the neighborhoods of Harlem, there are many gangs. The young delinquents cause trouble and try to dominate others to establish their territory. In this story, the gang Trigros keeps causing conflict among the people living in that neighborhood. They stab people and beat them up as per their wishes. Everyone is scared of them as a result, even the narrator. However, Monkeyman shows courage and stands up to the bullies. He knows his life is in danger yet he tries to put his point across.
The narrator does not understand why Monkeyman lets Clean beat him up but Monkeyman’s purpose was to show everyone that he’s right and those bullies were wrong. He says “No matter what happened to me, everybody was going to know the difference” and he was right, the people standing there saw how unfair and ridiculous the fighting was. By not fighting back Monkeyman established that he was on the side of truth. Through his actions, Monkeyman shows that true courage means standing up for what you believe is right instead of getting involved in physical violence that causes unnecessary destruction and builds an unending cycle of revenge and brutality.
One significant thing to notice is how Monkeyman helped to change the narrator’s mind about his hometown. The narrator wishes to become a doctor and establish a nice life with a good house, a car and good money, away from the rough neighborhood. His family and friends think that such dreams are absurd. His friend even says “he has black skin but white dreams” this emphasizes how achieving a clean neat lifestyle in a good environment was something that only white people could achieve. This ideal version of life only exists for privileged people. The narrator’s uncle also warns him that leaving the 145th street could cause him to lose something precious. The narrator doesn’t listen to anybody and wants to take his chances. But the whole incident with Monkeyman shows him that there are also good things inside the neighborhood. He can become a doctor and still live here while helping the poor kids who get beaten up. To get away would be the selfish thing to do instead he can stay and help build a better environment for the kids growing up.
Another thing to see is how small things can lead to big trouble. When Monkeyman stops the lady Tigro from hurting Peaches, this good act caused more trouble for him. The whole gang came after him and eventually, someone stabbed him. The small conflict between the girls ended up in getting someone arrested and someone severely injured. There’s no kindness and empathy in those kids, despite being so young their lives are full of brutality.
The narrator says “it’s sad” after Monkeyman gets stabbed. It’s not only sad because Monkeyman was hurt but also because the guy who got arrested ruined his life, he’ll come out of jail after he’s all grown up. Basically, he ruined any possible good future for himself. All these kids becoming delinquents don’t realize how they are causing long-term damage to their lives for a few moments of glory. On a larger scale, it also reflects how African Americans living in the poor neighborhoods of New York experience so much oppression and hardships that young kids lose their ways in life. There’s no nice house, nice cars or nice money in their futures because they lack opportunities. The kids in this story are mostly misguided, they have either lost their innocence or they lack empathy. However, the character of Monkeyman stands in contrast to them. He’s a nice and studious kid, he helps people in trouble and he isn’t afraid to stand up for justice. He shows kindness and courage. Here the author establishes that despite the rough environment, good people can still exist. Even the narrator is a caring friend and he has aspirations to be a doctor.
Monkeyman | About the author
Walter Dean Myers was an American author. Myers served as the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature during 2012–13 and his works have been labeled New York Times best-seller many times. His best-known book is Monster (1999) which won the first Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in young adult literature. His stories are mostly for young adults and they are based on his experience as an African American living in Harlem.
