Monster

In the classical Greek plays, there is a chorus of observers who serve as prophetic interpreters of the drama taking place on stage. The comments of the chorus often foreshadow fated events or proclaim the folly of the main characters. In Myers’s narrative, the voice of the Greek chorus is provided by the unnamed inmates in Steve’s cell. They inform him of the painful, inevitable realities of being charged with a crime, with the helplessness of this situation, and ironies and hypocrisy of the system in which he ensnared. To a lesser extent, the prison guards also fulfill the Greek chorus role: telling him what he should do, chastising him for his actions, and revealing the futility of his condition.