Plot Summary
Anthony "Spoon" Witherspoon has grown up in Harlem and returns home after his first semester away at an elite boarding school in Connecticut. Upon his return, he looks forward to spending time with his high school girlfriend, Gabi, an aspiring poet. But things have changed in the four months that he's been gone, and Gabi, unable to cope with the pressures of a dying mother, no money, and a brother who's started to run with gangs, is now addicted to heroin. This is a short, powerful novel that explores love, loyalty, and the interior struggles of a young man trying to stay faithful to two worlds that couldn't be further apart.
Critical Evaluation
One of Walter Dean Myer’s trademarks as an author is his portrayal of young black men making their way in a world that is rife with racism, drugs, and violence. In The Beast, Myers portrays a young man who has “escaped” the hard streets of Harlem by going off to a boarding school in Connecticut but knows that his ties to home make him who he is. As a character, Spoon is mostly noble and kind--he does his best to rescue his high school girlfriend, Gabi, from her heroin addiction. However, Myers adds complexity to the character of Spoon by also revealing his imperfections and moments of weakness when he is tempted by the wealth and ease of his new boarding school friends. The ending of the novel reveals Spoon to be an intelligent young man of integrity who has been accepted to Brown University but who finds a way to integrate Gabi and other parts of his old life into his new reality.
Reader’s Annotation
Spoon has returned to Harlem from his private boarding school only to find his girlfriend Gabi in the grips of a heroin addiction. Can Spoon rescue her and still hold onto himself?
Information about the Author
On his website, Walter Dean Myers writes, “I was born on a Thursday, the 12th of August, 1937, in Martinsburg, West Virginia. My name at birth was Walter Milton Myers. For some strange reason I was given to a man named Herbert Dean who lived in Harlem. I consider it strange because I don't know why I was given away.
I was raised in Harlem by Herbert and his wife, Florence. Herbert was African American. Florence was German and Native American and wonderful and loved me very much.
As a child my life centered around the neighborhood and the church. The neighborhood protected me and the church guided me. I resisted as much as I could.
I was smart (all kids are smart) but didn't do that well in school.
I dropped out of high school (although now Stuyvesant High claims me as a graduate) and joined the army on my 17th birthday.
Basketball has always been a passion of mine. Sometimes at night I lie in bed thinking about games I've played. Sometimes I think about what would have happened if I had gone into the NBA (I was never good enough) or college ball.
Anyway.... I wrote well in high school and a teacher (bless her!) recognized this and also knew I was going to drop out. She advised me to keep on writing no matter what happened to me.
"It's what you do," she said.
I didn't know exactly what that meant but, years later, working on a construction job in New York, I remembered her words. I began writing at night and eventually began writing about the most difficult period of my own life, the teen years. That's what I do.”
Genre
Realistic Fiction/ Problem Novel
Curriculum Ties
N/A
Booktalking Ideas
Briefly discuss Spoon’s absence (boarding school) from his and Gabriela’s perspectives.
Reading Level
Grades 8+
Challenge Issues
N/A
Why Included?
Walter Dean Myers is a granddaddy of YA literature, and I wanted to read a new novel of his. I found this one and thought I’d give it a try. His novels tend to be quite popular with boys, and so I’d like to be able to talk to them about a wide range of his books.
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