Journal #3: Hostage Situation

If I was a hostage in a desperate situation I would try to discover an escape plan.  I would analyze every aspect of my situation and find a way to escape because I am a ninja.  I would use my special ninja skills to get out of there alive.  First, my kidnappers would take me because of my divine beauty.  My exact kidnapper would be Katie Hayes because she has always been jealous of my awesome personality and stunning good looks.  She would hire Audrey to distract me and then her friend Carl would tackle me and drag me into Katie's big suburban.   I would wake up in Katie's car, and then I would scream and shout until they pulled over and knocked me out.  Then I would wake up in a strange building full of kitten photos and smelly animals.  This was Katie's lair!  I ripped up some kitten photo's and Katie slapped me.  I was hysterical!! But I used my ninja skills to knock my evil competitor out of her senses.  Carl was trying to hunt me down after I chewed through the strong ropes that were binding my arms together.  Carl would turn every corner looking for me, but I was hiding on the ceiling because I can float sometimes if I focus a lot.  However, I sneezed and Carl found me but I floated away.  I then ran away but I shaved Katie's head for revenge before I left.  This was a very funny thing to do because Katie looks like Danny now.  I escaped with minor scrapes and bruises.  I forgave Katie though, because she thought she looked like Natalie Portman from V for Vendetta, but she did not at all!  I felt bad because she was so delusional, so I did not punish her more.  The haircut was bad enough Katie and I became friends after a while though, because Carl thought we should rekindle the friendship.  Her hair grew back and now she looks more like Slash, but we are best friends now.

Reflection Blog: Mary Rowlandson and Anne Bradstreet

Mary Rowlandson shows her Puritan views in this passage in many ways.  Puritan's basically followed religious morals and kept faith in their god although they were going through hard times.   Rowlandson wrote about her time in captivity due to the Native Americans.  She was not treated very well during this time.  The Native Americans did not provide her food or shelter. A page would not go by without mention of God or some religion related mention.  A quote that revealed that Rowlandson stuck to her Puritan views very well:

"And my poor girl, I knew not where she was, nor whether she was sick or well, alive or dead. I repaired under these thoughts to my Bible (my great comforter in that time) and that scripture came to my hand." (Rowlandson 85).

She said that her bible was "my great comforter in that time" which shows that she shows so much love for the bible and the story within (Rowlandson 85).  This is a good example of Puritan  writing because it shows that her faith was the most comforting thing she had in her life at one time.  Although her life was awful at this time, she still believed in her god and that her god would help her. She also showed that she was polite which can be a Puritan value.  She never though of how unfair her life was, she just kept looking forward to her life getting better.  She was never ungrateful for what life had thrown at her, which seems like a Puritan value to me. Another quote that explains her thankfulness for her lord is:

"I have since thought of the wonderful goodness of God to me, in preserving me so in the use of my reason and my senses in that tough time, that I did not use wicked and violent means to end my own miserable life."(Rowlandson 83).

This quote was so important to point out because it basically sums up the Puritan values very well.  Rowlandson was at the end of her rope, so to say, after the death of her "babe" or child (Rowlandson 83).  She thanked God for keeping her sane and keeping her from giving up on her life.  Puritan's were so faithful to God that they think that he is the reason that they live and breath for every second they spend on Earth.  

Bradstreet was also a very Puritan writer.  She wrote about how religion and God was so important to her during the burning down of her house.  She did not reveal her love for God as much as Rowlandson, but she still showed her Puritan values in her poem.  A certain passage from her writing stuck our as an important mention of God:

And to my God did my heart cry, to strengthen me in my distress, and not to leave me succorless (Bradstreet 91).

This shows that she turned to God in her time of need.  Bradstreet showed her love for God and her faith by showing that she wanted to cry to God for strength to get her through this event.  While she did not show as much evidence of her need for God and her thankfulness for God as Rowlandson, she still showed her Puritan values.  

Bradstreet, Anne. "Upon the Burning of Our House." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 89-91. Print.

Rowlandson, Mary. "A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Ms. Mary Rowlandson." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 80-86. Print.

Journal #2: Animal Hospitality

Back in the time when food was harder to come by, a fox decided to use all of her leftovers to make a small pot of turnip soup.  She gathered all of her turnip scrapes and even found some garlic to add to her soup! She cooked all day and night and finally her soup was ready for dinner.  When the soup was just a few centimeters from her tongue, she heard a knock at the door.  She decided to see who was there knocking at her door.  She opened up her door and what did she see? She saw her freeloading neighbor, the raccoon. The raccoon said to her, "Are you making soup in there? You know turnip soup is my favorite!".  The fox was a kind friend to the raccoon, so she decided to invite him in for dinner although it was rude to for the raccoon to ask.  The fox was slightly irritated by the raccoon's behavior, but she forgive him.  Then, it was finally time to sit down and eat.   The raccoon made himself comfy in the fox's seat.  Once again, the fox forgave his rude choice to take her seat.  The raccoon showed no sign of remorse for his rudeness, and kept the rude energy going all night.  He put his feet on the table, he did not wipe his feet off before he put them on the table, and he did not give thanks to the earth before digging into his meal.  The fox was near her breaking point!  The raccoon finally pushed the limits of rudeness when he slurped the soup.  The fox finally shouted, "Creator! Please punish my rude guest! He has made a mockery out of my hospitality and needs to be taught a lesson!". This is when the raccoon started to choke on the spoon he was not using and died.  This is a lesson to be taught to all people so they will know how to act when entering someone's house. Above all, please learn how to eat soup!

Jornal #1: Native American Tale (How the frog got his tongue)

There once was a little frog who loved to eat flies.  His tongue was normal sized and he could not strech his tongue to surprise them.  He would set a little trap made of leaves to catch them, and it was very complex and tough to make.  He eventually caught a whole family of flies, and was content for a long while! However, the flies grew mad at this little frog who ate their family members.  One day, the flies came up with a plan to outsmart the frog.  They decided that one of their family members would give their life to save the rest of them.  Therefore, a sacrifice was needed and it took many days and nights to decide.  They finally picked an old fly to do the job.  His name was Flies Softly.  Flies Softly did not want to die though! He was the oldest, so it made sense, but he still had many things in life that he wanted to do!  So, he thought of a plan to outsmart the frog and the flies!  He said that they should make a fly army, and attack the frog!  The frog heard of this plan and knew that his leaf contraption would not hold off an army!  So he frantically looked around his pond for something to help him out.  He came across a small village on the North side of his pond.  It was full of new settlers and they were all chewing something pink in their mouth.  There was an old villager who spit his out because the taste was gone.  The frog saw this and picked it up in his mouth and started to chew.  However, he started to choke and it got stuck on his tongue!  He kept flinging his tongue around, but the gum stayed on!  This was when the flies started to come, so he flailed his tongue at the army and it stuck to his new longer tongue!  This made him catch all the flies and kept him full for many days.  He decided to tell all of his friends about his new longer and stickier tongue, and they picked it up too!  That is how the frog got his long tongue!

Comparison Three

The last novels I would like to compare would be Fahrenheit 451 and the Moon is Down.  Each novel was very different from the other, but they shared some similar aspects.  In this summary, conflicts, theme, and characters will be analyzed.  Every aspect of the book is different between these two, but if the reader reads carefully, they will find that there are some key similarities between the two.

The conflicts in each novel are very different.  Fahrenheit 451 was all about Montag's struggle with wanting to read books and the books were outlawed.  The Moon is Down is all about the war.  If you look very closely, they each have a similar factor that contributes to the conflict.  Each novel had hints of achieving or maintaining a certian utopia.  The Moon is Down is about a war in which the invaders want to create a utopia eventually.  They want to make the world perfect for them, although that would not be perfect for others.  Fahrenheit 451 was about maintaining that utopia that was already thought of to be achieved.  However, the utopia is threatened by Montag and that is why Montag becomes a target after reading a few books.  Each of these novels share something, but they also have a difference.  Montag's society was broken down after many years of doing this same thing.  The town in the Moon is Down was never even slightly successful, so it broke down before it even began.  Each conflict was important to the novel.

The theme for each novel made them contrast each other as well.  The theme in The Moon is Down is that one power can not rule the world.  The theme for the other novel is that censorship is not a good solution.  Each theme can play into the utopian ideal.  One power cannot rule the world because that one power would adapt the world to be good to only him and not think of others very well.  Censorship also shows a similar idea because if you censor something, it will make one person happy but not an opposing person.  Each theme shows the similarities and the differences.  The differences are that the first theme is more adapted to war and to historical happenings.  Censorship is more or less related to the current problems in today's society of every one being offended by something.  It also discourages imagination and creativity.  These two themes are definetly different and similar at the same time!

The last analysis of this comparison will be about the characters.  The Moon is Down has many human nature representing characters, especially Tonder.  The other novel has a very human nature representing character, Montag.  These two characters are very alike because they both give into their human desires.  Montag gives into reading books and fighting for his right to read them.  Tonder gives into his lonliness and lack of human connection to go and trust an untrustworthy women.   Each character is very human and is represented in the book as so.  However, Montag makes the better decision because he ends up winning his conflict.  However, Tonder is not so lucky.  He gets murdered because of his human error.  These characters represent the same idea in different ways, that human's make mistakes.  Sometimes they work out, and other times they are not so lucky.

Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down. New York: Penguin Classics, 1942. Print.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Ballantine, 1996. Print.

Comparison Two

The next two books I would like to compare would be the Old Man and the Sea and Catcher in the Rye.  These seem to be similar because they both involve one main character going through a life changing experience.  In this comparison, conflict, characters, and writing style will all be compared.  These two novels both represent different time periods and struggles, but comparing them will help to understand them further.

The Old Man and the Sea and Catcher in the Rye had two very different conflicts.  The main conflict in The Old man and the Sea was that this old man was struggling to catch this marlin.  The Catcher in the Rye was about Holden's internal conflict of the fear of growing up leading to him to his mental and emotional breakdown.  These conflicts were so different, but a different conflict with the old man might be better to compare to Holden's.  The old man was struggling with himself to stay sane and to stay strong to win  the battle with this marlin.  He was constantly thinking aloud and trying to keep himself in check during his struggle.  These two conflicts were similar and different.  Holden was fighting to accept his step into the superficial adult world, while the old man was on the opposite end.  The old man was already old and was trying to catch this fish as a symbol that he can do it.  The conflicts of each novel revolve around the theme, so they are so differebt.  The conflict that interested me more would have to be The Old Man and the Sea.  It was a better struggle to watch unravel.  It was also so much more interesting because things were actually happen and there was action to be read about.

The characters in each novel were completely different from each other.  The old man is just a guy trying to make a living and prove that he is still capable of anything.  He is great when things get tough because he hangs on and tries to go for the prize.  Holden is a whiney teenager who is not emotionally mature.  He cannot handle pressure very well and is slightly hypocritical.  The more relatable character is probably Holden, because I know that I will face challenges of adult hood that will scare me.  However, the more likable character would be the old man.  He is someone who is just trying to get by and catch what he deserves.  He is not cynicle or difficult like Holden.  He is easier to respect and would make a better role model for the reader.

The writing style of each novel was very different.  Hemingway has a classic and complex writing style.  There are many hidden meanings and messages in his writings.  Salinger writes very interesting.  He is very keen on dialougue and he makes his characters voice his own.  Salinger is easier to read.  It is also more interesting to read because the perspective was spot on.  Having a first person novel is a lot more interesting than a narrating third person novel.  If the writing style was a contest, I would have to go with Salinger.  Because of the time period difference of writing, I do not think Hemingway would be appealing to the twenty-first century mind.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

Comparison One

To compare all of the books I read in one blog would be a challenge, therefore, I will break them up.  The first two I would like to compare would be The Old Man and the Sea, and The Moon is Down.  These novels were both on the required portion of the reading list, and I thought they were both very good.  I plan to compare the theme, the charcters, and the authors.  All of these aspects are what set them apart and what makes each novel good.

The theme of each novel were very strong with the story.  The Old Man and the Sea had a theme of never giving up when life gets hard.  This theme was very different from the Moon is Down because the Moon is Down is about a completely different aspect, war.  These two themes were so completely different that they were hard to compare.  I think if I had to go with a theme that I thought was better to learn, it would go to Hemingways lengthy story.  I liked this theme more because it had to do with the human spirit and how it is important for people to have hope.  The theme in The Moon is Down is a better theme for society to follow because it is about how one power should not control the whole world.  They are both important, but personally I am a fan of the Old Man and the Sea's theme.

The characters in each novel were also very different.  First of all, The Old Man and the Sea had basically one character, which was Santiago the old man.  There were many character in the Moon is Down.  The old man was a more classic character that represents more good than anything.  The characters in The Moon is Down were less developed because they were less focused on than in the single character story of The Old Man and the Sea.  My favorite character from each novel would be the Mayor, and the old man.  They were much like each other, but the old man was a much stronger character.  The mayor was not as specialiized as the old man.  For this reason,  I think the old man was a better character than any of the ones in The Moon is Down.  He had more attention from the author because he was basically the only character.  He is a good influence to look up to in the literary world.

The authors are also very different.  Hemingway has a more artful and skillful writing style.  It is very desciptive and classic way of writing.  Steinbeck is more to the point and does all he has to.  They are hard to compare because they are so different.  Hemingway's writing was a little harder for me to understand because he is from a different era, so I would prefer to read Steinbeck.  It is just way easier to understand Steinbeck's point of writing and his literary devices.  He makes no confusing hidden meanings and it was relaxing to read rather than puzzling.


Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down. New York: Penguin Classics, 1942. Print.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

My Least Favorite Novel

My least favorite book would have to be Fahrenheit 541.  This novel was much like a novel I have read before, 1984 by George Orwell.  I really do not like the idea our world becoming such a restricted place.  This novel was very boring to me and I was not a fan of the storyline, the strange writing style, and the fact that the chapter dragged on.  The storyline was not my favorite because I really did not like the way everything seemed disconnected.  The many characters were not strongly developed, the descriptions were vague, and I dislike thinking about the brainwashing of a society.  These small factors all added up to a unappealing book to read.  The characters were just sprung upon the reader and then they were not described very well.  Bradbury would say one certain thing about the character, then disrupt it with another thought.  Also, the descriptions were short and not very good.  I felt like I was always left wanting to know more.  On the flip side, there were some instances where he was too desciptive.  Those times left me wondering, "Do I even care about this?".  I asked myself a lot when reading this novel, and that is not a good sign.  My answer was also not a good sign.  I also did not like the topic.  It made me uneasy to think about.  The fact that could happen in our world makes me not want to read this book because I would rather not think about it.  One last reason I did not like this book is because each chapter dragged on.  There were not that many, but they were such long chapters!  It left me thinking please just let this part end!  It was very annoying to have each chapter going on and on.  Although this novel is considered a classic, it was very tough for me to read personally.  I am sure that if I was older I would value the book and its message.

My Favorite Book

My favorite novel to read was The Moon was Down.  This novel had three of my favorite aspects: it was short, it was interesting, and the writing style was excellent.  John Steinbeck is a excellent author and I often find that I enjoy all of his novels that I take the time to read.  The first factor that made me like this novel was that it was short.  It was not unnecessarily long like other "classic" novels.  It was to the point and never strayed from the main storyline.  It was mostly short, but it was also very interesting.  War is always interesting because sometimes it seems so pointless.  There should always be a point if you are going to fight so much.  Thus, this was a reason that I was interested in learning more about the details of the story.  It was also interesting because there was more stories within the main story.  There was the story about the soldiers and the story about the civilians.  The variations of the story kept it interesting and kept the story different.  The varying different points of view was definetly a positive aspect of the story.  This novel was just in general very well written and a great pleasure to read.

I also enjoyed the writing style of Steinbeck.  He writes in a very to the point, yet descriptive way.  He did not ignore the emotions of the characters either.  He made what they were feeling very clear.  He portrays human emotion so well in his writing.  Steinbeck also knows when to stop writing.  He writes as much as he needs to, no more, no less.  This is a great writing skill to have because if you end up writing too much, it sounds like a run on story which is not enjoyable.  If you write too little, it makes writing vague and uninteresting.  Steinbeck has the artful touch on writing that makes him such a pleasure to read.

Fahrenheit 451: Character Description

Guy Montag:  Guy Montag is the main character of this novel.  Over the duration of the novel he becomes a book-loving rebel rather than his old follow the rules persona.  He is a firemen.  However, he burns books rather than putting out fires.  He is very brave, because reading in his society is outlawed.  He risks his job and even his life just to read a few books.  He breaks free from his brainwashed society and begins to imagine and love books.  He knows that it is very dangerous to stash books and to read them secretly, but it is worth the risk in his opiinion.  He progresses into a new person through his discovery of literature.  He ends up breaking free from his society and meeting other readers like him in the countryside.

Mildred Montag:  Mildred Montag is a brainwashed zombie of a person.  She is married to Guy Montag, yet their marriage has no value to either of them.  She is an empty shell of a woman and only cares about watching television and listening to her radio.  She is not emotional toward her husband what-so-ever.  She would rather watch television then spend time with him.  She also ends up betraying her husband by turning him into the firemen for his possession of many books.  This is her final act in the novel that shows how messed up she is.  She will not be able to change as Montag had because she is so brainwashed.

Beatty: Beatty is a fire captain, more specifically the captain of 451, which is Montags division.  He is the antagonist of the book and hates when people read books and thinks that they should all be burned, as does society.  He is very smart and devilish and he tries to threaten Montag.  However, he is killed by Montag after he ordered him to burn his house down because he possesses books, and wanted to arrest him.  Beatty had lots of power over Montag and his decisions were what led to his death in the end.

Faber:  Faber is the only true ally of Montag.  His is a retired english professor and thinks that books should be allowed.  After talking to Montag a long time ago at the park, they see each other again and dicuss books.  Faber helps Montag develop a plan to get books back into society.  Faber goes down to print more books and hopes that this will change the world.

Clarisse:  Clarisse is a very beautiful seventeen year old girl.  She is a very free spirit and she embraces the beautyy of the world around her.  Clarisse is also the original source to Montag's change.  She introduced him to the world of beauty around him.  She asked him a simple question about if he was happy or not, and that changed his life very much.  He realized how hopeless his life was after his encounter with her.  Unfortunely, Clarisse was killed by a speeding car.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Ballantine, 1996. Print.

Fahrenheit 451: Relationships effected by history

This novel was set into the distant future, so it was hard to compare this to history.  Once again, I will compare it to the book burning during World War II.  However, there are many relationships that are effected by the fact that this is the future.  Some effected relationships were husband and wife and boss and worker. The husband-wife relationship is very effected by the censored world.  Montag and Mildred are not affectionate toward each other at all.  They barely seem to notice each other at times.  Montag even admits that he does not truly love Mildred, who is a brainwashed boring blah.  Mildred is basically an empty shell of a person, consumed in the brainwashed society.  She was glued to the television and fears the fact that her husband is interested in literature.She does not seem concerned by the fact she turned in her husband to the firemen.  She probably did not blink when she called the authorities. Montag wishes that he loved her, and even is emotional about the fact that he would not be upset if she died.  This is sad because husbands and wives should love each other very much.  The somewhat historical reference in this novel to this relationship is that in the future, people are just paired together and it does not matter if they like each other or not.

A second relationship in this novel is the boss and worker relationship.  This is the relationship of Montag and Beatty.  Beatty is very cruel and follows the rules exactly.  This makes Montag's situation of wanting to  let people read books very tough.  Beatty wants Montag to come to his senses, but Montag is set on having books in his life.  This is when Beatty thinks Montag should burn his house down to make him weak.  This relationship is obviously not very good.  Beatty likes the power he has over Montag and want to make him do things he does not have to do.  Beatty likes the boss status he has over Montag.  This is a reference to the history of the future because it shows how corrupted the world has become.  If a boss can abuse his workers, it is a very cruel world.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Ballantine, 1996. Print.

Fahrenheit 451: Engaging the Audience

There are many engaging techniques used by Bradbury to keep the audiences interested in the novel.  One is suspense.  Suspense is a very important to a novel because if the reader is not left wondering, there is basically no desire to keep reading. An example is the beginning.  The reader was instantly entranced by the strange feeling he started the novel with.  Then, he saw a girl.  He used Montag's uncertainty to make the reader wonder what was going to happen.  Would something pop out at him? Would he see a person? Would he see nothing?  All of these questions ran through my head in just the first two pages! There was a great suspense that lingered through each page and chapter and it made the novel way easier and better to read!  Another mechanism used by Bradbury was the futuristic aspect.  This made the novel more interesting to read because he could create futuristic inventions and creations.  This made the book fun to read because no one has ever heard of a "Mechanical Hound".  This made the novel way easier to imagine and read.  Also, the fact that this story could be in our future is very engaging.  You do not want to live in a world like this novel.  It would be very scary and very discouraging to be censured in such a way like in this novel.  The fact that this could be our world in a matter of years made the readers keep reading so they could know what not to do and what to do if this was to happen to our society.   One last technique used by Bradbury was mystery.  It was a constant mystery to think about what would be the fate of Montag.  It was very mysterious because you never knew what would happen next.  On one instance, Beatty does not seem like a huge threat to Montag.  Next thing you know, Beatty is threatening Montag's life!  This slight mystery added so much engaging energy in the novel.  This technique is great to use in such a creepy subject such as this.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Ballantine, 1996. Print.

Fahrenheit 451: Why is it timeless?

This novel is timeless for many reasons.  First of all, it has many important themes that make people want to keep reading it.  Also, it is set in the future, and the possibility of the future being like this is not appealing, so people want to read it to prevent that happening.  One last reason is that the characters are very timeless.  To begin, the important themes in this novel keep it popular to read.  Nobody wants to live in a world of censorship and constricted behavior.  The theme of censoring what people think, hear, and read is sickening.  This theme will be strong forever because there is always a possibility of books being banned.  Some books start off by being banned by schools or even towns.  This is crazy because it is just a book.  Books do not control people! It is just a creative outlet or and informative story and they should never be restricted to read.  Every book should be cherished, even if it is not very good.  Another theme of the creation of a unattainable utopia make people want to keep reading it as well.  Many people think that a perfect world can exist, but they are wrong.  If the world was perfect to one person, it would not be to another person.  It just depends on personalities and opinions.  And there is no way that everyone in the world will agree on something.  It is just impossible.

Another reason this novel is so timeless is because there is a possibility of it happening.  This novel is based on the future, which means it could happen.  There is a possible way that someone could change the world like this and make everyone brainwashed to think a certain way.  People want to read this novel to prevent something so horrible from happening.  In a way, this novel is a guide on what not to do when trying to progress the world.

One last reason this novel is timeless is because of the characters. mostly Guy Montag.  He is so timeless because he represents that hero who stands up and resists the rules.  Everyone loves a rebel!  He represents the spirit that goes into risking your life for you beliefs.  Montag is just a great character because he is relate able.  Montag is a very good reason that this book can be read generation after generation.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Ballantine, 1996. Print.

Fahrenheit 451: Reflection of history, behavior and social issues

This novel was set into the future, so it is hard to think of some historical reference involved in this novel.  However, maybe the story was inspired by a historical happening.  The only reference that is strong in my mind is the fact that during World War II, there were anti-Semitic book burning events.   This was because Hitler was very racist and did not want anyone to be exposed to Jewish literature and culture in general.  Hitler's plan was to create a perfect society, much like this novel.  This novel was possibly a comparison to what would happen if someone so narrow minded tried to establish the perfect society.  The burning of the books just represents that the leader wants to keep opinions related to theirs.  The only way to make a world perfect is to brainwash people into thinking it is perfect.  Even so, human nature will shine through and it will eventually collapse.  This is a historical reference to this because it is so similar.

Some behavioral and social issues relate with the history.  The brainwashing of these people are social and behavior issues because it helps them keep in check so there are no uprisings or resistances.  It is slightly more behavioral because they want the people to act and think in a certain way.  The brainwashing prevents them from desiring to have creativity and imagination.  This behavioral issue is in the novel because it is a popular theme within futuristic novels.  Many people think that the future will develop into a narrow minded and lazy society where free thought will be eliminated.  The reason for this is because of the corruption of leaders that we have in today's society.  The longer someone has power, the more corrupted they seem to get.  This is a projected future behavioral issue because it seems likely for the future.  The social issues in this novel is that no one wants to be social.  They would rather listen to the radio or perhaps watch television.  The reason for this is because conversations encourage creativity, and that is not necessary in this society.  Bradbury did a great job showing these issues in this futuristic novel.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Ballantine, 1996. Print.

Fahrenheit 451: Hero

The hero in the novel, Fahrenheit 451, is obviously Guy Montag.  He stands up for what he believes in against his backward society.  He fights for the freedom of books and the freedom of thought.  He even risks his life just to read a few books.  Some qualities that Montag possesses are bravery, strength, and the ability to take risks.  These qualities helped Montag accomplish what he needed to.  His bravery helped him get started in this adventure.  He was very brave to take the risk of stealing some books to hide in his home.  He was risking his job and his life just to read some books.  His bravery also kept him reading and helped him challenge society and Beatty.  He even was brave enough to stand up to Beatty and show him why he liked books so much.  He was also brave enough to run into the country and start over with the other book lover that were exiled there.  Montag also possessed strength.  He was strong enough to carry on while he was being chased into the country.  He was strong enough to fight the Mechanical Hound and Beatty and the rest of society.  He was chased but he never gave up, and that showed his tremendous strength.  Montag also has the ability to take a risk.  He took his first risk when he took some books to hide in his house.  He was even risky enough to read a poem out loud to his book fearing wife and her friends.  He also was risky enough to run from the city and start anew in the country.  All of these qualities made Montag a very strong hero.

He accomplished so much as well. He bro ke through the censored world to find the new world that lay in books.  He found out so much more about himself.  He also accomplished to start a revolution by teaming up with Faber to reprint some new books.  He also will achieve a society because of the end of the other one because of the bombings.  He accomplished a lot for himself and for the world in this novel.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Ballantine, 1996. Print.

Fahrenheit 451: Human Nature

The events in this novel, Fahrenheit 451, were very much involved with human nature.  If Montag did not have human free will or human error, then none of the events in this story would have happened.  Because of his human free will, Montag was able to look past his censored world and find out that life is able to live, not just go through.  It is human nature to sometimes rebel.  It is a good portrayal of human nature because it is a positive way of showing how some humans work.  Montag goes for the correct cause because the world he lives in is so gloomy and depressing.  Guy Montag goes from a very obeying and brainwashed human, to a resistant free thinker just because of the complex art of the human nature.

Ray Bradbury interpreted human nature very well in this novel through more then just Guy Montag!  He also showed it through brainwashed Mildred, Montag's wife, in a more negative way.  He showed Mildred was like many humans who would turn in someone important to them just because they were threatened.  It is in human nature sometimes to just go with the popular group.  This is the extremely negative side of complex human nature.  It is also very disappointing to know that there are many humans that would do this, but that is the ugly truth.  Human nature is also represent through Beatty in the same way it is in boring Mildred.  Beatty just enforces what society tells him to.  He goes with the popular crowd and also likes the power he has.  Since he is a head fireman, he also craves the power of commanding people.  This is also an aspect of human nature because some humans crave power.  Eventually, it leads to his downfall, much like other power hungry leaders in history. It is very good that Bradbury made these characters to represent the more negative and scary side to human nature.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Ballantine, 1996. Print.

Fahrenheit 451: Universal theme

The universal theme of this novel is that creative outlets should not be censored.  To censor a book is to take away people's free will and free thinking skills.  Life would be boring if people were not allowed to try and change certain things.  This censorship of books created a world where people never stopped to enjoy the life around them.  There have been a few instances in history where this has happened.  In World War II, people would burn books written my Jewish authors and books about Jewish culture.  This was probably what inspired Bradbury to write this because he did not want history to repeat itself.  This theme is important for any reader to know because no person should want to take away free thought.

A second universal theme in this novel is the creation of a utopia.  The burning of the books in this novel showed that life in this era was trying to create a utopia sort of world.  This is unattainable because there is no such thing as a perfect world because everyone has a different definition of perfect.  A perfect world is only attainable unless you brainwash everyone, which was kind of done in this novel.This novel reminded me so much of George Orwell's 1984. Both novels contain levels of censorship related things and the creation of a perfect world that was not so perfect.  They also had brainwashing mechanisms like the radio things in their ears in Fahrenheit 451 and the two minute hate in 1984. These two novels will probably be compared for a long time.

Another universal theme in this novel is do not be afraid to rebel, as long as it is for good reason.  Montag rebels against his society because he sees how wrong it is to censor opinions and free thought so much!  This theme is universal because it is important  for everyone to know to stand up for their rights.  If people do not stand up for their rights, then they will not get them.  This is a greatly important theme.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Ballantine, 1996. Print.

Fahrenheit 451: Causes for the Gains and Losses in the Conflict

The conflict in this novel was that Montag was fighting a battle between Beatty and society's opinions and enforcement on the rules of books.  There are many events that cause the conflict to experience gains and losses.  Gains and losses to the conflict are important because it helps the reader stayed focused on what is going on in the novel.  It keeps the novel from getting boring because, what is a story with no losses or gains?

One of the causes for a loss to the conflict is when Clarisse is killed.  This makes Montag even more dissatisfied with life and it looks like he is going to have trouble going along.  However, this make Montag more interested in living life more like Clarisse.  This is a loss in my opinion because it was a great loss to the main character.  Another loss to the conflict was when Mildred's friends went to report Montag for reading the poem to them.  This was a loss because it put Montag at risk and would possibly be fatal to him.  This was a loss to the conflict because it might have made it become harder for Montag to resolve the conflict for his benefit.

Another gain to the conflict was what started it, Montag hiding his books.  This was the beginning of his rebellion, so it was basically the start of the conflict.  This act of him hiding his books in the air ventilator sparked his resistance to censorship.  This was a gain because it basically started the conflict.  One gain to the conflict is the climax, when Montag murders Beatty.  This shows how much Montag values books and freedom of thought.  This is the climax because it is the peak of the conflict.  Montag finally had a chance at becoming free and this shows it.  However, he is still chased until he reaches safety with the "book people".  This was a gain to the conflict because it helped the story move closer to the outcome.  

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Ballantine, 1996. Print.

Fahrenheit 451: Author's values and attitudes, perspective

Fahrenheit 451 is a book that orients around the perfect society and human nature theme.  The reader can gather many of the author, Ray Bradbury, attitude and values from this novel.  Bradbury probably values imagination, freedom, and creativity.  The reader can tell these are important to him because he writes of a world without any of those things, and the world fails.  Imagination is important because Bradbury creates the character Clarisse. Clarisse is different than any other character in the book because she enjoys life rather than just walking through it like other characters in the novel.  She represents Bradbury's value of imagination because she makes Montag realize how sad his life is.  Bradbury also values freedom.  The reader can assume this because the way Bradbury makes society so constricting.  People in this society are all basically robots and cannot have free thinking.  Books are burned so that they cannot have their own opinions and they cannot find out how to think for themselves.  Literature encourages free thinking, therefore authorities took away freedom by destroying literature. One last value that can be seen through Bradbury's work is creativity.  Books are inspiring and they make readers want to create something of their own!  In this novel, creativity was feared and shunned.  The firemen are supposed to burn books so that no one will try to be creative.  These values are all feared and discouraged in the novel, but it makes the reader value them more because a world without them seems awful.

Bradbury's attitude in this novel was righteous and rebellious.  Bradbury obviously hates the fact that books can be banned so he wrote this novel.  He shows a world of small-mindedness and it is not a good world.  His attitude is shown through the main character, Guy Montag.  He makes Montag a rebellious character to show his attitude during this novel.  He shows through Montag that this banning of books will always be seen through by righteous people and that it will not last.

The perspective of this novel is from Montag's point of view.  The author still shows some vague thoughts of the other characters so the reader can see more into the story.  This is a good perspective for this novel to be written in because the reader knows certain things other characters do not.  

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Ballantine, 1996. Print.

Catcher in the Rye: Secondary Characters

Phoebe Caulfield:  Phoebe is Holden's younger sister. Phoebe is very wise for her age.  She loves her brother Holden and worries about him a lot.  Holden often seeks advice from Phoebe and enjoys talking to her because she is very smart for her age.   She is very caring and she wants Holden to get back on track.  She keeps his secrets, but does not exactly like to. She is not in the novel that much until the end, but she is a very important person to Holden.

Jane Gallagher: Jane is never directly in the novel, but Holden thinks about her very much.  Holden really likes Jane and they were friends when they were younger.  Jane is the one Holden wants to go out with, but he never has the nerve to call her.  She is a symbol of Holden's longing for human relations, but he never is mature enough to take it to the next level.  Although Jane was not in the novel, she was a very important character and symbol.

Sally Hayes;  Sally Hayes is one of Holden's beautiful former dates.  He only likes her because she is pretty and tried to make a move on her.  She did not want to because Holden was not treating her right and they did not really have anything in common.  She was in the novel to show how much Holden wanted to be with a girl.  He was tired of being lonley and tried to be with her.  She is basically a symbol of Holden's lonliness.

Allie Caulfield:  Allie was Holden's brother who died of an illness.  Holden loved him very much and thought about him often.  Allie's death was very hard on Holden.  Allie was always cheerful and really smart.  Allie's death might be a reason that Holden is scared to grow older.  Holden speaks to Allie when he is sad or confused.  Allie is a symbol of the innocence of childhood that Holden values.

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 2001. Print.

The Moon is Down: Conflicts

When I first thought of what the conflict was in this novel, I thought the war.  Of course it would be the war! There are many other events that go on in the novel, but the main conflict of course is the war.  This conflict is external because it is between two outside forces.  The protagonist is the whole town that is invaded, and the antagonist are the invaders who try and control the town.  For a long time, it seemed that the conflict was very boring and that there was not much going on with the war, more with the people it involved.  That is when I discovered all of the smaller conflicts that reside in the novel.

The war is of course the main conflict.  It was between the townspeople and the invaders.  However, this war did not have a great amount of fighting.  The townspeople were just cold and mean to the soldiers.  They did not fight back until the end of the novel.  This conflict was the biggest in the novel but it seemed to linger through the pages like it was unimportant.  It was not fully resolved in this novel because the ending was so abrupt and it just foreshadowed what was to happen.  Therefore, this conflict was different than any I had seen.  It was overshadowed by other events happening.  This was definetly a strange conflict.

A smaller conflict that I discovered was the internal conflict that Tonder faced.  He was wearing thin with his nerves and he was beginning to think of doing foolish things.  He admitted to his fellow soldiers that he was growing more lonely and homesick day by day.  He was advised not to go after any women, no matter how lonely he was.  He was advised not to do other things as well, but he went ahead and went to go meet a women.  He lost the internal conflict with himself because he acted on his impulses rather than thinking them through.  His weakness was his downfall and he ended up getting murdered by the women he wanted to be with.

Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down. New York: Penguin Classics, 1942. Print.

The Moon is Down: Character Desriptions

Mayor Orden:  Mayor Orden is a very likable character in this novel.  He is kind, compassionate, and quite caring.  He cares for his workers, his town, and his friends.  He is very well liked by his town.  However, after his town is invaded, he loses some popularity.  He is believed to be working with the emeny, until he begins to help out his people small ways.  He risks his life to save two brothers that want to escape to sea.  He also helps Molly get through the death of her husband Alex.  He sends Annie there to help her out, because he cannot be there for her.  He also helps Molly after she murders a soldier to avenger her husband.  He helps her by giving her intructions to stay with his cousin after he knows of her trouble.  These are factors that lead to his fate, but he faces his fate very bravely.  He is truely a great character in this novel.

Doctor Winter:  Doctor Winter is the smartest character in this novel.  He is basically an unofficial leader of the town because he is so wise and so calm.  Doctor Winter is also the best friend of Mayor Orden.  He helps his friend make wise decisions and also helps him understand situations easier.  Doctor Winter is also the person who thought of the idea to ask the English for small dynamite to help his town fight back.  He knew that this was a wise choice so it would not be obvious to who did the damage.  He also is a very calm man because when he faces death, and his good friend faces death as well, he talks about a passage they spoke back in school.  This is just a way to calm his friend and himself down and think of a simpiler time.

Molly Morden:  Molly is the wife of the one of the first men killed by the invaders.  She is a strong, kind, and vengeful women.  She goes to Mayor Orden after hearing about her husband's fate and begs him to do something to help him.  After he let's her know there is not much he can do, she knows what will happen to her husband and has to be strong about it. After his death she is still kind to the people who treat her right, but she has changed into a vengeful person toward the soldiers.  When Lieutenant Tonder shows her his vunarability, she takes her chance to avenge her husband.  After she murders Tonder, she escapes town and is safe from the soldiers.

Lieutenant Tonder:  Lieutenant Tonder is a character that the audience is supposed to feel sorry for.  He starts off as a soldier who is pretty strong, but over the duration of the war loses some sense,  He let's his nerves get the best of him and gives into the feelings he starts to feel.  He begins to feel lonely, weak, and homesick.  He wants to be with a women again because the war has not allowed him to because all the women in the town dislike him.  He also wants to just go home.  The reader can see the progression of his breakdown as he becomes more hystarical and the reader notices that he will soon make a mistake.  The mistake he makes is trusting a women.  This women is none other then Molly Morden, a women who's husband his army killed not long ago.  He is murdered by this women because of his desperate lonliness.  He represents the more human side to the soldiers, and shows that they are not as strong as they thought.

Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down. New York: Penguin Classics, 1942. Print.

The Moon is Down: Engaging the Audience

This novel was very interesting and engaging to read.  It was so for many reasons.  It was suspenseful, it was somewhat mysterious, and it was serious.  These factors all helped the audience read on to find out the conclusion of the novel.

The suspense in the novel was always lingering on every page.  With each chapter, you learned more about what was going on, but not too much to spoil what would happen next.  One great example of when suspense was used was when Tonder visited Molly Morden the second time.  You knew that she was thinking about murdering him when she hid the scissors, but the audience was not quite sure if she would go through with it.  However, you did not learn the outcome of this event until the next chapter, when other soldiers were talking about how Tonder should have steered clear of women and stayed stronger.  You also learn from Corell later that Molley escaped town with the help of the mayor and had not been caught.   This suspenseful event made the audience keep reading so they would know how this event would unfold.  Suspense is such a great addition to a book because suspense is vital to a story.  If the audience does not wonder what the outcome is, there is not point to even read the book! The main reason a person reads a book is to get to the end and to know how everything concludes, so a book without suspense might as well be unread.

Another great hook to the novel was that it was kind of mysterious.  The leader of this army was never revealed.  I thought that this was a good addition to the novel because the mystery helped the reader keep an imagination about what the leader could have been like.  It could be a person from history, or it could be a character you made up in your mind.  Whatever you imagined, it is a sure thing that it made the book easier and more interesting to read.  Mystery is a great way to engage readers because it helps the reader stay imaginative and focused on the story line.

One last technique Steinbeck used to catch readers attentino was the seriousness of the story.  Steinbeck made no effort to make this novel anything but serious.  He chose a serious topic, he made serious characters with serious emotions.  This serious mood made the readers involved more deeply in the story because they could focus on the events better.  Serious tone helps the author get the point across and also makes no room for unimportant details.  The serios mood of the book engaged readers in a different way.  It made the audience think that they should keep going with the book because the lesson would actually be fufilling because this book is legitimately serious.  The engaging technique of seriousness may  not seem like the best, but for classic novels it seems to be a popular way to keep audiences engaged in the story.

Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down. New York: Penguin Classics, 1942. Print.

The Moon is Down: How relationships reflect history

This novel is very big on relationships between groups of people.  The main group in this novel that has a greatly defined relationship is the soldiers and the citizens.  The soldiers think that the citizens of the town will not care that they are there.  However, they discover that the townspeople dislike them very much.  They dislike them because they took away their old way of life and they murdered some of thier friends and family.  The relationship between these two groups is so strong that the soldiers begin to fear the townspeople rather than the other way around.  This relationship is also one of the factors to the soldiers downfall, and that proves it to be very important.  This relationship is not related to history in my opinion.  It seems that in history the citizens are supposed to obey and listen to the soldiers no matter what.  Like in World War II everyone listened to Hitler even though he was not trying to acheive admirable things.  This relationship is supposed to represent that every war has a downfall, not history.

Another relationship that is represented in this novel is between man and women.  Men and women both need love, and that is proved through Tonder and Molly Morden's relationship.  First off, Tonder and Molly both show that lonliness drives men and women to get together even though they did not know each other.  Tonder did not care that Molly was a danger to him because he was so lonely.  Later in the novel, some other soldiers were talking about relationships with women and one soldier said something like, rape her, love her, or marry her, but when we call you to shoot her you better shoot her.  This represents the relationship between some men and women at this time period because soldiers were given the okay to rape women.  This time period did not make rape illegal, so it was not a big deal to soldiers to rape women.  This shows the time period because of the lack of law back then.

One last relationship represented in this novel is between worker and boss.  Mayor Orden has a butler and a cook in this novel and they do very many things for him.  He tells Annie to do many things which Annie will gladly do for him.  He tells Annie to figure out information, comfort the women who lose their man, and to risk her life to see if it is safe for him to go out at night.  This relationship represents history because more recently, we do not have cooks in households.  However, more wealthy people might, but they are only a cook, not a errand runner like Annie.  Another way to look at the boss-worker relationship is between Colonal Lanser and his soldiers.  Colonel Lanser does not really help his soldiers out when they need it.  This shows that Orden is a better leader because he gets more out of his workers than Lanser does.

Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down. New York: Penguin Classics, 1942. Print.

The Moon is Down: What can audiences learn?

This novel can teach readers many vaulable lessons.  There is of course, the main lesson, that one power should not rule the world.  This story is all about how the townspeople will rise above the conquerers.  The soldiers turn paranoid of the townspeople because they know that they are talking and that they are planning something against them.  This story was written to teach audiences that if one power tries to control the world they will fail.  They will fail even faster if they try to take away people's freedom and voices.  This is a great lesson to teach audiences.

Another lesson that is taught by Steinbeck in this novel is what goes around comes around.  This book teaches that you should treat other right and with respect.  If you do not treat them right, then something similar happening to them might happen to you.  For example, Alex Morden was killed by the invaders after accidentally killing one of the invaders soldiers.  This happened to Alex because he did it to someone, so the same must be done to him to be fair.  While the reader was rooting against killing Alex, it had to be done because it was the fair choice.  The next event in this cycle happened when Molly Morden murdered Tonder.  Tonder was a soldier that was part of the invaders who killed Alex.  Therefore, Tonder did killed Alex, and according to this lesson learned from the book, what goes around comes around, so he was killed.  This is an important lesson to learn from the novel because it teaches readers to always be cautious of what they say or do because it could come back to hurt you in the end of it all.

One more lesson that can be learned is that bravery is important in life.  Many people had to be brave during this war: soldiers, townspeople, the mayor, the list goes on.  However, people were brave when they knew that they had to face difficult times.  One of the first acts of bravery was when Annie threw boiling water on the soldiers.  This was brave because she did it for herself and she was not liking the way the soldiers were not listening to her.  This act somewhat foreshadowed what events were to come, and was very brave at the same time.  Another brave act was by Alex Morden faced death.  He did not plead for his life or run away.  He knew his fate, yet he accepted it.  That was a very brave thing to do because most people would cower from death.  Bravery was also seen when Mayor Orden faced the same fate as Alex.  He was to be killed as well and he bravely gave instructions and even chuckled before he had to go.   This shows bravery because he admitted contemplating to plead for his life or escape, but did not want to desert his town.  This was a very brave thing to do for the very same reasons as Alex.  Those are only a few lessons to be learned from this novel, but they were some of the most important lessons shown within the pages.

Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down. New York: Penguin Classics, 1942. Print.

The Moon is Down: Timeless

This novel is so timeless because war is a thing that everyone knows. Whether it is a personal war between you and another person or it is full out war between countries, everyone knows what it is to be fighting.  This theme is a reason that this novel is so timeless.  War's can effect many people in different ways.  For example, it costs lives of loved ones.  Molly Morden knew this personally.  The war turned her into a murderer as well.  The war effected her more than way more than the war effected others.  On the flip side, Tonder was strongly effected by the war.  Tonder was considered an excellent soldier at the beginning of this war.  He gradually starts to break down as the war progresses.  He gets more hystarical and becomes very lonley.  An example of the beginning of his break down was when he yelled at Joseph the butler.  He yelled at Joseph to get him scotch or wine, but they did not have any scotch or wine.  This triggered him to admit to the other soldiers that he wanted to go home and was tired of the war.  This showed the amazing effect that war took on him, thus proving that the theme of this novel is timeless.  Everyone is effected by fighting and sadness, and this timeless novel showed it.

The characters in this novel also make it timeless.  The most timeless character that the reader notices is the Mayor.  Mayor Orden is slightly goofy, but that makes him timeless and relatable.  His love and care for his town also prove him to be timeless.  A relatable character is a lot easier to like, thus easier to seem timeless.  Another timeless character is Doctor Winter.  Doctor Winter represents a timeless character because of his wise and calm leadership skills.  This makes him timeless because readers respect him.  A respectable character is always a good character, which makes him more timeless.  Tonder is also a timless character.  He just wanted to be a respected soldier and have people on his side.  He represents a human who makes mistakes and is very relatable.  His sad story makes him a very timeless character.  One last timeless character is Annie.  Annie is not a big character in the novel, but she is timeless.  She is spunky and has some slight anger managment problems.  Annie is timeless because everyone likes a crazy character.  She represents the women that many people know because she takes nobodies nonsense.  She is that strong women who tells it like it is.  Annie is definetly one of the most timeless in the novel!

Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down. New York: Penguin Classics, 1942. Print.

The Moon is Down: Reflection on Social and Behavioral issues, History, and thematic significance

The Moon is Down  shows a lot of customs relating to the time period.  There were many small hints of how the reader can understand the time period.  It was published in 1942, therefore the time period was most likely in the 1940's or slightly earlier.  The small hints I was able to find that indicate the time period.  There was the fact that they were mining coal.  This was a popular job back then because coal mines were very common for men to work in.  This job was not desirable to do, but it had to be done and it was harder to earn money back then.  The coal mine is a reflection of history because coal was such a valuable resource back then.  Another indicating hint of the historical reference is when Molly says that the roof is heavy because there was no man to push of the snow.  This was a small reference, but it was a good example to use.  Nowadays, buildings are strong enough to hold themselves up.  However, back then it was a necessity to keep the roof clear because the architecture was not as strong then.

Some social and behavioral issues were seen as well.  The soldiers were socially isolated because the people hated them for invading their country.  The social issues the soldiers faced led them to insanity at some times. Tonder is a great example because he was so socially deprived and lonely that he let Molly see his weakness and she took advantage of her chance to murder him.  Other social issues in this novel are not as clear as this one.  A behavioral issue that can be seen that relates to this time period is their dialect.  They speak very properly and very to the point.  This might have been the authors writing style, but it helped the reader understand the time period.

The thematic significance is strong in this novel.  The theme is to let people be free.  You cannot take away people's freedom forever.  This will set these people off and make them into something they are not.  The reason all the killing happened was for freedom, and they had it to begin with.  What goes around comes around, and this novel proves it with its thematic significance.

Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down. New York: Penguin Classics, 1942. Print.

The Moon is Down: Hero

The hero in this novel is hard to find.  There are many small heroes that can be identified.  Some of the main heroes are Mayor Order, Molly Morden, and Doctor Winter.  These characters are all small heroes that complete different duties in the novel.  They all are heroes in different ways, but they are heroes none the less.

Mayor Orden is a hero in many ways.  He is kind, caring, and genuine.  He is so kind to all of his people and his feeling toward them is so genuine.  He truely cares for his people and feels deeply saddened when something goes wrong for them.  He was very sympathetic to Molly when Alex was sentenced.  He tried to help the most he could but he could not do that much.  He is heroic because he helps his town as much as he can.  He helps Molly escape when she murders Tonder, and he helps the fisherman brothers escape.  Also, when it is his time to sacrifice, he accepts that he must die in order to give his towns people the push toward rebelling against the soldiers.  He represents courage.  He is so brave when he decides to man up and die for his town.  This was so heroic for him to do.

Molly Morden is a lesser hero than the mayor.  However, she is very heroic.  She avenges her husband by murdering Tonder.  This was not that heroic, but in a way it was. She fought for her husband, herself, and her town by murdering one of their soldiers.  She is kind, strong, and a relatable character.  She is kind to all that help her and helps them back.  She is strong because she did not crumble when her husband was dead.  And she is relatable because she experienced pain and everyone can relate.  She escapes the town, and is able to live on. She represents rebellion.  She is basically the start, besides her husband, to the rebellion.

Doctor Winter is the last hero to acknowledge.  Doctor Winter is very intelligent, kind, and likable.  Everyone seeks Doctor Winter's advice and he is considered authority even though he is not elected.  He is kind to all of his peers even though others think of him as above them.  Doctor WInter shows strength when he knows that his friend, the mayor, will die.  He also knows that it will soon be his time after.  He accepts this and is brave about it.  He accomplishes thinking of ideas to help the rebellion.  This is very heroic, but in a different way than the others.  He represents leadership.  His ideas overshadow the Mayors because he is more intelligent.  He is a true logical leader.

Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down. New York: Penguin Classics, 1942. Print.

The Moon is Down: Universal Theme, Human Nature

The universal themes in this novel are very clear.  One is that what goes around comes around.  The soldiers can to take the land from the townspeople, and they are going to end up having to escape from the townspeople in my opinion.  They will have to endure the pain that the townspeople took for so long.  They will have to have murders of their kind to match the murders of the people they killed in the town.  This theme was clear because of the events leading to the soldiers downfall.  Another universal theme that was easy to spot was that you cannot take away free will from the people.  The soldiers tried to boss the civilians around.  This resulted in the murder of a soldier.  It also will lead to the uprising of the people that is foreshadowed at the ending of the novel.  This theme is universal because nobody likes to take orders and be bossed around against their will.    One last universal theme is that the world cannot be controlled by one power/person. This is the main universal theme I saw when reading the novel.  This was seen because even the soldiers started to wonder about why they were in this war and why they were in it for so long.  They lost hope and their nerves wore thin.  This theme is universal because it has been seen in the real world with leaders like Napoleon and Hitler.  

This book was great when understanding human nature.  Steinbeck created excellent characters that made human mistakes.  My favorite example is Tonder.  Lieutenant Tonder made the mistake of giving into his lonliness and trusting Molly, who hated him.  He thought that they could like each other and trust each other.  He admired her from afar, but unfortunetly trusted the women who's husband had been killed by his people.  This shows human nature because all human's desire love and other human connection.  Tonder was lonley and homesick and just wanted to be involved with a women after such a long time at war.  This shows his human nature.  Alex Morden also showed human nature.  His quick temper and rash decision to attack a soldier can be identified as a stupid human error.  He made a quick decision that cost him his life, much like Tonder.  Steinbeck did a great job at understanding and inputing human nature into his novel.


Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down. New York: Penguin Classics, 1942. Print. 

The Moon is Down: Causes for gains and losses in the conflict

There are many causes to the gains and losses of the conflict.  First, the conflict must be discovered.  The conflict is of course the war, and that the conquerers are paranoid of the conquered coming after them.  Now that that is established, the analysis of the causes of the gains and the losses of the conlfict can begin.

Some causes that caused gains to the conflict were hard to find.  There were not that many positives in this story, but there were few to find.  One major gain to the conflict was when the English dropped the blue packages of dynament and chocolate to the townspeople.  This helped out the townspeople and caused the gain in the conflict of the townspeople finally fighting back.  This was a huge gain to the conflict because it started the peoples uprising.  Another gain to the conflict was when Tonder was murdered by Molly.  This showed a small vengeful act that helped the townspeople get invovled in the conflict.  It was comforting for the people to know that they could fight back and then escape from the town.  This caused a gain because it evened out the playing field between the two conflicting parties.

It was easier to spot losses to the conflict because the townspeople had less going for them.  The soliders had a lot going for them from the beginning.  One cause that caused a loss to the conflict was Alex Morden murdering that soldier.  This caused a huge loss in the conflict because it made the townspeople lose hope.  They lost hope in the mayor, they lost hope in the war, and they lost hope in fighting back.  They did get somewhat of a spark lighted, but it caused more harm than good.  Many people were fond of Alex and when he was killed it was devistating. Another loss to the conflict was when Corell exposed the mayor. Corell is very harsh and unlikable.  He wants more credit for this operation than he deserves and he would throw anyone under the bus to get it.  Correll is the reason that the mayor is arrested and sentenced to death..  This was a loss for the conflict, but it might rile up the townspeople.  The reader does not get to find out because the book ends.  This caused the soldiers to lose more than the people because now the people will fight back to avenge their mayor.  Now the soldiers will wear thin and then the townspeople will have their chance to start an uprising.  The causes to the losses of the conflict were all important to the outcome of the conflict.

Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down. New York: Penguin Classics, 1942. Print. 

The Moon is Down: Author's values and attitude, perspective

The novel, Moon is Down, by John Steinbeck reveals many of Steinbeck's values and attitudes.  He oviously values freedom, fairness, and justice.  The reader can tell that Steinbeck values freedom because this book is about war.  The small town that this novel takes place in is being treated unfairly because it has been invaded.  The citizens of this small town fought back in small ways.  They all wanted freedom so they were very mean to the invaders.  The invaders even grew scared that the civilians would kill them.  Some civilians did kill soldiers.  Many people were shot because they tried to fight back or just because the soldiers were scared of them.  This book has a lot to do with freedom, so it can be concluded Steinbeck thinks freedom is important.  Steinbeck also values fairness.  He showed this through the mayor.  When one of the miners, Alex Morden, killed one of the soldiers, he was to be shot in the head.  While he was very guilty of this crime, he basically had no chance of a trial and was sentenced to be shot in the head right away.  Mayor Orden tried very hard to fight for him but the struggle was futile.  Orden tried to deal with the conquerers to make the people of his town have a fair chance at living normally.  However, the invaders were too powerful and none of his efforts could be seen.  This shows that Steinbeck values fairness greatly.  One last value that the reader can see is justice.  When Molly Morden's husband Alex died, she wanted justice (more like revenge) for his murder.  Tonder let his guard down and fell for Molly.  Molly knew that she could control him to an extent and then he came back to see her at night.  She took her knitting scissors and stabbed Tonder.  She murdered him as a way of getting justice for the murder of her husband.  While this was not the best way to get justice, the reader can still gather that Steinbeck valued justice.

Attitude is very important in a novel.  In this novel, Steinbeck came across with a vengeful attitude.  The vengeful attitude was carried throughout the novel with the angry townspeople.  Steinbeck seemed fairly angry in the duration of this novel.  The way he portrayed the townspeople with his words made the reader understand how truely angry they were.  Also, the fear of the soldiers foreshadowed that the people would get their revenge.  The attitude of Steinbeck carried over to the townspeople for sure!

The perspective of this novel is third person from the point of view of a narrator.  However, thoughts of characters are revealed, so the reader can still see much of what is going on in the minds of the characters. This perspective works well so you can see the views of the soldiers and the views of the townspeople.

Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down. New York: Penguin Classics, 1942. Print.