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.