On Puritan Writings

Both of these novels reflect Puritan writing in their own ways. A Narrative of Captivity and Restoration Of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson showed Puritan writing more than "Upon the Burning of Our House" in my opinion.  Puritans were very religious people. According to Beginnings of 1800, "The Puritan society placed God at the center of their point of society, and their literature works which were primary diaries and histories expressed as God as the central theme, or as having a strong presence. The Puritan writing is very strict and simple..." It also states that some of its characteristics include God is the central aspect, the Bible provides a model for Puritan writing, and used writing to find God in their lives.  Mrs. Mary Rowlandson seemed like a very religious woman. Everything she did, she somehow related it to her religion. Even when she was in a dark place, she still strongly believed in her religion and used it to her benefit. For example, when she was worrying about her daughter and about how she did not even know if she was alive or dead, she went to the Bible. The story states that "...And the scripture came to my hand, Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee" (Rowlandson 85). She was going through a horrible time at this point. I cannot even imagine what she was feeling and how depressed she was. To show how depressed she was, she even said that "I did not use wicked and violent means end my own miserable life" (Rowlandson 83). This relates to Puritan writing because she used her religion to stay strong and continue living her life, even though it was miserable at the time. This story also resembles Puritan writing by all the other references to the bible. For example, she claims that "O the wonderful power of God I have seen, and the experiences I have had!" (Rowlandson 85). She also talks about praying throughout the story. For example, "I pray God he may remember these things, now he is returned to safety" (Rowlandson 84) and mentioned how "No Christian friend was near him to do any office of love for him, either for soul or body" (Rowlandson 84). 
"Upon the Burning of Our House" also reflected Puritan writing. Anne Bradstreet references the Puritan religion multiple times throughout this poem. Even though it is a short poem, it still reflects the writing just as well as the previous story did. For example, she writes "And to my God my heart did cry/ to strengthen me in distress/ and to not leave me succorless" (Bradstreet 91). Once again, the author uses religion to get someone out of a hard situation. When the character is feeling miserable and depressed, he/she turns to religion to get him/her out of her problem. In this situation, the character wakes up to a fire. "In silent night when rest I took/ For sorrow near did I not look/ I wakened was with a thund'ring noise/ and piteous shrieks of dreadful voice..." (Bradstreet 91). She was in a very tough, intense position in her life, and she turned to God. This definitely resembles the Puritan writing style. Another example that the author uses is "Yet by His gift is made thine own;/ there's wealth enough, I need no more.." (Bradstreet 91). In this passage, "His" refers to God. This also greatly resembles the style of Puritan writing.  Puritan writing is very religious and apparently about the authors own life.  I truly did not like these. They sounded whiny and drab.  I appreciate their religiousness, but they both seemed to whiny too me.  However, they both provided a good contrast to Elie Wiesel's Night.  In Night, Elie goes through a similar experience as Rowland in a concentration camp, and he loses his faith in his God (Wiesel).  This shows that a foundation in religion is essential to the Puritan beliefs. 

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.

Wiesel, Elie. Night. New York, New York: Hill and Wang, 2006. Print.

Journal 2: Fable

In a place along way away, and in a time long ago, there was a monkey.  Actually there were many monkeys, but it is illogical to tell all of their stories. So we will just hear about this one monkey.  This monkey was well known among other monkeys.  He was the monkey prince, and he was a little mongrel.  Every thing he did got him into trouble.  Debauchery was his profession.  The little monkey prince would run around the monkey town and cause trouble.  He would run through peoples homes and upturn their monkey tables and break their monkey plates.  Nobody liked the young monkey prince and all feared for the future of the monkey kingdom.

One day the monkey prince was playing in the deepest parts of the jungle, and he decided to run through an abandoned hut that he came across.  He went and played in the hut that he believed to be empty, but it was not.  An old monkey sorcerer came out from behind a bookcase.  The monkey price was terrified.

"I see you run through town and cause trouble every day.  And now you come into my house and decide to break my stuff! I have had enough of this! If you cause trouble or break anymore things for fun, I will turn you into a flea!"  said the monkey sorcerer.

The young monkey prince was terrified. He told the sorcerer that he would cause no more trouble, and he ran away in a hurry.  The monkey prince acted good for many days, and caused no trouble .  However, one day, the monkey prince was in a bad mood because he lost his toy.  The price ran through the town and broke many plates and overturned many tables.  He threw rocks through windows and smashed fine china.  Suddenly, POOF!!

The monkey sorcerer appeared with a flash. He shouted, "I HAVE WARNED YOU ALREADY! TODAY YOU BECOME A FLEA!" and he turned the monkey prince into a flea.  The flea felt bad and wished he had not broken so many plates.

Journal 1: Creation Story of Water

In the beginning of time, there was only light, dark, earth, and sky.  The light and dark would battle, gaining and losing ground as they battled across the sky.  The sky and earth got along.  The sky kept the battles of light and dark off of the earth, and the earth hugged the sky in thanks.  The royal crow flew, traversing all of these.  He was dark as night, he flew under the sun, spent his time in the sky, and used the earth as his bed.  The sky and earth got along and did not bother the crow. The crow was happy with both, but the light and dark got on his nerves.  The light was ruled by the sun, and the night by the moon.  The sun and the moon battled everyday, and the crow did not like this.  Crow likes peace and serenity. When the sun and moon fought, they tried to involve crow.

"Well, he is the color of night and therefore works for me." said the moon

"But he flies in the day and belongs to me." said the sun.

Crow did not like being brought into fights, and the fighting made him sad.  After ages of dealing with the two, crow began to cry.  He cried for 40 days and 40 nights.  The earth flooded, the sky was forced back, the sun and moon realized what they had done.  The two stopped fighting.  They agreed that they would share the time. The sun would rule at day, and the moon would rule at night.  A new element was introduced to the world; it was known as water.  It was born from the tears of Crow.  Water now covers most of the planet, but it is no longer of sadness. It is essential to life.  This shows that even good things can come from bad events.

Final Summer Blog

Now that this whole ordeal about these blogs is over, I feel it necessary to make a post that is not at least 325 words long. Instead, it will be short, sweet, and to the point. Catcher in the Rye was a great book. I liked his attitude; we agreed a lot.  The Old Man and the Sea honestly was short but pretty boring. Basically, this guy went out to sea to catch a fish, found one, struggled with it for, like, three days, reeled it in, then lost all the meat on it to sharks on the way back to shore. :( A pretty simple plot turns into a hundred-page novel. The Moon is Down was a pretty good book. I'll just leave it at that. Fahrenheit 451 was probably my favorite of the three, well really only two were options, books that I read this summer. It was about this Guy who searched the city for himself, only to self-destruct in the end and be forced to rebuild. This is a different kind of story, one that I do not ever remember seeing in any other book. Thank you, someone, that these blogs are over. This was probably the longest project I have ever completed. Someone told me this would be about the same length as something like a 30-page normal paper. That is so much writing, it isn't even funny. But, I'm glad I finished, and I'm glad I don't have to think about it anymore. I wish you farewell. :D

Old Man and the Sea: Unseen Characters

There are three main characters in The Old Man and the Sea who are never even physically present in the story. These characters are Joe DiMaggio, the famous New York Yankees' center fielder, Perico, a friendly store owner in the village, and Martin, another nice man who works in the village. Although they never speak or show themselves, all three play important parts in the plot in each of their own unique ways. Joe DiMaggio, for example, is hundreds of miles away in New York, but he is still not only Santiago's favorite baseball player, but also a major role model. When Santiago feels weak or down, he thinks of the "great Joe DiMaggio" and of what he might do in the same situation. DiMaggio comes up multiple times in The Old Man and the Sea as an inspiration for Santiago. One notable occurance is when Santiago's left hand, being under too much stress, cramps and becomes useless. He thinks of the "great Joe DiMaggio" and how he played through a bone spur, and he set his mind to getting over the cramp and forcing it to release. DiMaggio is worshiped as a character of amazing strength and commitment. Perico is the owner of a shop in town. He is only mentioned a few times in the book, but he seems to be a friendly character. His role in The Old Man and the Sea is to provide the daily newspaper to Santiago, so he can read through it and mainly check the baseball box scores. It is not stated, but as I understand, Perico gives this service for no charge. This says a lot about the values of him as a human; he must be a very generous and caring man. Martin serves about the same purpose as Perico, but he gives Santiago food instead of the paper from the cafe he runs in the village. Manolin goes and fetches the food most days from the restaurant and brings it back to the man for him.

Hemingway, Ernest. Old Man and the Sea. New York, New York: Scribner, 2003. Print.

Old Man and the Sea: Manolin

Manolin is a young fellow with fishing in his blood. His father, presumably, is or was at one time a fisherman because Manolin is a fisherman at such a young age. His father most likely pushed Manolin into fishing when he was a young lad, and since his father stopped fishing or could not fish anymore, the boy had to pick up the "family business." Although his physical presence is only in the beginning and end of Hemingway's classic novella, the thought of the boy on the shore inspired Santiago to continue his fight with the beast of a fish. Manolin goes to the old man's house every morning to bring him a cup of coffee and the day's newspaper. The old man reads through the baseball scores as he drinks his coffee and talks with Manolin. Together , they gather up necessities for the day and head down to the beach with the small boat's mast and sail. Manolin wishes the old man good day and walks to the boat he is part of as Santiago heads out to sea. The book never mentions what Manolin's day is like, but he is always there when Santiago returns to the dock. The young boy helps the old man take apart the boat again and carry the mast back up to the house where they talk a little more. Manolin gets the man some blankets and food and makes sure he gets to sleep well, then returns home to repeat everything the next day. Manolin is also an undeniable lover. He never once fades from the old man, but instead, he helps him and is entirely devoted to being a great friend to Santiago. By doing so, the two fishermen remain close friends, almost like father and son. Manolin's dedication to Santiago is unfailing and all-inclusive even through the epic fight between the old man and the marlin. Although his father practically forced him into fishing, he is very happy with it, that is, until his father does not let him fish with Santiago after such a long time of coming into shore empty-handed. Instead, he goes to work for another ship, relatively unhappily.

Hemingway, Ernest. Old Man and the Sea. New York, New York: Scribner, 2003. Print. 

Fahrenheit 451: Religion

So, first of all, I am really hating these blogs more and more with every one I do. It sucks because they are so long, and there are so many of them. I am almost to the breaking point, but, luckily, I am also almost done, sort of. Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 contains numerous religious references. Professor Faber promotes a Christian sense of forgiveness for Montag. After Montag's turn against society, Faber reminds Montag that, since he was once a member of the following faithful, he should have a feeling of pity toward the people instead of being so angry at them. Faber believes this because the people really do not know as much as he or Montag know, and that should eventually lead to their downfall. They are going to be ignorant and left in the dark about what is actually going on around them, and Montag should feel sorry for them instead of being angry at them. The novel also references Jesus Christ's miracle at Canaa where he transformed regular water into fabulous wine. Faber makes two correlations: one is comparing himself to water, and the other is comparing Montag to fire. Montag is fire because of his job and the anger within him, and Faber is water because of his more mellow tendencies. Faber also tells that if the two were to merge into one, the fire and water would combine to make wine, sort of like in the biblical story. Jesus Christ's transformation of water into wine was one of the miracles he allegedly produced to instill his powers and prove his identity as the son of the Christian god. This miracle also proved his role as savior as a gift from the Christian god. Montag wishes to confirm his own self through such a process, but he is clearly unable to because of his lack of "god powers." Montag wishes to have a meaning to his life, but he is unsure of where he needs to start his search. He longs for a way out of the real life, so he starts in on books and a hopeful identity.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012. Print.

Old Man and the Sea: Lions

In Ernest Hemingway's novella, The Old Man and the Sea, the main character, Santiago, has a recurring dream of a pride of lions playing together on the beach of Africa, a memory he has from a fishing trip along the coast of Africa. He apparently remembers the lions crawling over each other and just having fun, but he was not in any danger, for he was still out on the fishing vessel. Santiago dreams of this memory three times during the five-day story, and he also mentions that he had had the dream repeatedly for quite a long time before he goes on the fishing trip to find the marlin. The first time he has the dream is the night before he ventures far out, and he still had no idea of what is to come, so he is able to rest peacefully. The second occurs during his fight with the marlin when he is able to sleep briefly in the night and still hold onto the grand fish. The final time he dreams of the lions on the beach is when he is once again at home in his own bed and can sleep soundly knowing his friend, Manolin, is still there. The last viewing of the dream is the most comforting and heartwarming because the old man had just gone through three days of battle with hardly any rest to take his mind away from it all. It is such a fitting end to the book because it shows Santiago is happy with everything that happened as a whole, despite all the difficulties and troubles along the way. Since Santiago associates the lions on the beach with his childhood of fishing, the lions are symbols of the circle of life where such ferocious predators always have the side of compassion and adorability. Also because of that, the dream shows the harmony between life and death. The predators (death) are, in this case, playing and so full of life that I cannot help but notice the grace and beauty of the line between life and death.

Hemingway, Ernest. Old Man and the Sea. New York, New York: Scribner, 2003. Print.

Christianity in The Old Man and the Sea

Ernest Hemingway portrays his fictional character, Santiago in The Old Man and the Sea, as a seeming and obvious connection to Christianity's biggest name, Jesus Christ. Hemingway puts Santiago through a few challenges to make correlations to Christ during crucifixion. Among these scenes are Christ's walk to Calvary with his own future death, the cross, on his back, the ways in which Christ was tortured, including his hands being nailed onto the cross and the lashes he received from so many whips, and the result of an epic battle of time and wits between his own strength and gravity pulling life out of him, inch by inch. At the start of the day, Christ was forced to travel on foot over numerous miles of unforgiving terrain in bare feet with two heavy pieces of wood held together in an awkward position on his back. Hemingway includes this in the novella by having Santiago carry his ship's mast across his shoulders down to the dock to assemble his ship. He must struggle every morning to get the mast down and back before and after the day's fishing trip. Next, just as Christ was given scars from the lines scraping across his body, Santiago receives the same kinds of scars from the fishing line running through his hands and across his back. The marlin is so strong that it is able to drag the boat, held only by Santiago himself, across the ocean. Such a force caused extreme amounts of stress on the old man's body, turning into cuts and deep gashes. Finally, as Christ did, Santiago endured and was able to win the battle, even having lost all strength. He reeled in his catch of a lifetime, and headed in for shore. Along the way, death came in and stole the flesh of the fish, like the life of Christ, but perserverence came through and glorified Santiago through the marvel of even the skeletal remains of the catch and glorified Christ by rewarding the hardships he faced during that fateful day.

Hemingway, Ernest. Old Man and the Sea. New York, New York: Scribner, 2003. Print.

Use of Exaggeration in Catcher in the Rye

In Catcher in the Rye, Holden goes to the Wicker Bar in New York. Salinger writes, “It’s one of those places that are supposed to be very sophisticated and all, and the phonies are coming in the window.” Seems like an interesting enough place.  After discussing how two girls would come out and play the piano and sing, he mentioned how it drove all the “phonies” crazy. If everyone who went there was a phony, why would he be there? Once again, I do not see how he is honestly different from everyone else. He thinks he is above them or something when he is not. Holden said that everyone in the place was a phony, even the bartender. I do not understand why he goes to places when he thinks that everyone sucks. I am betting that he sucks, too. At least in the way he thinks. Holden met up with an old “friend” who he had indifferent feelings about. Apparently this guy can tell whenever anyone is a “flit,” anyone at all. Holden thinks that he may be a little bit of a “Flit” himself. Holden thinks, “He was a pretty intelligent guy, though. He really was.” This makes me think that he may have respected the gays. I figured with his view on life, he would hate them like he hates everything else. Holden always surprises me with his different opinions.  At the table with him, Holden said, “I bored him a lot. I really did. He amused me, though. He was one of those guys that sort of amuse me a lot”. But later on, he says, “He could be pretty boring himself sometimes”. It was on the same page, and only had a paragraph in between. I was amazed, once again, about how Holden can change his opinion so fast. I do not even think he really ever felt like he was “amused a lot.” He was probably just amused a little. When he started discussing school, I think Holden just felt a little bored for a minute. I think he just exaggerates.

Salinger, J. D. Catcher in the Rye. New York, NY: Little, Brown, 1991. Print.

Fahrenheit 451: Tone

The tone of this book was really quite dark, that is, when I think of my general impression of it. Maybe it is just that reading of dark events gives me the impression that the tone is dark, when it really might not be. I shall now endeavor to prove myself wrong, although this is really the kind of thing one should be proven right on. I am tired and threatening to start a rant, so I am just going to start writing.  After much consideration and random page flipping, I have decided my original premise is right, and this is in fact a gloomy book. It is more that gloomy, and there is also a certain tension in the writing. “The perspiration gathered with the silence and the subaudible trembling around and about and in the women who were burning with tension. Any moment they might hiss a long sputtering hiss and explode.” I think the sentences feel so tense because they are building toward something about to happen. Just a few pages later: “The room was blazing hot, he was all fire, he was all coldness; they sat in the middle of an empty desert with three chairs and him standing, swaying, and him waiting.” I think this sounds tense because of all hotness references.  The tone is really sort of sad when the author is describing Montag or Millie. “He felt his smile slide away, melt, fold over and down on itself like a tallow skin, like the stuff of a fantastic candle burning too long and now collapsing and now blown out.” That really is sad, talking about how he no longer felt like smiling. “Her face was like a snow-covered island upon which rain might fall, but it felt no rain; over which clouds might pass their moving shadows, but she felt no shadow.” Also sad, being so disconnected from everything. Most of the time the tone is just as sad.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012. Print.

Fahrenheit 451: Montag and Millie

I found Montag’s relationship with Millie to be pretty interesting. He knows his wife is pretty much a slave to the television, and admits he does not love her, but he shows his books to her (risking his job and his freedom) and tries to make her read them. I also think that it is strange that he felt it was important to remember when they first met although he does not love her.  Montag knows that Millie is mostly empty inside, and knows he does not love her. He gets so upset at the realization that he would not cry if she died that he starts crying. I think the reason this upsets him is that he very much wants to love Millie. He wants to feel some deep and important emotion for his wife. I think that he shows her the books and has her read them with him for the same reason. He wants to fill the emptiness in her and help her to start thinking about things so he can love her. It really is not possible to love someone without a self, and Montag hopes that giving her things to think about will help her find herself.  When I was reading the book, I started wondering why Montag felt it was so important to remember where he and Millie met. After I wrote that last paragraph, I think I have a better idea of why. People always remember the important things in their lives. The fact that Montag cannot remember meeting Millie is a sort of subconscious admission that Millie is not important to him. Montag very much wants Millie to be important to him, so he feels that it is very important for him to remember when they met. Also, is it not something like a slap in the face when Millie says remembering when they met is not important? I think it is.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012. Print.

Fahrenheit 451: Beaty

I find it a little ironic that a person who thinks as much as Beaty is against books. How can any person intelligent enough to understand why books are burnt want to burn books? I have a couple of theories, and it may be just one of them or both of them put together. It may not have been eithe of them.  My most reasonable theory is that Beaty wanted power over people by keeping them thoughtless. If controlling people is impossible, because you cannot control their thoughts, but if they do not have thoughts they are just like cows waiting to be led around. My first problem with that is that there was nowhere to lead people and nothing they were wanted to do. My other problem with that is that what in the world does a suicidal person want with power? I do not understand it.  My other theory is that Beaty is very, very mean. When he talks about people, the tone is sort of disguste. I think he may like keeping people thoughtless because it makes him feel superior to them. That way, if he is a piece of absolute spitefulness, he can at least feel like he is better than the thoughtless cows. This makes more sense to me, because if he needs to help people stay that stupid to make himself feel better, then it is no wonder he wants to die.  I have to wonder why he hates himself so much. Maybe he hates himself for burning books, because he is smart enough to know how wonderful books are. Because he hates himself for doing that, he keeps burning books to keep people less smart than him so at least he can feel good about that. If that was the case, then that is one messed up man. Perhaps he read an unsavory book that started the process, because I can not imagine why anyone would start burning books.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012. Print.

Symbolism of Snow in The Moon is Down

John Steinbeck uses symbolism is his book The Moon is Down.  One of his symbols is snow.  Snow represents the blanket of oppression.  The cold is hatred.  The snow does not come until shortly after the soldiers show up.  The snow fell on the night that Alex killed Bentick.  The oppression comes both from the citizens and the soldiers.  The soldiers make the citizens work, but the citizen hate and revolt the soldiers.  The conflict that made Alex kill Bentick was only the start of it.  The snow could be things other than oppression perhaps, like war or violence.  Cold is definitely hatred though.  With all of the possibilities that snow could be, hatred is required for all of them.  It is cold before and after the snow, much as there is hate before and after oppression.  It takes time for nature to get cold and then warm again, much as it took time for the citizens to hate the soldiers (they were mostly confused and anxious at first) and it will surely take time for the citizens to forgive the soldiers.  There also must be cold for snow to be on the ground.  The hatred is obviously hatred if oppression exists.  The snow in The Moon is Down comes and goes a couple of different times.  This shows that sometimes the soldiers and citizens would let up hating each other so much.  The snow or oppression melted away, but it was not to last.  Hatred and cold would resume and so would snow and oppression.  Eventually it is cold enough that the snow sticks and does not melt.  Another use for cold is the removal of warmth.  The soldiers come and cold sets in, removing warmth from the community.  Once the soldiers invade, people do not talk on the streets anymore, and there is no friendliness.  In The Moon is Down, John Steinbeck uses symbolism, and his symbols are snow and cold.

Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down. New York, New York: Penguin, 1995. Print.

Ending Thoughts of Fahrenheit 451

I really loved reading this book. I'm kind of shocked I haven't read it before now. Part Three was exciting, but I have to say that Part Two was my favorite. Part Three had a lot of action, but to me the plot just kind of fizzled out when Guy ran away and joined the men on the train tracks. It bothers me that the men don't seem all that concerned with the books getting changed as they pass them down through storytelling. Things change drastically that way. The books and words that they love so much and fought so hard for will change until they're barely recognizable anymore. I don't see how they can stand that. Their plan just seems like a messy solution to me.  I was completely shocked when Montag killed Beatty. I didn't think he had it in him. Then to find out that the fire chief wanted to die. That really surprised me. He must have felt the same way that Mildred did, happy during the day while they were distracted, but so unhappy they couldn't stand it deep down inside them.  Part Three seemed to be one surprise after the other. I was only partly correct in my prediction last post about who would turn Montag in. Apparently one of his wife's "friends" did call him in, but, soon after that, Mildred called him in herself. I never would have thought she would have given up her parlor so easily, to say nothing of her husband. Guess that shows that you never know people as well as you think you do.  One of the reasons I liked this book so much was the author's use of imagery. I've mentioned before that I admire Ray Bradbury's way with words, and that statement still holds true. One image that really stayed with me was when he compared the lights of the landing helicopters to the first snowflakes of winter. The use of similes like that really helped me to understand the story better.  I'm really glad I picked this book.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012. Print.

Vernacular of Catcher in the Rye

I definitely prefer the speech in this book to that of The Moon is Down and The Old Man and the Sea . It still makes the people sound uneducated and lazy, but not nearly as bad as the other two. Fahrenheit 451 was definitely the best about the speech. The Catcher in the Rye comes in second, and The Old Man and the Sea comes in third.  This book doesn't make me think like a hick, like I really try to avoid, but it does do something else. It makes me want to swear a lot.  Holden swears a lot, but never really much out loud or around other people. He mainly swears in his thoughts or when he's talking with one of his school mates. He keeps calling everyone "old" even if they are younger than he is. I know he doesn't really mean it as an age indicator, but it still really annoys me. I do like how he calls the people he hates "prince". The sarcasm and irony in that just make me smile every time he does.  He uses the word "goddamn" a lot, which really annoys me. Not for any religious reasons, particularly.  He uses it all the time though, and it makes him sound stupid. I always think people sound stupid when they swear, which is why I hardly ever do it. It makes me think they don't have a very big vocabulary or that they're really lazy or both. I also think it's obnoxious.  That's really the only problem I have with the speech in this book. Well other than the old-fashioned words. I can forgive those though, considering they weren't old fashioned when the book was written.  The language used in Catcher in the Rye also helped portray the mood and emotion of being an adolescent boy.

Salinger, J. D. Catcher in the Rye. New York, NY: Little, Brown, 1991. Print.

Writing Techniques of Ray Bradbury

Bradbury is a very effective writer, and his story kept me reading til the last page. Bradbury used a lot of suspense in this novel. Clarisse's death was very strange and suspicious, and the reader never really knows what went on and how it happened. Also, from the beginning of the story, the reader can assume that one of the main characters is going to defy society and start a revolution, and it is really hard to tell. The author suspended the reader and made them read on to find out what really happened.  The author also used a technique known as fear. The fear was not in the book, however. The fear was in the reader. The world that Bradbury described could very possibly become our future. That fact alone would keep the reader interested in the story and have them keep reading to find out what happens next. I find so many kids in our school that really hate reading. Its a little scary, because I know that everyone likes to watch t.v. and some kids watch it a little too often. Most students say they only read when they're forced to. My mom is a reading teacher, and she hates to hear that, and she says she hears it way too often. Doesn't that sound a lot like the future described in the story? The fact that the two realities are so similar make the reader even more curious and it keeps them reading. Maybe that's how the book got to be so popular. People just kept reading it and couldn't stop and then they themselves drew parallels to our society and were shocked. If we don't learn from this book, we will definitely be doomed to repeat it. The whole idea is really frightening, and is one reason that Bradbury was able to get his point across so well.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012. Print.

Historic Accuracy of Fahrenheit 451

This is another novel that can be ranted about when books are said to depict the future. I can very easily see our society becoming just like this society, many, many years in the future. Obviously, Bradbury saw something in our society that drove him to write the story. I mean, his ideas didn't just come from nowhere. He had to have influences from somewhere, so to a certain extent, the futuristic society is partially in our society today. I believe that Bradbury was influenced to write out of fear. He must have been able to see somehow (psychic?) what our world was coming to, and he had to get his ideas out somehow. But at the same time, he didn't want to sound crazy. There are enough crazy people in the world, we don't need one writing books about it. Bradbury was able to put his ideas and thoughts out through writing, and he concealed them inside a great novel.  In the novel, Bradbury depicted a relationship between the common person and the government. The people were not allowed to read books, but someone must have been to decide that they were illegal. The government in this story decided that books were not to be read by common people, but only by them. Our government today sometimes does the same thing. They think that they can decide what we need to know and what we don't, and that is so not true.  I said in a few of my previous blogs that authors such as Orwell and Bradbury must be something close to psychic. That really is a silly thing to say, but they are able to see things that we can't see. They are also able to put what they see into a story in a way that we can draw our own conclusions and see it for ourselves. Bradbury was influenced by society to write this book, because he saw a problem that not many others saw in the world.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012. Print.

Why We Still Read Fahrenheit 451

This is one of those books that we still read for a number of reasons. The book was awesome, in my opinion. The character development through out the story was excellent, and Bradbury really brought out the morals in the story. Bradbury wrote this story as a warning. He obviously felt that the story might eventually come true, and our society is taking its turn for the worst. There are so manyparallels that can be drawn between the book and our society, it's a little scary. This book is still read because if we don't learn from this story, our society will be doomed to mirror it.  This book is a great book for a summer reading list because it adds a science fiction element to any reading list. The book isn't boring at all, and it is such a change from other books such as Jane Eyre or Great Expectations. The story, in my opinion, is a great balance of school quality and entertainment quality. The book really hooks the reader and that's why we still read it, to make our summers less boring.The book also looks great. The color scheme on the cover is just wonderful. On my copy, the flames are so realistic, it adds a scary element to the story.  The messages in this book are so timeless. Free thinking will always be the popular choice of thinking, and people are always going to be at risk to lose that ability. Blogging is such a great activity to do with this story because the book teaches about free thinking, and then we get the chance to express our ideas in the blogs. It is like the two were meant to be, and that's why the book is still read today. I personally loved this book, and would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking to read a book with a strong message and theme, but doesn't want to fall asleep 5 pages into the story.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012. Print.

Behavior and Social Issues of Fahrenheit 451

This is an excellent question to go on a rant about how author's used to be psychic. I mean, seriously, how did they know? Authors like Huxley, Orwell and Bradbury all wrote books about futuristic worlds, and they always closely resemble the societies that we live in. Think about it. Orwell's 1984 told of a society where "Big Brother was watching." There are networks of security cameras and people who can hack web cams, which is just another form of someone always watching.   And in Huxley's story Brave New World, social classes were predetermined before birth. Think about the social classes in today's society. Very rarely do people change classes much, and their children, for the most part, follow in their steps (Okay, so the movie The Pursuit of Happyness is an exception, but its just a generalization).  In the story, the people did not question what they were told by the "government." Today, people do stupid stuff they see on the Internet without asking if its even safe. You could search on Google "how to treat a cut" and you might get a result that says "make sure to soak your cut in salty alcohol," and there would be people who would try it. People just assume that everything that is on t.v. or the Internet is completely 100 percent right, just like the people in the book did. Well, and this might be a wake up call for you, but that really is not even close to accurate. The people in the book were taught not to question things and just go with whatever they are told. To an extent, our government does that to us today. Is every governmental decision televised so we can watch? No. Do we know everything that goes on behind the scenes? No. We are just told what to do and how to do it and they tell us it'll all be alright. Well guys, maybe it won't be alright.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012. Print.

Hero of Fehrenheit 451

Usually this question can be answered with the main protagonist in the story, but I feel a little differently with this book. I, unlike some people, believe that Clarisse is the hero of this story. Yeah, I know, go ahead and tell me I'm wrong. Or you could just keep reading and find out how right I really am... 

 So the story starts out following this guy named...well...Guy. And right from the start, we know that he isn't like the other people in his society. He's a fireman, but he keeps books on the side. He's a smart guy who does a little free thinking in his spare time. Sweet, sounds like a hero to me. But the problem was, he would never do anything with his free thinking. And if you need to start a fire and you have a match, but won't light the match, no one is going to thank you when they're cooking smore's.  So then Guy meets this girl Clarisse. Shes just a little weirdie in their society. She doesn't like the violence on t.v.. What? And she really likes weird things (such as herself). She also takes an interest in Guy because he is a fireman who likes books. That's like a vegetarian who works at a slaughter house. Clarisse never told Guy what to think, which is why I believe that Guy listened to her. She always asked Guy questions that no one had ever asked him, and that really got the wheels turning in his mind. Clarisse was the one who made Guy into the man he was at the end of the story. Without her, he would have just been burning books for the rest of his life and having no idea why.  Then you read some more, and Clarisse dies. Seriously? No happy ending where Clarisse and Guy grow old together? No. Clarisse was the perfect example for what cannot exist in the society in the story, so she ceased to exist. We don't know how or why, but she did. It just could not happen. But nothing would have happened without her. That is why I believe Clarisse is the hero of this story.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012. Print.

Themes in Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451 is a story that portrays many different themes. This book would definitely be banned in the futuristic world it was written in. The book takes place in a world that has strict rules and regulations, but it never really seemed like there were police on every corner to enforce the laws. Since books and technology were illegal, people had no source of free thinking and idealism. They didn't have to be told to follow the rules, because that was just what everyone did. They did that just so that they were all the same and to fit into society. The idea of being an individual and to stick out was not even thought of as a good idea.  I believe that everyone in the story was really unhappy. Sure, sitting around and watching t.v. all day sounds great to you, but that was all those people did. Television gave them a false idea of what happiness really was, and it left all of them unsatisfied. However, none of them wanted to admit it, so nothing ever changed. They really didn't know any different and never wanted to change anything. They just lived every day unsatisfied, until Guy realized that there was something he could do about it. He took the first step and he changed his life forever.  Because of that lack of satisfaction felt by the people, they all needed an outlet. Violence was their outlet, and a theme in the book. The story talked about teenagers going around and killing each other. That really does happen today, and it is an outlet for some kids. It really is not okay though. Like at all. And where did all of those people get the idea to get in a car and drive really, really fast or go out and kill someone? You guessed it, t.v. This t.v. thing is really turning out to be problematic. Their sole source of entertainment was filled with violence, and when you get all of your ideas from t.v., what else can you expect to happen.  I'm  not trying to say that T.V. should be gotten rid of or anything. Its perfectly fine as long as it is not your only stimulation in life.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012. Print.

Bradbury's Values and Attitudes in Fahrenheit 451

This is sometimes a difficult question to answer about a book. The answer directly reflects how well the author wrote the story. Bradbury wrote this book to get his message across, and he clearly displayed it throughout the entire story. Like some other summer reading books that I have read, such as Brave New World or 1984, the story Fahrenheit 451 tells the story of a futuristic society where books are illegal. The book touches on the idea of censorship and its evils, but I believe that the main focus is on the evils of television.  As silly as it sounds, Bradbury's futuristic society could eventually become a reality. In the 1950's the color t.v. had just made its appearance in homes across America, and it left an impression of newly found life of leisure. Think about how much you rely on t.v. for ideas on fashion, where to eat, who to vote for, or what to do. You could personally make absolutely zero decisions and still live your life normally just by watching t.v. and doing whatever it suggested. And don't get me wrong, those infomercials are just so appealing and really make me want to pay just 2 payments of $9.99, especially since they're doubling my order absolutely free. Bradbury wrote this book before we had Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr, and he would probably break down and cry if he knew how often we looked at the Internet for advice. The Internet is just as bad as television when it comes to telling us what to think and do. Reading books are a way for people to think for themselves. The questions we are answering for our blogs allow us to think and create our own opinions about the stories we read. Without books, a whole part of free thinking is taken away. Bradbury clearly stated his feeling on that topic, but even with his warnings, our society is heading towards the doom in his story.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012. Print.

Modernism in The Moon is Down and Old Man and the Sea

The Moon is Down is by John Steinbeck, and The Old Man and the Sea is by Ernest Hemingway.  Both men are legendary American writers.  The Moon is Down is a humanizing view on war.  All of the characters are defined, and all seem to be human.  The enemy soldiers are even humanized, which is what makes this book so realistic.  I believe it could even be passed off as nonfiction, alas it is fiction.  The Old Man and the Sea is Ernest Hemingway's view on life.  The eyes of Santiago are open and see the world for what is.  He sees the great and feels the pain of struggle and loss, but he always keeps hope.  These two books are similar because they were both written in the modernist period and style.  The modernist period is defined by a sense of disillusionment but with a glimpse of hope.  Disillusionment is a clarity of the mind, like enlightenment, but without the sense of wonder.  Santiago is clear in his thoughts. His time at sea gave him time to think about his life and emotions.  The clarity in The Moon is Down comes from Steinbeck's narration, and perhaps it could come from Colonel Lanser.  Steinbeck sets the story as an allusion to World War II without giving specific names or events, but he tells both sides of the story to an invasion of town, from the townspeople and from the invaders.  The clarity comes from the description of the soldiers and their emotions and feelings.  Its easy to understand that the townspeople would be frightened, but Steinbeck shows that the Soldiers were frightened too.  The other aspect of Modernism is the glimpse of hope.  In The Old Man and the Sea, Santiago has hopes to catch the fish, despite having not caught a fish in almost 3 months.  Even after the fish is demolished, Santiago's body is exhausted, and he returns home with nothing, Santiago still continues to fish.  The hope in Steinbeck's story comes from the hope of maintaining control of the town from the soldiers, and from the hope of rebelling on the part of the people.  This book taught enough about rebellion from soldiers that it was used as propaganda in World War II.

Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down. New York, New York: Penguin, 1995. Print.

Hemingway, Ernest. Old Man and the Sea. New York, New York: Scribner, 2003. Print.

Conflict in Fahrenheit 451

The conflict that I am going to write about is Montag vs the government. Montag keeps books that he is supposed to burn and therefore breaks the laws and the government sends out a search party complete with a new Mechanical Hound to find and kill him. The cause of the conflict is Montag not following the law and reading books. The thing that set him off was Clarisse asking if he was happy and Montag realizing that he wasn't happy.  The gain of the conflict is Montag realizing that he was ignorant and only knew what other people had told him was correct. He started to act spontaneous (for instance: reading poetry to Mildred and her friends) with the new knowledge that he possessed. Also Montag realized that maybe he didn't love his wife like he previously had thought. That realization won't have happened if Montag didn't pick up that book because of Clarisse's thought provoking ideas.  The loss of the conflict is Montag losing his self-control. He sets Black's house on fire and kills Beatty. The knowledge that Montag gained caused him to overload and he made lots of wrong choices. His hands also had a mind of their own which tells that his subconscious was still brainwashed and Montag hadn't convinced his whole mind that the books are good and reading is a powerful thing.  The government, while they didn't originally come up with the idea to stop reading books, they did organize the burning of books and censoring information. They started brainwashing the citizens so they don't have to actually comprehend or draw deep meaning from anything. No one observed anything anymore. Everything they needed to know was told through the long billboards or through their jobs. Their entertainment was televisions on all four walls that immersed them into the show. The show was very simpleton and didn't have a complex plot, characters, or anything. They don't want people to think to hard, after all. Also observation skills were gone. Clarisse pointed it out when she told a story about her uncle going to jail because he went 40 miles per hour on a highway so he could watch the flowers and grass.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012. Print.

Intro Thoughts to Fahrenheit 451

For once in my life, I find I am actually excited to read one the books required at school. I have been wanting to read Fahrenheit 451 for a very long time, but I never really got around to it. I have read other stories by Ray bradbury and really enjoyed them. I think he has a firm grasp of what life is really like for the average person, and he has a beautiful way of communicating that.  Despite being excited to read this book, I'm also apprehensive. I haven't had the best of luck with the required reading before this point because I never enjoy reading them, even though they turn out to be ok. I really hope that changes now.  I'm so glad this book is science-fiction and not about events that have already happened. If we had firemen today who burned books, I might just die. I'd probably be one of the people who secreted the illegal books away in a hole in the wall, only able to read in the dead of night when everyone else was asleep. It wouldn't last long though because I'm one of those people that can't keep a good book to himself. I would talk to people about the books I read and firemen like Guy Montag would come and burn my house down, books and all. I'd be locked up in prison without anything to read until I died from the sheer boredom of it all.  I think the thing that would scare me the most to live in a place like that would be that most of the people wouldn't know any better or different. Like in 1984, people would be rasied in an enviroinment where people didn't read books, they only burned them. They wouldn't even think to question it. It makes me wonder how corrupt their government would have to be in order to censor the poeple so much, and how blind the poeple would have to be to go along with it.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012. Print.

Historic Significance of The Moon is Down

The Moon is Down was written by John Steinbeck to raise the morale of occupied countries during World War II and encourage them not to give up.  This book reflects, without specifically mentioning, what actually occurred during World War II to many of the affected countries.  I would bet that most towns conquered by the Germans probably went through very similar challenges as depicted in The Moon Is Down.  Some of these challenges include the use of citizens for forced labor and the setup of puppet governments to control the people. The behaviors seen in The Moon Is Down also reflect the attitudes and feelings during World War II.  The Nazis were still human, and many of them probably did not want to be fighting.  This is the same as seen in this novel, where the soldiers are portrayed as real people and not the stereotypical Stormtroopers.  “’Maybe we could go home for a while.’  And he said, smiling,’ Maybe I could walk down the street and people would say, ‘Hello,’ and they’d say, ‘There goes a soldier,’ and they’d be glad for me and they’d be glad of me.'"This quote shows that even the commanders of the invasion just wanted to go home and were miserable were they were at. Without a doubt the NCOs felt this even more as they were underlings and had a generally worse time. Attitudes of depression were seen like this during World War II for both the Allies and the Nazis.  The themes and symbols addressed in The Moon Is Down played a significant role in its effectiveness as a work of war propaganda.  The vision of democracy working as it should showed conquered territories that they could have a better life while the symbols of winter and “the missing moon” represented the evils that were taking over Europe during this time.  The title of this book represents the idea that the absence of the moon means the entrance of evil.  Steinbeck borrowed this idea from Shakespeare’s Macbeth.  These significant themes and symbols have made The Moon Is Down into the great classic that it is referred to as today. 

Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down. New York, New York: Penguin, 1995. Print.

Characters in The Moon is Down

The Moon is Down does not really have one main character, but there are several major characters who are in the town.  The mayor of the town is Mayor Orden.  Mayor Orden is a respectable gentleman and all of the townspeople like him.  This is probably because he does what they want.  Mayor Orden is a symbol of democracy.  He does not tell the people how to act; he acts in their best interest.  He is their leader, not their commander.  The leader of the invaders is Colonel Lanser.  Lanser is under directions from "The Leader", who is an allusion to Hitler.  Lanser is a veteran of World War I, and he attempts to repress his memories as he watches World War II unfold.  Lanser is does not like much of his job, but it is his job so he must do it.  He simply follows orders, and executes them in the manner that suits him most.  He does not like to kill because he knows what it can cause; he knows how the townspeople react and feel.  The soldiers in this book are not Stormtroopers, they have feelings.  Mayor Orden leads the townspeople, and Colonel Lanser leads the soldiers.  Other important townspeople are Alex and Molly Morden, Annie, and Doctor Winter.  Other soldiers are George Corell, Captain Bentick, Captain Loft, Major Hunter, Lieutenant Tonder, and Lieutenant Prackle.  Alex Morden kills Captain Bentick when Captain Bentick tries to protect Lieutenant Tonder after he tells an exhausted Alex to keep working.  Alex is publicly executed for killing a soldier. Later, Tonder tries to seduce Molly. She kills him with scissors.  Annie is the Mayor's cook, and she throws boiling water on some soldiers and is a part of the resistance.  Doctor Winter is the Mayor's adviser.  George Corell was the spy who sent the army out so the town could be invaded.  Captain Bentick was an Anglophile, not much more to say as he was killed early on.  Captain Loft is a young man, quickly gaining rank.  He sees the military as a way of life.  Major Hunter is the engineer for the invaders.  Lieutenant Prackle is something of an artist and has several sisters, but he goes insane from the stress of war.  Lieutenant Tonder was the soldier who caused Alex to enter a rage. He later attempts to seduce Molly Morden, who kills him.

Themes of Moon is Down

The universal theme of Steinbeck's The Moon is Down is to rebel and overthrow tyranny, and doing what is right, but another theme is pacifism. This book was written as a piece of propaganda against the Nazis of World War II.  This book was translated by Nils Lie into Norwegian.  The Norwegians published thousands of copies of the book and dropped some of them by airplane into occupied territories, but most were sent as concealed pamphlets by rail car.  Scores of thousands were made in many other languages like French, Dutch and German.  This was capable of starting so much civil unrest that it was illegal in German territory.  So this book most certainly has the theme of rebellion and the overthrow of tyranny.  The tyranny in this book was shown in the soldiers.  The soldier exhibit authority that they don't have by taking control of the town.  They are resisted by the townspeople, while we don't know how the town's story ends, revolt was alluded to.  This book also stands for pacifism if it can be had.  The townspeople certainly did not want war, their anger and violence was instigated by the invasion.  The invading soldiers did not even like it after a while.  A quote from chapter six stated, "They talked of these things and sometimes of their hatred of what they were doing and of their loneliness."  Lastly this book also talks of doing what is right.  Whether you want to or not.  One example of this is after Alex Morden killed Captain Bentick.  Colonel Lanser says that the he must be killed, he doesn't like it, but it is what must happen.  Lanser knows it will stir trouble with the people and he already has enough blood on his hands; he doesn't like to kill.  However, Morden must die because higher power than Lanser says he must. It was right for Lanser.  The more conventional answer, where doing what is right is doing what is also good, is in Chapter 8. The quote is from Mayor Orden, who is quoting Socrates from Apology, "There you are mistaken; a man who is good for anything ought not to calculate the chance of living or dying; he ought only to consider whether he is doing right or wrong"  This book shows the themes of rebellion against tyranny, doing what is right, and striving for pacifism.

Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down. New York, New York: Penguin, 1995. Print.

Catcher in the Rye: On Why Jane Was Crying

The part in the book I am referring to for this blog is Chapter 11 in The Catcher in the Rye.  When what seemed to be either her step father, or just her father, walked in asking if Jane knew where the cigarettes were. She did not respond or look up. When Holden asked what was going on, she never responded either, but he saw a tear roll down her face, and then she started crying. There are a few possibilities to why I think Jane may have started crying.   She probably has a bad relationship with this man. He could have abused her in several ways. Emotionally, he could have made fun of her for many things, hurt her self-esteem, said lies to her on many occasions. Then there is physical abuse, obviously, hurting her, causing bruises or scars. He could have done something to hurt her with cigarettes as well, like burn her with them, like maybe when he was drunk, or maybe when he was sober. There could be sexual abuse. Holden asked her about this one, but she said no. This could very well be a lie though. He could have done multiple/all of these different types of abuses that I have mentioned, too. Then, there is a more less-intense idea of her just not getting along very well with him. They have two different personalities that do not mix. I doubt that she would ignore him and Holden and cry just because they don't get along too greatly.  I also thought that maybe Jane wasn't abused by him, but her mom. That she has witnessed him doing some horrible things to her, when he is really just suppose to love her with all his heart.   But as Holden said "Some girls you practically never find out what's the matter." Which is so true. Some girls, they beat around the bush, tell you everything is fine when it is obviously not, and keep things to themselves. For Jane, or at least this part of Jane's life, this is what we're going to have to accept. 

Salinger, J. D. Catcher in the Rye. New York, NY: Little, Brown, 1991. Print.

Mood and Opinions Expressed Through The Moon is Down

John Steinbeck's writing style in The Moon is Down is dark but clear.  The darkness is caused by the content matter of the book.  The book is about war, which is dark, and much of it happens at night and is secret or hidden.  For instance, when they have the meeting to send off some villagers in the back of Mrs. Morden's house.  The meeting is at night and very dangerous, they are almost discovered.  More darkness is caused by the discussion of killing Corell and the talk of discretely contacting England for aid.  The tone of darkness is set by secrecy and general ne'er-do-well-ing, but the tone of clarity is set by the flawless insights by Steinbeck. The insights of Steinbeck's that I refer to are his insights on the state of mind of everyone in the book, specifically the invading soldiers.  He shows that even the Nazi soldier were humans and not just Hitler's Stormtroopers.  The invading troops still did the typical evil invader things, like setting the people to work and killing those who act up, but Steinbeck made them human.  He made them not like their job.  He made them have wants and impulses. He made them have feelings.  This is something you do not see in every book.  Most "bad guys" are heartless, emotionless minions of a greater evil.  While they were minions of a greater evil, the still had emotion and feelings.  Because the soldiers do not like some of their jobs, and because none of the townspeople like that they were invaded, I believe that John Steinbeck is portraying his pacifistic views.  The townspeople were never happy about the war, but after a while, even the soldiers wanted to go home. The soldiers did not like to kill either.  Colonel Lanser saw it as the last resort it should be.  In The Moon is Down, Steinbeck paints a dark, but disillusioned war which he uses to demonstrate his pacifistic views.

Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down. New York, New York: Penguin, 1995. Print.

Historic Accuracy of The Moon is Down

John Steinbeck's The Moon is Down is a historic fiction book, so I hope it is somewhat historically accurate.    Luckily, it is.  The book takes place in mid- World War II.  The invaded town is some coastal town. The invaders, presumably German (I don't remember if it is stated), were sent by their Leader, probably Hitler but specifically not stated, and they are just doing their jobs.  So yes, the book is historically accurate as it deals with issues of the time.  It is also accurate because the tools and politics are correct.  The unknown Leader seems to be looking to take over the world, and the townspeople escape to England to ask for help. This is accurate because England did help small towns like this one in ways such as they did.  The weapons are also the same, machine guns, pistols, and the like.  Electricity also seems to still be a little fresh because the power in the mansion keeps going out, but it had been in place long enough for radios to be common.  Physically this book is historically accurate.  This book is also historically accurate in mentality, but the amazing thing about this book is that the mentality is so exact, that it can describe any war.  The invaded are afraid of the invaders, but not so much as they are upset.  The invaders are afraid of the towns people; they must walk a line between keeping authority and keeping revolt away.  This book shows that even disliked invaders are people too.  After a while, even the soldiers did not like to be there.  They wanted to go home to their wives and kids, to stop being disliked by everyone, and to relax.  This book does a good job of showing humanity, even in the oppressors.  Just because they act in a way you don't like, doesn't mean they like it either.  This is demonstrated by all the times Colonel Lanser says he would like to forget World War I, by all the times he dislikes something but does it because he is ordered to, and by Lieutenant Prackle going insane because of how much he dislikes being there.  This book is very historically accurate, Physically and in mentality.  This book has an enlightening view on and against war.

Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down. New York, New York: Penguin, 1995. Print.

Engagement Techniques in The Moon is Down

Steinbeck uses a couple of different techniques to engage his audience.  One way is suspense.  Steinbeck  implements suspense to keep the audience wondering.  The suspense is caused by the wonder of how the townspeople and the invaders will act or react to each other.  One of the suspenseful times in this book is when Lieutenant Tonder goes to visit Mrs. Morden.  Tonder does not know that Mrs. Morden is the wife of the man who was killed publicly.  Tonder goes over to try to be friendly or maybe even to seduce her, and the reader wants to know how Mrs. Morden will behave and react.  Another reason this book catches reader attention is by using familiar subject matter.  The familiar subject matter in The Moon is Down is war.  It is easy for people to rationalize the familiar, and most people are familiar with war and violence.  We talk about it in school, in society, and we play games about it as children.  War is familiar to people so that is one reason why people may read this book.  Some people prefer to read books about war.  The presence of the familiar makes this book a more tangible read.  John Steinbeck also utilizes a bit of humor in this book, but really only at the beginning. The part I am referring to is when Annie throws boiling water at the soldiers.  The colonel debates punishing her, but Mayor Orden tells him not to because otherwise he would have no cook.  Then Mrs. Orden comes in to tell him that Annie is talking to Christine who is also upset.  Colonel Lanser asks who Christine is, and Mayor Orden responds with, "Christine is even a better cook than Annie."  This is really the only humor I found in the book, but it is humor none the less.

Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down. New York, New York: Penguin, 1995. Print.

Conflict in The Moon is Down

The conflict in The Moon is Down has an internal and external presence.  The external conflict is quite obvious.  It is caused by the invading soldiers invading the town.  Some of the external conflicts include: the invasion of the town, the killing of Captain Bentick and then of Alex Morden, and the demolition of the railways.  Gains went to both sides, and a gain for one side is a loss for the other.  The invaders gained control of the town, each side gained kill and lost lives, the invaders lost railways, and the invaded began to gain liberty.  The external conflict shows the obvious gains and losses of war.  The internal conflicts are less obvious to those who have never been in this situation.  The first and most important internal conflict is the decision to cooperate on the part of the invaded.  Should they obey or not?  In this book, they decide to wait it out a couple of months.  Eventually the towns people decide they very much dislike the invaders and so they begin to lash out.  The first act of rebellion comes from Alex Morden killing Captain Bentick.  The next and second most important internal conflict is how to handle discipline on the part of the invaders.  Even though higher authority has laid out directions on how to handle most discipline, the soldiers must choose to enact it, and some situations require decision making, like will the soldiers search houses for the dynamite that has been dropped? Who should discipline affect, the individual or everyone?  How should the work behavior of the townspeople be enforced?  The answers the invaders came up with are: no, the individual, and with strict supervision. Respectively.  Another problem for both sides was fear.  The townspeople fear death and punishment that the invaders bring, but the invaders secretly fear the townspeople should they begin to disobey or even revolt.  These internal conflicts are very well thought out by Steinbeck as most people would not think about them, but they seem like very rational fears when they are thought about.

Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down. New York, New York: Penguin, 1995. Print.

Why Do We Still Read The Moon is Down

We still read The Moon is Down because its literary values and because it was a very important piece of propaganda.  The Moon is Down was written by John Steinbeck and was used as a piece of American propaganda in World War II, but it could be used in any war.  The reason this book is able to be used in any war is because there is no direct reference to Hitler or any of his staff, only allusions.  This book also gives an eye opening view on war.  Neither side, invaders or invaded, is really pleased with the situation; both are afraid of each other.  Where most books, films or any media describe evil, invading soldiers as wanting only to invade and take land for themselves, Steinbeck shows that they are still only humans and they still dream of home and women and hobbies just like any soldier.  Even the opposing soldiers are just following orders.  It is fitting that this book should have an eye opening view as it was written during the modernism period of the 1940s.  Modernism is usually characterized with a sense of disillusionment and clarity with a glint of hope.  The glint of hope from the invaders is hope that the invaded will obey; the glint of hope from the invaded is that of rebellion and uprising.  I believe this book was written out of Steinbeck's pacifistic nature.  I say this because the book shows that neither side of any war like the violence of war.  No one wants to kill, and certainly no one wants to be killed.  I like that Steinbeck wrote this book with the ability to apply to any war.  By not mentioning specific names or exact historical references, this book shows more of the truth.  It doesn't say that the Nazis feel this way, it doesn't say the Russians feel this way, or the Iraqis.  This just makes it the invaders and the invaded.  We still read this book because of its example of modernist views blending perfectly with propaganda.

Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down. New York, New York: Penguin, 1995. Print.