The Moon is Down Question 1

            The author of The Moon is Down is John Steinbeck.  The way he put down words on the paper, reveals his attitudes and values.  “Doctor Winter was a man so simple that only a profound man would know him as profound” (Steinbeck 4).  “Joseph was elderly and lean and serious, and his life was so complicated that only a profound man would know him to be simple” (Steinbeck 5).  These two lines really stood out to me.  They are opposites of each other, profound and simple and simple and profound.  Profound means deep and complete while simple means easy and not complicated.  What he is saying is that Doctor Winter is not a complicated man and only a deep thinking person would recognize him as a more intense person.  I think that this shows the readers that John Steinbeck carefully chooses his words and makes sure that it makes sense but stands out. 

            After reading The Moon is Down, I was able to determine some of John Steinbeck’s values.  The two that I chose were bravery and discipline.  I chose bravery because this novel is about a war and to be fighting in a war or just a bystander, you have to be brave.  You need to keep that brave face on and not give up on your country.  The other value I decided on was discipline.  If you are a soldier, you have to have discipline.  On the road to becoming part of the military, you have to go through tough training tht teaches them to listen to whoever is in charge.  My cousin is a Marine and he was rowdy and misbehaved before he went to boot camp.  After he came home, it was like he was a whole new person.  He treated anyone older than him with respect because he learned to respect who is in charge from the boot camp. 

            John Steinbeck wrote The Moon is Down in third person. 

Steinbeck, John. Novels, 1942-1952: The Moon Is Down ; Cannery Row ; The Pearl ; East of Eden. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, 2001. Print.