The Moon is Down Question 4

            In a previous blog, I stated that in every novel there is a conflict.  That is true and so is that in every novel there is a hero and/or villain.  John Steinbeck wrote The Moon is Down so that there was a hero and a villain.  For this blog though, I am only going to talk about the hero.  Most of the time when you think about a hero it is usually one person.  A hero is “a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities; one who shows great courage” (Hero).  The typical qualities of a hero are: bravery, strength, courageousness, kindness and honesty.  When it says man, it does not mean it has to be a man.  It can be a woman also but it is just a common term when talking about a person. 

As I said before, a hero is usually one person.   The Moon is Down is set in a little town, which its name was not mentioned, and it was filled with many people.  Being filled with people is a pretty normal thing for a town.  The group of townspeople showed themselves and the Nazi’s that they would be brave and that they stand for the good side.  The bad side is the invading Nazi’s of course.  “’Captain Bentick was about to leave to come here when I had some trouble about a recalcitrant miner  who wanted to quit work. He shouted something about being a free man. When I ordered him to work, he rushed at me with his pick. Captain Bentick tried to interfere’” (Steinbeck 33).  This act of bravery made this townsperson a hero in my opinion.  Even though he killed someone, which is not okay, he did not feel that the Nazi was not a good person.  Not only were they brave, they had mental and emotional strength so that they would be the winners in the war.  It is just like when you are running a race.  While you are running, you have to have the leg strength to run, but you have to be strong in the mind so you do not give up.  Imagine being invaded by people who are strangers that force you to do laborious work.  It would be a challenge to stay calm and keep going on in life. 

"Hero." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 13 Aug. 2012. 

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.