Most books that we still read today are read because of their amazing writing, awesome plot, descriptive language, or they are very easy to relate to. The Moon is Down is unique in that it really is not thought of a classic novel and it is not even Steinbeck's most popular book. So, why do we still read this novel in Mr. Langley's English 332 class? I believe that we still read it today because it holds so much truth. Many books written about this subject were more fiction than historical. I think that Steinbeck took this opportunity to write a novel about what was really happening in the world. People from countries all over the world, mostly the United States of America and Western Europe, were influenced by the story. It made people more aware of what the current state of the world was and it also had the capability to show educated people more about the invasions that were taking place all over Western Europe. In today's society when we learn about World War II we mainly learn about the Holocaust, but that really was not uncovered until the end of the war. What the war was really about is not described in detail until high school or maybe even college.
Having the war as the topic of the book is also very easy to relate to for some people in today's society. We are currently an active country in the War on Terror and soldiers, military families, or war buffs alike are probably very interested in this book because it can give people an idea of what the citizens of other countries are going through. Because America has not been invaded for a while I think that people are very interested in how it all works. The last time our country was attacked was almost eleven years and the war has not been on our home land. Most people are just very curious and want to know how life was for different people all over the world.
Steinbeck, John. The Moon is Down. New York: Penguin Classics, 1942. Print.
No comments:
Post a Comment