The Moon Is Down - 6

6) Why do we still read this book?  What is so timeless about its message and characters?  What can we learn from reading this novel?

History is important.  That seems blunt, but it is true.  I know it has to be true because I have spent my entire summer reading about United States history, and if it is not important then I would feel very wasted.  Anyway, I would say the the importance of this book is the fact that we can learn not only about our country's history but also about how to handle situations like this and how to avoid them in the future.  The lessons portrayed through the story will always be applicable to human life in the world we are living in.  Humans will always be humans, even if that means war and death.  That is the depressing truth.
On a lighter note, at least we have books like The Moon Is Down to teach us about the past, how to react, and what to do if these things were to occur.  There will always be people like Alex to commence the revolts, but it is up to us to use lessons that we've learned through life to decide and react (Steinbeck 111).  I am glad that books like these exist, because otherwise, we would not really know what the people were doing through times like this.  Yeah, you read about wars in your history books and its bad and everything, but you never get to read what it was like to be in that situation in a history book.  Those thoughts can only be found in stories and journals.  That is where the beauty of literature is.  The relation you can make with the characters and situations is much more powerful than a book spitting facts at you as you try to fathom what it would have been like.  I think that things like this are why we continue to read this book today.  We have to be able to picture things and feel things to truly believe and appreciate them, including things like the hardships of war.  That would not be an easy thing to imagine if not for people like John Steinbeck.  These thoughts make you step back to realize what exactly you are reading about and why it was important.  

Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down. New York: Viking, 1942. Print.