Who is the hero of The Moon is Down?

Most books have one defined hero, but the Moon is Down by John Steinbeck is an exception. The hero of this book is not even a few people, but a whole group of them. The main heroes of The Moon is Down are all of the townspeople that fight the soldiers. I believe that every single person that helps in the rebellion in some way is a hero in this novel. These people are heroes because they decide to stand up for their freedom even though they have no weapons and are outnumbered. The civilians also do not let the soldiers break their spirit. I think that this shows real heroics because it would be much easier to surrender their homeland to the invaders and go along with them peacefully, but the townspeople will not. This strength is not something everyone has, or would bother to wield. In this book the townspeople's accomplishments include blowing up bridges, letting their enemy know that they will not go peacefully, and doing anything they can to get rid of them (Steinbeck 86). The most important accomplishment though of these heroes is what they inspire in the people reading the book. The civilians give the reader a sense that anyone can do what they did because they are just normal people. The heroes in this book includes a doctor, mayor, a servant girl, a coal miner, and many more. They show that anyone can rise up and stand up for what they believe in and protect their homeland from invaders. They show that even the best soldiers cannot fight human determination and spirit. This message of regular people doing extraordinary things shows the reader that you can do anything you put your mind to, and that no one can ever hold you down if you decide to stand up for what you believe in. An example of this is Alex, who is the first person to act out against the soldiers and rebel (Steinbeck 38). Even though he pays for this rebellion with his life, he emboldens the other people to do the same and starts a full-scale rebellion against the soldiers (Steinbeck 54).

Bibliography: Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down. New York. Penguin Group USA, 2009. Print