The Moon is Down - Writing Techniques?

Because I look at these questions before reading the book, I find myself constantly searching for answers. I felt myself scanning the pages, asking myself, "What is this author doing?" The most consistent technique I noticed that Steinbeck used was suspense. It is only fitting, seeing as though this is war novel, and war tends to be a suspenseful topic. As I read, I could never tell what was going to happen next. That made it a lot easier to read because I found myself wanting to continue to read, something that unfortunately does not happen much with the summer reading we do for Honors English. One second I was on page 15 and the next I was at 100.

One of the most notable forms of suspense were during the parts where the book talked about the Anders Brothers' plan to spread word of the villagers' situation (Steinbeck 80-84). We knew that the Mayor was planning on getting weapons into the city that could help the villagers rebel, but we did not know if their plan was going to work. What if they were caught? What if they were able to drive the soldiers out of the city? What if the soldiers just confiscated the weapons and punished the villagers for it? There was an endless amount of possibilities and the reader was glued to the book trying to figure out which one would happen.

Another technique I found in this novel was the author making the people of the town grow. I do not mean that they physically grew, though I'm sure some of them did. I mean that the characters started out weak and unaware, but they grew in strength and courage. The villagers were not ready to rebel at the beginning of the novel, not at all. But at the end, we knew that they could handle it. The mayor had utmost confidence in them. He even showed confidence in them in the beginning, "My people don't like to have others think for them. Maybe they are different from your people. I am confused, but that I am sure of." (Steinbeck 17). When the readers noticed that the villagers were growing in this way, they realized that they could grow in the same way as well. This could have drawn people to read this book.

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