Bravery in Death: Mayor Orden

 It is hard to be noble in the face of death, and to most people, it is a very frightening thing. But there was one person in this novel who was brave even though he knew he would die, and in his last few words, he said some of the bravest things of all. The thing that really stood out to me about Mayor Orden was how bold he was in the face of death. He knows he will die, but when Lanser asks him to tell his people to halt the explosions, he refuses and when asked if the people will light the spark, he says to Lanser, “Yes, they will light it. I gave no choice of living or dying, you see, sir, but—I do have a choice of how I do it. If I tell them not to fight, they will be sorry, but they will fight. If I tell them to fight, they will be glad, and I who am not a very brave man will have made them a little braver. You see, it is and easy thing to do, since the end for me is the same" (Steinbeck, 111). The most courageous thing of all is that Orden DOES NOT ask his people to stop continuing their attack in order to save his life. What he did there was something a true leader should do.  He believes in his people, and he tells Lanser that in the end, the townspeople will win. He encourages his people to fight, and he wants them to be free.  He also tells Lanser that the people don’t need him because they are ‘freemen’ and that ‘they can fight on in defeat’ and that ‘Herd men, followers of a leader cannot do that, and so it is always the herd men who win battles, and the free men who win wars.” (Steinbeck, 111) In the end, it is assumed that Lanser will follow through with killing Orden. But Orden made a difference in the end. He was the voice of his people, and he believed as strongly as they did that they would overcome their enemies. He discouraged Lanser by telling him the truth. He also spurred his people on to fight. Though Orden died, I think he DID leave a legacy. He was a true leader, and I think people who read this book can learn a thing or two about leadership from the character Mayor Orden.

Steinbeck, John. Moon Is Down. N.p.: Penguin Group, 1942. Print.