The Moon is Down

A detailed Summary of The Moon is Down


Set in contemporary time The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck portrays a story of the struggles of war. The book was published in 1942, which was the time when American was just rearming for World War II. Norway, Denmark, Holland, and France were all occupied. The country in this book that is under occupation is Norway. In this story the town is anonymous though peace loving and small such as Norway. A stronger country invades them, which is supposed to represent Germany. It takes place during the winter mainly at the Mayor's palace. The story's setting in such a small place allows the reader to get an intimate look at the strategies and thoughts of the "conquered and the conquerors" during wartime. This book served as war propaganda and possession of the book resulted in death. This simple story gave those who were under the occupation of the "Leader" or Hitler, great hope of surviving. The purpose of The Moon is Down is to make a mockery of war and how pointless it is. Also Steinbeck wanted to show that in the end the free individuals prevail because they are stronger in the long run than a totalitarian power.


Steinbeck explores the reality of human emotion during war situations on opposing sides. He shows that everyone is human despite the facade they may display in order to survive. The town's people upon being captured turned into cold hard people expressing little emotion to show the soldiers that they were strong even though they were dying on the inside. The soldiers soon became wary of their duties and longed to go home to their family and homes, as Steinbeck put it, "A man can be a solider for only so many hours a day and for only so many months a year, and then he wants to be a man again, wants girls and drinks and music and laughter and ease, and when these are cute off, they become irresistibly desirable." This feeling especially occurred after the soldiers were treated coldly by all the townspeople. They had no form of communication. "Thus it came about that the conquerors grew afraid of the conquered and their nerves wore thin..." The solders were forced to hide all of their emotions and their trouble is best shown through what Colonel Lanser said " That girl.. You may rape her, or protect her, or marry her-that is of no importance so long as

Some common words found in the essay are:
Molly Morden, Holland France, Macbeth Banquo, Mayor Orden, Doctor Winter, Leader Hitler, Colonel Lanser, John Steinbeck, Dr Winter, mayor orden, , people free,

Approximate Word count = 782
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels

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