The Moon is Down #8

For being a fictional novel, it is actually pretty similar to a few real life events during the war. The novel takes place in a small town in Northern Europe with invading enemy soldiers who are also at war with Russia and England. This is very similar to the real life event of Germany invading Norway during World War II. The novel also surprisingly represents the Norwegian resistance very well as the introduction of the novel states. I am also pretty sure that some of the rulings and the reactions from the people involved in the invasion are similar to real life reactions from people involved in WWII.

Obviously, considering John Steinbeck wrote this novel to be a work of propaganda during World War II, the war and its events inspired John Steinbeck to write The Moon is Down. He wrote the novel to help inspire people in invaded countries to act out against the people who invaded them and start their own resistances. For being such an accomplished author at the time this book was written, you know that Steinbeck really believed in the cause to write this novel. This novel is not known for its literally greatness like most of the other novels Steinbeck wrote, but just for the impact in made during the war.

One of the main relationships that the author includes in this novel is the commanding officer to his men in the military. The people in different ranks can be friends and get along really well but when it comes down to it, one has to outrank the other, and overrule them. "You're not a man anymore. You are a soldier. Your comfort is of no importance and, Lieutenant your life isn't of much importance. (Steinbeck 99). Lanser has to show his superiority over Lieutenant Prackle when he requests to go home. Another relationship Steinbeck writes about is a Mayor and his people. Mayor Orden has a great relationship with his people where they listen to him and respect him immensely. Normally in novels, the leaders are corrupt and bad towards the people, but this is not the case here.It is a nice change to see people actually respect their leaders.

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