In The Moon is Down, there
are a couple of themes discussed. The first theme is unity. I have discussed
this in several blogs about the novel, because it is, in my opinion, one of the
major themes I got out of the novel. They know that if they stick together,
they will fight on together and never stop trying. “Defeat
is a momentary thing. A defeat doesn't last. We were defeated and now we
attack. Defeat means nothing. Can't you understand that? Do you know what they
are whispering behind doors" (Steinbeck 844)? This
quote proves y point, because the townspeople know this, which is why they stay
unified and fight on.
Another
theme is that in war, both sides suffer. The invaders almost suffer more than
the town being invaded. The invaders gradually start to lose themselves and
their point of the mission over time. They start caring more about women and
going home. They lose two of their men, both to the townspeople. They tried too
hard to be liked, and they ended up being hated even more. The townspeople lost
many of their people, which would have been discouraging to most, but to the
people it made them want to fight more. They also lost their freedom to the
invaders. They could no longer do what they pleased, and had to obey the strict
rules put in place by the invaders (Steinbeck).
Steinbeck understands that it is human nature
to want to be liked and accepted. This is how the invaders felt, and the fact that
they were trying to be liked just made the townspeople hate them more. They
wanted them to accept them, because some of the men wanted to meet a girl and
settle down and have a family. They obviously did not understand no girl is
going to like the people that take so much away from them (Steinbeck).
Steinbeck understands that so well, which is why the novel is so good.
Steinbeck, John. The
Moon Is Down, a Novel,. New York: Viking, 1942. Print
*Kindle page numbers
No comments:
Post a Comment