The Moon is Down
very accurately reflects history. The novel is set in a small town, which can
be assumed is in Norway. The unnamed town is invaded by a large country,
Germany. The novel takes place in the late 1930’s and the early 1940's. We know
at that time Germany was in the war fighting against England, Russia, and the
rest of the Allied countries. They mention England and Russia in the novel
(Steinbeck).
In the novel, Steinbeck writes about some interesting
relationships. The main one that stuck out to me is the respect of the town to
Mayor Orden. The way Steinbeck describes it, the people all think very highly
of their mayor, and want to be protected by him as much as they want him to
stay protected and safe from the invaders. This loyalty seems that it is
typical of a town and their mayor in the time period in which the novel takes
place (Steinbeck). Another relationship he describes is the relationship
between the townspeople. They all seem to respect and have great trust in each
other. I think this is true because of the way they act when they find out
George Corell, the town storekeeper, was spying on them and leaking the
information to the invaders, so they could invade the town with much ease. This
hurt them so much because they befriended them, and thought that he was one of
them and never expected something like that to happen (Steinbeck). The final relationship
described is the relationship of the invaders and townspeople. This
relationship would be typical of any situation such as this where one place is
being invaded by another. The townspeople hate the invaders, and just wish they
would leave so they could have their freedom back. This relationship is
typical, because no one wants to be controlled by someone else, and told what
to do. It is human nature, and remains true in the novel (Steinbeck).
Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down, a Novel,. New
York: Viking, 1942. Print
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