Literature Review – Steinbeck, The Moon is Down
John Steinbeck's Novel Explores Subversion, Resistance to Occupation
Jul 3, 2009
The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck is a relatively unknown piece of literature that was widely circulated by political activists and rebels during many occupations; examples include Nazi-occupied France as well as the Soviet Union amongst a slew of other European nations.
The novella is short in stature at a slight 115 pages in the 1973 Bantam edition and encompasses many themes, such as the relationship between oppressors and the oppressed, the depth and demands of the military-industrial complex, and the iron will of the human spirit against slavery and repression.
Beautiful, Placid Atmosphere and the Occupation
The narrative of The Moon is Down takes place in a somewhat isolated coal mining village in Northern Europe, encrusted with ice and snow in the depths of a freezing winter. This is a very tightly knit, warm community where the love for each other is apparent; Steinbeck is known for his populist leanings and The Moon is Down does not stray from this predilection of portraying the common man as an honourable, gentle, yet spirited soul.
The contrast between the isolated, pure, and quiet village and the Nazi war machine rolling into town cannot be missed by the reader.
The villagers are told that this will be a peaceful process by the invaders – yet they are immediately enslaved and put to work mining coal for the Nazis. A slow boil of hatred overcomes the townfolk, and with sullen, shielded eyes do they continue their daily work.
Characterization, Depth of Personality
The primary characters in The Moon is Down are truly the general leading the Nazi occupation, Colonel Lanser, and his political opponent, the benevolent and wise Mayor of the town, Orden. As stated in the earlier pages of the work :
"He had been Mayor for so long that he was the Idea-Mayor in the town. Even grown people when the saw the word "mayor," printed or written, saw Mayor Orden in their minds. He and his office were one, It had given him dignity and he had given it warmth." (pp. 7)
The Mayor, then, is truly the spiritual and symbolic head of the village, far more than simply the office of Mayor would afford any other member-elect. Lanser, too, shares a burden and responsibility of office - he too is more than simply a cold German officer – Lanser's embittered soul is weary of war, death, and the disgusting nature of institutionalized murder – and yet he must commit it relentlessly.
"... The military, the political pattern I work in has certain tendencies and practices which are invariable."
Orden said, "And these tendencies and practices have been proven wrong in every single case since the beginning of the world."
Lanser laughed bitterly. "I, an individual man with certain memories, might agree with you, might even add that one of the tendencies of the military mind and pattern is an inability to learn, an inability to see beyond the killing which is its job. But I am not a man subject to memories. The coal miner must be shot publically, because the theory is that others with then restrain themselves from killing our men." (pp. 49)
The colonel here expresses a distaste for the rigidity and stupidity of war, and yet he consigns himself to the textbook execution if it; The truth is that Lanser is either afraid to confront his past and the atrocities of war, or he is simply too old and beaten down by a lifetime of moral torture to engage in philosophical change.
In either case, neither character is reduced to a caricature – rather they play important philosophical roles with skill and depth.
Messages and Themes of Freedom & Spirit
At its core, The Moon is Down is a story about the strength of an oppressed people, the ability to strike back against the oppressors – even though they are human beings rather than animals – because those oppressors have chosen their roles, and are willing to execute them against the conquered.
Through a snowballing series of events, the small military force that has overtaken the small coal mining village is assaulted – a murder committed by villager Alexander Morden against a taskmaster (the unflinching, militant Captain Loft), and following Alexander's execution, his wife taking another officer's life.
When asked about his crime, Alexander simply replies, "He said I must work. I am a free man. I got mad and I hit him."
The occupation continues to waver and crumble over the cold winter, until at last the sounds of insurgent traps and explosives are incessant, and the news grows worse for the occupiers. During the dying pages of the novel, Steinbeck elaborates, through Orden, on the nature of freedom and the indomitable spirit of man. Speaking to his good friend Doctor Winter, under penalty of death, Mayor Orden speaks.
"You know, Doctor, I am a little man and this is a little town, but there must be a spark in little men that can burst into flame. I am afraid, I am terribly afraid, and I thought of all the things I might do to save my own life, and then that went away, and sometimes now I feel a kind of exultation, as though I were bigger and better than I am..." (pp. 108)
Continuing this notion a few exchanges later, Orden directs one of his final monologues to Colonel Lanser.
"You see sir, nothing can change it. You will be destroyed and driven out." His voice was very soft. "The people don't like to be conquered, sir, and so they will not be. Free men cannot start a war, but once it is started, they can fight on in defeat. Herd men, followers of a leader, cannot do that, and so it is always the herd men who win battles and free men who win wars. You will find that is so, sir." (pp. 112)
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