Hajj in John Steinbeck’s The Moon is Down

John Steinbeck’s The Moon is Down is considered a somewhat prophetic work. Written shortly before the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor, it examines the occupation of an unnamed European country by an invading force (also unnamed, though thinly disguised as Nazis). Coming off the recent publication of The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck was a literary superstar at the time. At the time Steinbeck, and ardent opponent of fascism, was working for the Office of Coordinator of Information and had come into contact with many refugees displaced by Nazi invasion. He developed the idea to portray the effect of a military invasion and occupation of a peaceful small town. Yet while the novel is a work of propaganda – and a very successful one, particularly judging by its reception in Europe – it not only probes the psychological impact of the town’s citizens, but also the impact on the aggressors. The result is by turns grim, disturbing and uplifting.

The Moon is Down begins rather innocuously, as invasions go. The small coastal town is taken on a Sunday morning, and its meager fighting force is unable to show much resistance. The invaders were aided by conspirator shopkeeper Mr. Corell. It is revealed that the main purpose of the occupation is to extract coal from the town’s mines (as commanding officer Colonel Lanser puts it, “This whole thing is more an engineering job than a conquest” (p.34). From the outset, the town’s leader, Mayor Orden, casts doubt about the desire of his citizens to bow to Lanser’s forces: “They are orderly under their own government. I don’t know how they would be under yours” (p.34).

Rather than create brutish, cartoon-like villains, Steinbeck humanizes the characters that populate the occupying army. Colonel Lanse...

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...planned, it can be seen as an indictment of their beliefs. Put another way, they had expected to force their way into another land and become welcomed over time. While the soldiers are homesick, it can be inferred that their belief system has also been shaken. The people will not accept their rule no matter what. This leads to a frustrated Tonder questioning the overall war plan, which causes Loft – forever loyal to the cause -- to admonish him: “…don’t let treasonable doubts get in” (p.71).

Steinbeck has crafted a tale that typifies the adage, “War is hell,” but there is precious little violence. He shows that the real toll in war is psychological. He also shows that no matter what measures an aggressor may take, liberty and freedom do not die. These ideals are the most powerful weapons known to man, something The Leader and his braintrust cannot seem to grasp.