The novel “The Moon is Down” by John Steinbeck offers readers insights and analysis about the psychology of wartime from both the perspective of the conquerors and the conquered. Although early on the reader learns more about the small community and is thus compelled to sympathize with it as it struggles with the violent transition, as more is learned about the opposing force, it is clear that it is the conquerors who suffered more (in terms of the realistic psychological details) throughout the occupation.

As any analysis or summary of “The Moon is Down” by John Steinbeck will note, the opposing force is confident and vigorous at first but as the townspeople organize more and more, this lack of human connection proves almost deadly. While the townspeople have each other to count on, the opposing force sinks deeper into despair, doubt, loneliness, and homesickness.  In general, Steinbeck’s “The Moon is Down” reveals that there are no “good” sides during a war or occupation and it reminds readers that both sides are simply humans, after all. Through his portrayal of the “human side” of the supposed enemy, Steinbeck presents readers with a paradox in “The Moon is Down” that goes beyond “good and bad” sides in a conflict. By presenting the soldiers and officers on both sides as real people with common concerns such as family, friends, and love, we are forced to rethink the inhumanity of war.

Although this analysis of “The Moon is Down” by John Steinbeck argues that the conqueror had the greatest challenge psychologically, it must be stated that this does not mean that the occupied town did not suffer. From the first pages of “The Moon is Down” by Steinbeck, the readers is encouraged to feel some sympathy for this small town in the face of the occupation. The first page of this Steinbeck story introduces us to several details in rapid-fire sequence before settling in one the Mayor. For instance, we are told immediately in one of the more important quotes from “The Moon is Down” by John Steinbeck “policeman and the postman could not even get to their own offices in the Town Hall and when they insisted on their rights they were taken prisoners of war and locked up in the town jail” (1).

We are confronted with sudden and brutal lack of rights associated with occupation and one cannot help but feel pity for this peaceful tight-knit community. Even the town’s paltry soldiers seem pitiable as Steinbeck explains how they were “loose-hung” and had very little “experience in war and none at all in defeat” (1). The thought of these poor shoddy town soldiers being immediately dispatched is striking and since we are not told anything of the enemy, it is expected that this novel will be like other war novels and will attempt to take sides. When Dr. Winter laments that “our country is falling, our town is conquered…the Mayor is about to receive the conqueror, we hope the best for the resistance, especially since it is tragic that in such a small and tight community they have been given up by a man the town once respected, George Corell.

It takes several pages of introductions and exposition before the reader is allowed to get a glimpse at the enemy in “The Moon is Down” in any significant or meaningful way. Throughout the first part of the novel, they are a rather faceless force of occupation, taking over the coal mines and demanding labor from the newly enslaved townspeople. There is an air of hopefulness about this conquering force and the optimism at this early point borders on villainy until we learn more about the psychological complexities faced by the opposing force. The opposing military leader, Colonel Lanser cannot understand why the town is resisting him and to him it seems perfectly natural for a takeover to occur and for people to immediately fall under his control. He begins to break down throughout the novel because of this conflict and his human side is eventually displayed.

In another example concerning Tonder, he considers this new conquered territory, Lieutenant Tonder remarks on the pristine landscape, seeing it as something that could belong to him personally, without a thought in his head about the townspeople or his means of acquiring the land. He states, “There are some beautiful farms here. If four or five of them were thrown together, it would be a nice place to settle, I think” (34). At this point, it can assumed that many readers are still on the side of the occupied townspeople since more of their sufferings and hardships been detailed. Little does one realize, however, that this statement is not merely intended to make the enemy seems as though they think all should belong to them, but it offers some foreshadowing to the disillusionment, dejection, and detesting of the landscape and people that will eventually follow.

In some ways, this is Tonder’s last glimpse of innocence and optimism since by the end of the conflict the bitterness is almost overwhelming. Halfway through the book Tonder’s statement about settling in the area cannot be forgotten when he realizes that perhaps the conquering is not as easy as he once imagined. The reader cannot help but contrast his earlier lines about settlement with the statement, “The men of the battalion came to detest the place they had conquered…and gradually a little fear began to grow in the conquerors, a fear that it would never be over” (65-66). While it this point the situation for the opposing force has not grown completely grim, psychologically speaking, it is the beginning of the end and for the first time it becomes truly possible for the reader to begin understanding the immense difficulty of being a soldier in such town. They are becoming divided and are questioning their leadership as well as growing increasingly more homesick and isolated. We see that each side in the conflict is made of people—human beings with similar emotions, needs, and wants.

As this essay on “The Moon is Down” by John Steinbeck notes, throughout the novel, the townspeople use the benefit of safety within the community and begin to organize a very effective resistance campaign against their increasingly weary attackers. While this is powerful in terms of military or social action, its greatest effect on the effort is its deep psychological effect on the enemy’s side. For the enemy soldiers who are losing faith in their abilities, each other, and their leadership this complete isolation is incredibly destructive. One by one the reader is told of problems in the opposing side’s arena and soldiers go missing as the town manages its resistance. In many ways they have gone from being overly confident to completely dejected. At one point the reader is told in one of the important quotes from “The Moon is Down” by John Steinbeck, “the conqueror was surrounded, the men of the battalion alone among silent enemies, and no man might relax his guard for even a moment” (65). For these opposition soldiers, the efforts were constant and they had little ways to relax, even if they were able to. Their ranks had been split up and divisions between within the battalion itself made the situation even more complex. Flaring tempers, suspicions, and outright paranoia begins to plague the soldiers and “Thus it came about that the conquerors grew afraid of the conquered and their nerves wore thin and they shot at shadows in the middle of the night” (66-67). In many ways, by the end of this work by Steinbeck, these soldiers were completely depleted and exhausted—not because of their efforts in traditional battles, but because of the high level of psychological stress brought about by a tough occupation.

It seems that the initial purpose of this book (all scholarly criticism aside) is to relate something about the nature of war. Both sides in any conflict are made up of human forces and in wartime or occupation situations it is easy to forget that the enemy is still a human being—despite their status being an oppositional force. This novel is clever because it takes the reader’s expectations (that we are committed to chose one side over the other) and turns it on its head. The way these expectations are upset is through revealing the “bad side’s” psychological struggle and showing how it can be as destructive and challenging as any physical assaults.

Other essays and articles in the Literature Archives related to this topic include :  American Literature in Historical Context : 1865 to Roosevelt   •  Realism in American Literature