Theme Of The Moon Is Down

John Steinbeck takes a curious approach when writing his novel The Moon Is Down. Traditionally, authors portray the antagonist of the story as inhuman, especially when representing something like the Nazi's. However, Steinbeck chooses to portray the invaders as humane people, many of whom are lonely and wish to leave. This has led to much criticism surrounding the novel and its effectiveness in raising the morale of the conquered. The reader, including myself, was led to feel sympathy for the invaders. The situations of Colonel Lanser and Lieutenant Tonder show this theme the best. Colonel Lanser, a man of great war experience, knows the horrors of war and desires to avoid them. He conquers the town as peacefully as possible. However, resistance
Theoretically, fear of death would deter resistance, but Lanser knows that free men are never conquered. I don't agree with his tactic as his memories have proven to him that the town will turn into a bloody mess of constant resistance. Loft's strategy of targetting the families is an effective way to force the miners to efficiently mine coal. However, after work hours, his tactic becomes mostly useless. The miners do not want their families to starve, so they will work hard during the day. However, once they go home, they can act without fear of their families starving. The failure to come up with a working solution leads to the issolation and mass hatred of the soldiers. This takes a large toll on Lieutenant Tonder. He experiences lonliness and homesickness. This causes the reader to feel bad for Tonder. However, one must remember that he is a soldier after all and it is his job to carry out orders despite his personal feelings. This leads into Loft's statement. As a soldier, it is his responsibility to stay emotionally uninvested in the town and follow procedures. I believe that Steinbeck portrayed the men in a humane light in order to show their weaknesses and