The Moon Is Down - 8

8) How accurately does this novel reflect events in history?  What responsibilities does the author believe exist between various groups in society, such as workers and bosses, men and women, blacks and whites, etc.?  What people, ideas, and events probably influenced this author?

I feel as though the book reflects history with excellence, especially going back to the known fact that this book is technically considered to be in the genre of historical fiction.  In all honesty, historical fiction is definitely not my favorite genre of all time.  I either want to read something historical, or I want to read something fictional.  I feel as though putting together is a bit of a contradiction, but sometimes that is just the way it has to be.
So, even though I do not really enjoy historical fiction, this book did a very good job of being exactly that.  The story is set during World War Two, not a pleasant time, I might add.  This was a time when everything was chaotic in America, and a person's role in society was barely significant.  To me, it seemed like unless you had an official position (i.e. "Mayor" or "Colonel"), you were just a citizen exposed to the hardships of war in America.  I feel like the mayor was the man in charge, he was the one who fought for his people no matter what.  "First, I am the Mayor." (Steinbeck 48).
Obviously the war had a great impact on the author, and the influence shows through his writing.  The whole book is about how the town copes with a German invasion. It could not have been an easy task, especially considering the fact that they had a traitor on their hands.  You would want everyone to be united during a time like this.  George Corell made life so much worse for these people, so he is later treated poorly by the townspeople (Steinbeck 103).  His social role is changed because of the war, but most everyone else's stays about the same.  I prefer to think of them not as individuals, but as one mighty force against the German menace.  This makes the book's chaos easier for me to comprehend.  I like that the roles in this book are not gender specific as well, that made me happy.  They say that war brings out the worst in people, but I tend to disagree with that statement.  I think that even though times might be rough, it makes us grow stronger as people and brings out a lot of good through the bad.  

Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down. New York: Viking, 1942. Print.