John Steinbeck's 1942 novel The Moon is Down can be interpreted as a propaganda piece, aimed at emboldening and comforting the conquered peoples of Europe during the Second World War. However, admitting this pragmatic objective of the book does not necessarily detract from the value of the arguments or themes found within. Steinbeck manages to convey a comprehensive picture of contrasting world perspectives though his depiction of a fictitious small town in Scandinavia. He takes special care to characterize the standpoints of individual German soldiers, suggesting their mentalities' representative and prevalent holds upon the nation's broader self-identity. Additionally, notable emphasis is placed upon the ordinary nature of the townsfolk. The fundamental theme that Steinbeck wishes to communicate is that the very mechanisms by which the German military extends its dominance over the conquered demand that their empire will ultimately fail: it is a consequence of the social structure that the...
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