Propaganda is a word often spewed in anger or indignation at some form of manipulative or self-serving communication. It’s generally viewed as objectionable, ugly, and immoral. Meet the honorable, dignified exception to that stereotype.John Steinbeck’s 1942 novel, written to support the Allied effort during WWII, is propaganda as pure as freshly fallen snow, as righteous and moral as love for humanity. It is propaganda in affirmation of freedom, self-determination, and the indomitable will of people to persevere and overcome.PLOT SUMMARY:The story begins with a peaceful, democratic village swiftly invaded and occupied by aggressive, fascist army bearing all of the telltales of Nazi Germany. “By 10:45 it was all over. The town was occupied, the defenders defeated, and the war was finished.” The brilliant irony of the novel’s first words is revealed only later as we learn that “the war” has barely even begun. We meet the simple, hardworking people of the village, who seem perplexed, but not, initially, embittered by the invaders. We meet the enemy, Colonel Lanser and his officers, none of whom are presented as “mustache-twirling” villains. Just soldiers doing a job. The initial interactions are cordial, almost bizarrely so, and there is a sense that things may not be so bad.Wrong..it is...and Steinbeck deftly, methodically commences to bleed the air of lightheartedness out of the narrative, and reveals the underlying severity of his message.This brings me to the first major kudo I wish to bestow on Steinbeck. His manipulation and control over his material is impressive, and he effectively confounds your expectations through the slowly escalating gravity of the story’s tone. After the initial brutal invasion, including the killing of a group of the town’s soldiers, is glossed over and depicted in a casual, almost humorous fashion, I was thinking that this may be something akin to a black comedy. Not the case, and Steinbeck begins to turn the screws. The invaders need the townspeople to work the coal mine (the town’s coal resources were the reason it was targeted). The town people do not take kindly to being “forced” to work the mines. The invaders insist…Tension…animosity…hatred…violence ensue that I will leave for you to discover. THOUGHTS:The horror of war, the enduring strength of freedom, and the self-defeating process of using humans to impose “inhuman” oppression, these are the messages of Steinbeck's work. I want to talk a little about this latter aspect first, because it’s something you don’t see portrayed enough in stories about occupying forces. Usually, you see the damage that is inflicted on those that have been deprived of their liberty, and Steinbeck certainly does reflect this in the story. However, he also shows the dehumanizing, destructive effect of the occupation on the occupier. As the townspeople become resentful and openly antagonistic, it begins to take a devastating toll on the enemy soldiers, who simply want to go home to their own families and feel like they have been lied to by their superiors. They find they must constantly be on their guard and can never travel alone, which has a serious effect on their morale. “Fear crept in on the men in their billets and it made them sad and it crept into their patrols and it made them cruel.” These soldiers, just like their captives, have lost their freedom, and Steinbeck’s portrayal of their desolation powerfully closes the circle on the “there are truly no winners in a war of aggression” theme. There are only victims. On the other side of the coin, Steinbeck extols the right of people to live free and inner resolve that comes from the yearning to self-determine. His message, delivered throughout the second half of the story, is that the very nature of invasion and occupation give rise to the invaders downfall by reorganizing the previously self-interested and peaceful townsfolk into a cohesive band of freedom fighters. Free men cannot start a war, but once it is started, they can fight on in defeat. Herd men, followers of a leader, cannot do that, and so it is always the herd men who win battles and the free men who win wars. The armies measures to try and maintain control over the populace backfire, as they must, and the extremes to which the oppressed will go to secure that which was taken only becomes more amplified. “Don't you know you will have to kill all of us or we in time will kill all of you? You destroyed the law when you came in, and a new law took its place."Finally, I will begin my wrap up with one of my favorite quotes from the story, in which Steinbeck sums up his view on the futility of war. War is treachery and hatred, the muddling of incompetent generals, the torture and killing and sickness and tiredness, until at last it is over and nothing has changed except for new weariness and new hatreds. Steinbeck’s novel is a large story told on a very small stage. He doesn’t mince around with nuances or delicate philosophies. He goes straight at the fundamentals. It will stay with you long after you reach the end. 4.5 stars. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!
ثم غاب القمر ما قراته هو مسرحيه مقتبسه عن روايه لجون شتيانبك "ثم غاب القمر" و تحكى المسرحيه عن احتلال الالمان لقريه إبان الحرب العالميه الثانيه و يتنقل من خلالها الكاتب بين مشاعر اهل القريه الغاضبه المتتوقه للتحرر و بين صرامه و قسوه الحياه العسكريه لجنود الاحتلالو قد وصف شتاينبك كلا الشعوريين بمهاره و الجنود فى هذه المسرحيه لهم بعدين ...الاول: كأى جنود مشبعون بخيالات الواجب الوطنى و موهومون من قبل من يعلوهم بانهم اقوى الجنود و اعظمهم فاحتلوا القريه بغته سهلها لهم خائن من اهلها لم يلاقوا مقاومه و اعتقدوا ان النصر حليفهم الدائم و القوه ستكون اداتهم لقهر اهلها و تسخريهم للعمل فى مناجم الفحم ...حتى لو اضطرهم ذلك الى القاء النار على اهل البلده المتمردين لكن اهل القريه البسطاء المعيشه اقوياء النفوس لا يخضعون لهم و يبدون المقاومه التى ترهق الجيشو الثانى :هو البعد الانسانى حيث يركز شتاينك فى قصته على ان هؤلاء الجنود بشرو ليسوا بشياطين اسفون لغزو القريه و استعباد اهلها لكنها الاوامر فيلقي جندى منهم حتفه دافعا عن مواطن و اخر يغرم بمواطنه فيلقي حتفته على يدها و ميجور الجنود يبدي اسفه عند الحكم على العمده بالاعدام ..و يتوق كثيرون لوطنهم و يشكك اخرون فى الغرض النبيل من ذلك الغزو الذى فرض عليهم .....و هذا التناقض الذى يعانى منه من يحيا الحياه العسكريه يؤدى ببعضهم الى الجنون ...و لم املك الا التعاطف مع هذا الجندى الذى بامكانه اطلاق النار و تدمير حياه فى اى لحظهاما اهل القريه فهم لا يردعهم شئ عن المقاومه فالرغبه فى التحرر شعور غريزى يزداد بازدياء القهر و ابرز الشخصيات فى القصه هو العمده المنتخب الذى يقوم بدوره الوطنى لاخر لحظه فى حياته التى يقدمها قربان فى سبيل استمرار المقاومه فهو يرفض حث الناس على انهاء المقاومه فى مقابل حياتهوفى هذه الروايه يقارن الكاتب بين النظم الديكتاتوريه الفرديه و النظم الديمقراطيه التى تعلى من قيمه الفرد و حريته و مما اعجنى ايضا استعانه شتيانبك بجزء من محاوره الدفاع لافلاطون التى تحكى عن دفاع سقراط عن نفسه امام القضاء و تجرى على لسان العمده قبل اعدامه و يمثلها امام القائد العسكرى لجيش الاحتلال الذى يقف بهدوء ليشاهد العمده و هو يتلوها كلماتها بل و يصححها له ايضا بدون اى مقاطعه منه او ابداء اعتراض رغم ما تحمله معانيها من ادانه لجنود الاحتلال ..و يظل لدى تساؤل حول اسم الروايه فى مغيب القمر او افول القمر ....من القمر و كيف غاب.... هل هو العمده المحكوم عليه بالاعدام .....ام مغيب الحريه عن تلك البلده ....ام مغيب القمر الذى يتلوه شروق قوى ساطع..... لا ادرى
What do You think about The Moon Is Down (2011)?
Short and bitter sweet, The Moon is Down shows what becomes of docile countryfolk when they are invaded and subjugated.Not sure what to expect from this lesser known work by Steinbeck, my first impression after a few pages was that I was in for a light comedy, a sort of Catch-22 anti-war declaration, apparently with silly citizens and gullible army officers acting out a daffy pre-"Hogan's Heroes" farce. But then it turned serious and dark, and actually hopeful. There are small heroes, tiny victories. The struggle is not valiant. There are no action-packed depictions. It is furtive. Victory over their oppressors is implied. But the main point is that those supposedly conquered should struggle against their oppressors. Most will and most will never give up the fight. Aspects of The Moon is Down had a deja vu familiarity about them and then one particular scene jarred my memory and sent me back 30 years or more to a TV version of All Quiet on the Western Front. In it actor Richard Thomas (aka "John Boy") plays a German. I think in the early 80s he was trying to get away from his good-guy Waltons persona. Playing a soldier from an antagonistic army pushing himself on a woman from the conquered country would do it. Well anyway, the scene in question is not, to my recollection, from All Quiet..., but rather from this book. I hope Steinbeck got some credit.
—Jason Koivu
The Moon is Down by John SteinbeckImpressive work, 8 out of 10These will be notes about the adaptation of the original novel, for the National Theater.Mihail Sebastian is the very talented author who took on this novel, certainly interested in the subject.An army occupies a town somewhere in Northern Europe and we can be pretty sure that the invaders are Germans.From the very start there is a conflict, as soldiers search for guns in the houses of the mayor and the doctor.In spite of the usual depiction of the Nazis, Colonel Lanser, the commanding officer of the occupiers comes across as a decent man.He has been through the First World War and was marked by the experience and the terrible events that he witnessed.Officers under his command are not as sensible as their superior and start creating trouble in the town.Captain Loft is a villainous man and provokes Alexander Morden, a local worker in the mine into attacking the invader.Another officer steps in and is killed by the blow destined for his ruthless colleague.Alexander Morden must die and the Germans want the mayor to be the one who condemns him to death.It is a question of credibility which can be gained if they use a local authority and lost if the occupiers appear to abuse their power.Blackmail is tried, but mayor Orden resists and refuses to be the judge in an incident which is not analyzed in a fair way.-tColonel, if you want me to give the death sentence, you must judge over twenty of your men who have been involved in brutalities when you have occupied the cityIn the first place, the colonel did not want to use the local spy that had been helping the invaders to win over the town.Considered a traitor, Corell is pushing to become a mayor and for lack of options he seems to get the job from the Germans.The workers sabotage the invaders and try to derail and compromise the production of coal that is used by the enemy’s war machine.The work is very interesting and the enemies are not painted in black, with all in the same despicable mould.There is at least an officer in the ranks of the occupying army that feels that the war is on for too long and his side is not just anymore, if it ever was.Tension is increasing and the conflict is exacerbated with more deaths following the initial crime and the consequent execution.Workers are shot on the spot when they make all they can to obstruct the extraction and transportation of coal.There is a disaccord growing into a fight among the invading officers, with a few reasonable and decent opposing those that are just cruel and heartless.One even talks about his dream in which the Commander (Hitler) was crazy, which amounts to blasphemy for an officer corps expected to show absolute devotion.A very good adaptation of what is clearly an excellent book.
—Realini
This is the first "obscure" John Steinbeck I've read and it wasn't on my radar until a week ago. This is totally out of Steinbeck's typical wheelhouse of the working class in California during the 1930s. This book was used as propaganda in the Second World War and the Nazis threatened to (and probably did) kill people who were found with copies of this book. It was copied in secret and garnered some criticism for making the invaders "human."I found this book fascinating. It's set up as a cautionary tale to conquerers (which are obviously the Nazis) that if you push a mild and meek people, they could have the fire switched on in them. It has the typical Steinbeck style of a colorful cast of ordinary characters who are faced with extraordinary circumstances. Humanizing the conquerors was an interesting choice and made this a human story, not just a war story. I ended up lining quotes that spoke to me about the nature of mankind. The build-up to the end raised it a half star but the ambiguous ending kept this book from a solid 4-star rating for me. I would recommend it if you are a Steinbeck fan and want to read something different than his more famous works. If you're brand new to Steinbeck, I would steer you to his more popular/universal works first.3.5 Stars
—Jenny (adultishbooks)
