The Moon Is Down (play)

The Moon Is Down (play)
source
Name	The Moon Is Down
Writer	John Steinbeck
Setting	Occupied European town, World War II
Premiere	1942
Place	Martin Beck Theatre
Orig lang	English
Genre	Drama
Subject	Military occupation, Resistance movement

The Moon Is Down (play). A two-act play written by John Steinbeck during the early years of World War II, first published and performed in 1942. It dramatizes the military occupation of a small, unnamed European town by an invading force, exploring the psychological and moral dynamics between the occupiers and the occupied. The work was controversial upon release for its humanized portrayal of enemy soldiers but became a significant piece of Allied propaganda and a symbol for resistance movements across Nazi-occupied Europe.

Background and writing

Steinbeck wrote the play in direct response to the escalating conflict in Europe, following the Nazi invasion of Norway and the Fall of France. He was influenced by reports from the Office of Strategic Services and sought to create a universal parable about occupation, distinct from specific contemporary battles. The author worked on the manuscript while serving as a war correspondent for the New York Herald Tribune, and it was developed with input from the United States Department of War. Its publication by The Viking Press coincided with a period of intense debate in America about the nature of the enemy and the spirit of resistance, making its nuanced perspective a subject of immediate controversy among critics in New York City but garnering admiration from figures like President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Plot summary

The narrative opens shortly after the successful invasion by a force representing the Axis powers, led by Colonel Lanser, who establishes his headquarters in the home of Mayor Orden. The occupiers, expecting a docile population, quickly secure the town's key infrastructure, including the coal mine and the railway station. Resistance begins with acts of sabotage, notably the killing of a soldier by the local miner Alex Morden, leading to his public execution. This martyrdom galvanizes the townspeople, who engage in a campaign of passive and active resistance, cutting telephone wires and receiving clandestine parachute drops of explosives from the Royal Air Force. The play culminates with Mayor Orden, echoing the words of Socrates, facing his own execution with calm defiance, assuring Lanser that the unyielding spirit of the people will ultimately prevail.

Characters

The central figure is **Mayor Orden**, the philosophical and moral leader of the town, whose authority stems from the consent of the people. **Colonel Lanser** is the weary, pragmatic commander of the occupying battalion, a veteran of the Spanish Civil War who understands the futility of his mission. **Doctor Winter**, the town's physician and historian, serves as Orden's confidant and the community's intellectual conscience. **Alex Morden** is the miner whose violent act sparks open rebellion, while his wife, **Molly Morden**, becomes a focal point of grief and resolve. The occupying force includes Captain Bentick, Lieutenant Tonder, and Captain Loft, each representing different reactions to the stress of garrison duty, from nostalgia to brutal fanaticism.

Themes and analysis

The play is a stark examination of the inherent instability of military occupation, arguing that control through fear is ultimately unsustainable. Steinbeck presents the concept of the "free man" as an unconquerable idea, a theme that resonated deeply with underground movements in countries like Norway, France, and the Netherlands. It deliberately blurs moral lines by depicting the invading soldiers not as monsters but as frightened, homesick individuals, thereby focusing critique on the dehumanizing machinery of fascist ideology itself. The work contrasts the temporal power of the army with the enduring, spiritual power of democratic will, suggesting that resistance is an organic, inevitable force. This philosophical treatment of collaboration, martyrdom, and collective identity made it a unique contribution to wartime literature.

Adaptations and reception

Shortly after its Broadway debut at the Martin Beck Theatre, Steinbeck novelized the play, and both versions were widely disseminated by the Allied forces. The Office of War Information translated it into numerous languages, and it was secretly printed and distributed throughout occupied territories by groups like the French Resistance. A film adaptation was produced in 1943 by Twentieth Century-Fox, starring Cedric Hardwicke and Lee J. Cobb. While initial reviews in publications like the New York Times were mixed, often criticizing its perceived sympathy for the enemy, its historical impact is profound; it was banned by the Nazi Party, and copies were dropped over Europe by the RAF Bomber Command. Today, it is studied as a key work of Steinbeck's wartime period and a potent artifact of psychological warfare.

Category:Plays by John Steinbeck Category:1942 plays Category:World War II plays