John Steinbeck did not waste any time uncovering the conflict in The Moon is Down. The reader knows right away on the first page that a group of invaders has come in and taken over a village. "By ten forty-five it was all over. The town was occupied, the defenders defeated, and the war finished." (Steinbeck 1) So far this book sounds pretty intense. And it is. Now, the invaders say that they do not mean to harm anyone or anything, but does anyone really believe that? I would not have.(Steinbeck 14) They just invaded their village! They took away their freedoms and privacy!
The cause of the conflict is shown right away by stating that there are invaders. Obvi nobody wants their home invaded so this causes an issue. Plus they were invaded by soldiers. If they were invaded by cute bunnies and kitties and doggies I do not think anyone would have had an issue with that. The situation was also escalated by the soldiers trying to implement rules that, understandably, no one wanted to follow.
There really is not much of a gain in this book except for a mental gain. The town works so hard to get their freedom back. They put their minds together and band together as a community to reach their common goal.
There are also losses in the novel which include abstract losses and physical losses. The townspeople are so distraught when their town was taken over that most of them have sense that they no longer have freedom. This would be very hard to deal with. Sadly, there are also a few casualties in the novel as well. It is ridiculous that people have to die this way in real life too.
Steinbeck, John. The Moon is Down. New York: Penguin Classics, 1942. Print.
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