It is quite interesting that John Steinbeck never mentioned a setting in his novel, The Moon is Down. More often than not the author informs the reader of the setting, which includes location and time period. The reader can think that everything that Steinbeck wrote was a figment of his imagination or they can take his writings and think about the time period it was written in. The Moon is Down was published in the year of 1942. If you have taken a basic history class on the United States of America then you probably know that World War II was also going at the same time Steinbeck released this novel. As a reader I now think that the setting is taking place in Western Europe somewhere between the years of 1939 and 1945. Although many people thought of this piece as propaganda Steinbeck may not have wanted to describe the setting because he did not want to be sought out during that difficult time.
Considering the intense nature of the book I do think it reflects correctly on the World War II era. It was a very dark and confusing time in everyone's life. Towns being invaded during the war was very commonplace. Hitler's Nazi Regime was very influential during this time in Western Europe which leads me to believe that the were the ones invading the town in The Moon is Down. What makes this book different than all of the other books written about this event is that it is a little more over the top. In real life the citizens were much too intimidated by the government that they were living in to take action and fight the soldiers back. In this novel I would consider the townspeople to be the heroes and heroines of the story!
Steinbeck, John. The Moon is Down. New York: Penguin Classics, 1942. Print.
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