"The Moon Is Down"by John Steinbeck

GCSE English

Francesca Bleeker

Approaches To Literature Essay (Session One)

“The Moon Is Down”

by John Steinbeck

“Apart from Mayor Orden, the characters in “The Moon Is Down” remain two dimensional”

Due Date: 4th March 2005

Word Count: 950 including quotes and bibliography

John Steinbeck’s “The Moon Is Down” is a novel about human relationships, the relationships between a small town and its invaders, the relationships between town officials and the towns-people, and the relationships between the members of the invading army. Although it is a short novel Steinbeck has made a few strong and well-defined characters in these 122 pages. While there are many characters that only have a few pages in which to define themselves, the major characters seem to be very well thought out, and most are quite well rounded.

Most of the characters in the novel receive a small paragraph with a description of who they are, these paragraphs are very detailed and help to make the character whole. They not only provide a description of what the character looks like, they give an insight into what the character is thinking. Even to small characters this adds a feeling of understanding on the part of the reader. It allows the reader, in some way, to have a connection to the character, and while the dialogue of “The Moon Is Down” may be a bit thin, it makes the characters seem more real.

Mayor Orden is indisputably, not only the main, but also the most realistic of all the characters in “The Moon Is Down”. He was made to be Mayor of the town, and nobody would ever dispute his position, however, the first few pages of the book show Doctor Winter and the Mayor’s serving-man (Joseph) offhandedly referring to the Mayor as if he was a little apathetic and vague towards his own appearance.

“ ‘What’s the Mayor doing?’

‘Dressing to receive the Colonel, sir.’

‘And you aren’t helping him? He will be ill dressed by himself’ “

(Page 4)

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This is a preview of the whole essay

“ ‘What’s the Mayor doing?’

‘Dressing to receive the Colonel, sir.’

‘And you aren’t helping him? He will be ill dressed by himself’ “

(Page 4)

Steinbeck has written Mayor Orden as a very strong willed and passionate who has a deep understanding of, and care for, the people of his town. He knows how they will behave now that an enemy force has invaded their land, and he knows how much power he has over the people. The Mayor’s understanding of all that will happen shows him as a highly educated and intelligent man, and greatly adds to his personality as a character.

There are some characters in the story that Steinbeck seems to have attempted to give a realistic personality. While these characters have little time to define who they are, the way they are written into the text makes them seem more real. In “The Moon Is Down” it is not the way the characters are, but the plot itself that makes the book more developed. Characters like Molly Morden and Lieutenant Tonder are like this. Molly Morden is brought into the book as a grief stricken soon-to-be widow, her husband being tried and executed for the murder of a soldier in the invading army. Steinbeck uses other characters in the novel to supply the reader with background on Molly. Some small comments in conversation help to define Molly’s personality:

“She used to teach grammar school. Yes, I remember. She’s so pretty, she hated to get glasses when she needed them…She’s good strong stock. She is a Kenderly, you know”

(Pages 47 and 51)

Lieutenant Tonder is another character whose main introduction is in the form of a short, yet detailed paragraph, however, his character also branches out onto it’s own subplot involving Molly Morden. As a young man he should be spending his time working and with women, but the stresses of war get to him and he walks to Molly’s house after dark to plead with her for some company. Although this character has just a little dialogue as most of the other minor parts in this book, he does leave an impression on the reader, as the only soldier who seeks out company amongst the towns-people.

Of all the invaders there is one character that stands out as realistic, that is the character of Colonel Lanser. His character is one of the few in the novel who understand the meanings, outcomes and troubles of war. He and Mayor Orden are connected on a level that would suggest that in any other circumstances they could become friends. Lanser is a strong character, he is not a soldier but an engineer, and it is seemingly because of this that he has such a large amount of insight towards the problems in this war. He has been sent on a mission to collect coal for his leaders’ use, but through all the orders he can see the flaw in the leaders plan. Colonel Lanser would not admit it to his men, but his character believes in the strength of the people almost as much as the Mayor does, and while he always seems to shrug aside the threat the towns-people pose, he does know that they are the one fault in his leaders plan. Steinbeck wrote this character with a clear insight into the human mind. Colonel Lanser doesn’t want to be in the town any more than he is wanted there, but a Colonel in an army must do as their leader instructs.

“The Moon Is Down” may be a short book, but it does have a lot going for it. Though many people may find the dialogue a let down, the characters are strong, and full of hidden quirks. Steinbeck didn’t directly create “three-dimensional” characters, but rather let the readers do the work for him. The way this novel is written brings enough life to the story to make every character seem slightly more real, no matter how small their part to play was.