Why The Moon Is Down

John Steinbeck was a member of two intelligence organizations that were the precursor to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The director asked Steinbeck to write a work of propaganda against the Nazi aggression in Europe. As a result, Steinbeck wrote The Moon is Down. This book argued the need for people to stand up against the Nazi invaders and to not surrender and appease them. Many people throughout Europe were able to read this book including people who receive smuggled copies of this book in areas already under Nazi control (Coers i). In the book, the Mayor of a small town is faced with the decision to either appease an invading force or fight against it. Initially, the Mayor chooses to appease the invaders to save the lives of his …show more content…
During the revolution, Zapata powerfully stated, “I’d rather die on my feet, than live on my knees” (Stransky 281). Zapata believed that a controlled life, a life where someone is controlled by another, is not worth living. Consequently, Zapata would rather risk dying for the chance of living a free life instead of enduring a life where he is under the control of another. The Mayor’s decision to appease the Colonel without fight back suggests that the Mayor would rather remain on his knees but live than to stand and fight because he could possibly …show more content…
For instance, as the Mayor is sitting with the Colonel to negotiate the terms of appeasement, his servant Annie is throwing boiling water on the guards. There were some guards that were standing outside on the patio behind Mayor Orden’s palace. Annie did not like them there because they could see inside to the kitchen. Therefore, she told them to leave. They would not leave so she boiled some water and threw it on them. Annie still had the means to resist. Even without weapons, Annie demonstrated that the people could still resist. It is ironic that this scene happens at the same time Mayor Orden is appeasing the Colonel (Steinbeck