The Moon is Down

work by Steinbeck

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Last updated

June 30, 2026

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The Moon Is Down is a 1942 novel by John Steinbeck that depicts the occupation of a small, unnamed European country by an invading force. The story focuses on the quiet resistance of the townspeople and the moral compromises faced by both the occupiers and the occupied. Steinbeck explores themes of human dignity, the nature of tyranny, and the subtle ways in which ordinary people can subvert an oppressive regime. The novel was written during World War II and served as a piece of government propaganda, highlighting the resilience of occupied populations against Nazi Germany.1

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John Steinbeck
…of government propaganda, among them The Moon Is Down (1942), a novel of Norwegians under the Nazis, and he also served as a war correspondent. His immediate postwar work—Cannery Row (1945), The Pearl (1947), and The Wayward Bus (1947)—contained the familiar elements of his social criticism but were more relaxed…
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…of government propaganda, among them The Moon Is Down (1942), a novel of Norwegians under the Nazis, and he also served as a war correspondent. His immediate postwar work—Cannery Row (1945), The Pearl (1947), and The Wayward Bus (1947)—contained the familiar elements of his social criticism but were more relaxed…
Read More