The Moon is Down question #2

There are many causes, gains, and losses, dealt with in "The Moon is Down" by John Steinbeck. The main conflict of the story is that the Nazi's are taking over but struggling to control the townspeople and the townspeople are working to revolt and over take them without being shot themselves. The cause of this conflict is simply because it is war. It is also because of the Nazi's cruel desire for control and the townspeoples' natural resistance to being controlled by others. The Nazi's try to dictate their control through threats and punishment. A great example of this is Alexander Morden. Loft was demanding Alexander to get back to work when he was wanting to quit. Alexander already had a short temper and shouting that he was a free man, he came at him with his pick. When Captain Bentick tried to interfere, he was killed. Alexander was then sentenced to trial and was shot in a public execution. A gain dealt in this conflict would be the soldiers power. Because of their weapons and such, it seemed almost impossible for the townspeople to have a chance, but a gift they receive completely changes the playing field. Later in the book, the townspeople gain courage from a small gift sent from above. "They landed in the white fields and among the woods of the hills and they landed in trees and hung down from the branches" (Steinbeck, 90). These would be the blue parachutes dropped from the planes. These parachutes contained chocolate, dynamite, and directions on how and where to use it. This gave the townspeople a fighting chance against the Nazi's and the courage to revolt. Because of the gift of the dynamite, the Nazi's suffered losses. The first to go, was their confidence and they became worried and angry about the parachutes being received. Another loss dealt with was the loss of soldiers. One of them was Lieutenant Tonder, who was killed out of revenge by Molly. One last loss was the rail road tracks. With the help of the dynamite, the townspeople were able to destroy the rail roads and begin their revolt.

Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down, by John Steinbeck,... Stockholm: Continental Book C°, 1949. Print.