Democracy and Conquest Theme Analysis

In The Moon is Down, John Steinbeck celebrates the power of democracy by examining the ways in which a society built upon the principles of equality and fair governmental representation is capable of resisting the power of authoritarianism. Written with the intention of giving hope to Nazi-occupied European nations toward the end of the Second World War, Steinbeck’s novella suggests that fascist invaders underestimate the power of democratic unity. For example, when Colonel Lanser and his troops (the book’s Nazi equivalents) invade the unnamed town where the story takes place, they fail to understand that brute force won’t guarantee successful conquest. Mayor Orden, on the other hand, knows that the invaders will never be able to fully control his town because they haven’t won the faith and support of the townspeople. “‘The people don’t like to be conquered, sir, and so they will not be,’” he explains to Colonel Lanser. “‘Free men cannot start a war, but once it is started, they can fight on in defeat. Herd men, followers of a leader, cannot do that, and so it is always the herd men who win battles and the free men who win wars.’” In this way, Steinbeck argues that democracy—which gives power to all people, not just to a ruler or ruling class—acts as a bulwark against total subjugation. The novella has a clear and hopeful message that true conquest and defeat are impossible in free-thinking nations with democratic leadership.

Mayor Orden himself is a living manifestation of a purely democratic leader. He won’t act or make decisions without first understanding what the people he represents want from him. In their first meeting after the town has been invaded, Colonel Lanser asks Orden if he will cooperate. “‘I don’t know,’” Orden answers honestly. “When the town makes up its mind what it wants to do, I’ll probably do that.’” This approach to leadership baffles Colonel Lanser, who comes from a governmental system that revolves around authoritative rule. With this in mind, he says, “‘But you are the authority,’” to which Mayor Orden responds: “‘You won’t believe this, but it is true: authority is in the town. I don’t know how or why, but it is so. This means we cannot act as quickly as you can, but when a direction is set, we all act together.’” This approach to governance is deeply democratic, since Mayor Orden appears willing to follow through with whatever his people decide. When Orden says “you won’t believe this,” he picks up on the fact that Colonel Lanser operates within an entirely different system of government, one in which the nuances of democratic rule are all but unfathomable—and he also seems to acknowledge that true democracy such as this is a rare and fragile thing. This ultimately highlights the difference between Lanser and Orden’s two styles of governance: one prizes democracy while the other prizes conquest and authoritarianism.

Perhaps some of Orden’s willingness to accept whatever his people decide comes from his understanding of the democratic process, wherein an official comes to power not by forcing him- or herself to the top, but rather by getting elected to office by the town’s (or country’s) population. This approach underlines the fact that whatever power governmental officials possess depends on the support of their constituents. In turn, Mayor Orden recognizes that he is nothing more than an elevated citizen himself, an idea he expresses to Lanser when he says, “‘I am of this people […]. Some people accept appointed leaders and obey them. But my people have elected me. They made me and they can unmake me. Perhaps they will if they think I have gone over to you.’” By saying that his people might “unmake” him if he aligns with the invaders, Orden cunningly finds a way to avoid helping Colonel Lanser control the townspeople. In doing so, he shows Lanser that it will be difficult to conquer these villagers because they have the ability to make and “unmake” powerful people.

It is clear from Colonel Lanser and Mayor Orden’s conversation that the idea of consensus is important when it comes to matters of conquest. In fact, both the invaders and the invaded people believe it’s crucial to have some sort of unifying governance. The difference, however, is that the conquerors’ idea of unity is based on an authoritarian, top-down model of power that strips citizens of their agency. Mayor Orden and his constituents, on the other hand, believe in banding together as one political body. In other words, because the invaders attempt to force consensus onto the town by repeatedly threatening the mayor, they render the very idea of unity impossible, instead creating an atmosphere of subjugation that ultimately only serves to bolster the townspeople’s will to resist. At the same time, Colonel Lanser understands that a government can’t invade a town and simply expect the inhabitants to instantly accept new leaders. This is why he tries to manipulate Mayor Orden’s democratic influence, a tactic he explains in conversation with Corell, the man who organized the invasion. Lanser tells Corell: “‘Mayor Orden is more than a mayor. He is his people. He knows what they are doing, thinking, without asking, because he will think what they think. By watching him I will know them.’” Unfortunately for Lanser, trying to extort an elected official’s political influence is an inherently authoritarian tactic, and Orden recognizes this—ultimately choosing to sacrifice his life rather than allow himself to be manipulated in the service of authoritarian rule.

In addition to demonstrating that authoritarianism is ineffective against true democracy, Steinbeck also shows that conquest leads to different forms of alienation. Figures like Lieutenant Tonder and Lieutenant Prackle, for example, arrived in the town with the naïve impression that the villagers would both accept their authority and allow them to integrate socially, but they both find themselves unable to have meaningful interactions with the townspeople. Tonder even says, “‘[…] it’s a nice country, nice people. Our men—some of them—might even settle here,’” a statement that reveals his unrealistic hope that he will get along with the very people he’s trying to subordinate. Later, when this proves impossible, he understands that a force larger than himself—the force of fascism—has rendered him unable to relate to the villagers.

Lieutenant Tonder recognizes that his country has only conquered the town on the most superficial level, and that the more he and his comrades fight to subjugate the villagers, the more the villagers will resist both ideologically and physically. These thoughts cause him to doubt whether his country has truly succeeded in their invasion of enemy land. “‘Captain, is this place conquered?’” he pessimistically asks Captain Loft. Loft says yes, and Tonder eventually voices his skepticism, saying, “‘Conquest after conquest, deeper and deeper into molasses. […] Maybe the Leader is crazy. Flies conquer the flypaper. Flies capture two hundred miles of new flypaper!’” Tonder’s “flypaper” metaphor speaks to the idea that conquest in democratic lands is futile, for it is seemingly impossible to stamp out resistance in nations where free-thinking rules the day. In this case, the invaders are the “flies” that flock to the sticky “flypaper,” foolishly thinking that occupying new territories leads to successful conquest. In reality, this is not the case, and the invaders find themselves ensnared in long, complicated wars, equivalent to being stuck to a strip of “flypaper.” In this way, Steinbeck shows that the soldiers’ occupation of the town does not mean they’ve successfully conquered its people.

In keeping with the overarching idea that democratic nations are capable of resisting fascism long after they’ve been invaded, Mayor Orden puts his faith in his people to commit themselves first and foremost to the health and strength of their democratic union instead of surrendering simply because he—the mayor—has been arrested. Orden voices this idea in response to Colonel Lanser’s last-ditch effort to break the townspeople’s spirits by arresting Mayor Orden and threatening him with death—a move the colonel hopes will discourage further resistance: “‘They can’t arrest the Mayor,’” Orden explains. “‘The Mayor is an idea conceived by free men. It will escape arrest.’” By saying this, Orden reveals that the true power of a democracy is its devotion to a set of ideals, not to a particular man. As such, it is naïve of the invaders to think that they can break apart a democratic body by executing its leader. This kind of thinking is modeled on their own authoritarian concepts of governance, meaning that they have once again failed to grasp how a truly egalitarian society operates. Although the novel ends before the occupying military forces are defeated, Steinbeck suggests that nothing can squash the spirit of democracy in this town—and that, even after Mayor Orden is gone, the townspeople will carry on fighting until they are victorious.