SEEK Department > Community Of Readers > The Moon is Down
COMMUNITY OF READERS
October 2004
The Moon is Down
by John Steinbeck
As part of our Community of Readers for the SEEK Pre-Freshman Summer Program,
all entering SEEK students, faculty, and tutors will read John Steinbeck's book,
The Moon is Down.
By this time, you should have completed your reading of John Steinbeck’s The
Moon Is Down. There will be a series of meetings in your counseling classes
to discuss the book and it’s implications. This is a two-part assignment
for your reading:
Part 1:
A) Write nine Critical Inquiry questions based on The Moon is Down
(three factual, three interpretive, and 3 evaluative). Explain, for each, why
you have written that question.
B) On page 106 of the text, one of the characters quotes Socrates
as follows: ‘Someone will say, “And are you not ashamed, Socrates, of a course
of life which is likely to bring you to an untimely end?” To him I may fairly
answer, “There you are mistaken: A man who is good for anything ought not to
calculate the chance of living or dying; he ought to consider whether he is
doing right or wrong.”’ Explain why John Steinbeck has inserted the quote from
Socrates in The Moon is Down. How does it relate to the story?
Part 1 of this assignment is due on the date your counseling class is scheduled
to meet to discuss the text. It must be turned in to your counselor on that
day.
Part 2:
This book was written in 1942. Some people have said that this book has taken
on new relevance in today’s world. Please discuss how The Moon is Down relates
to the theme of freedom and responsibility both in the book and its setting
in 1942 as well as in light of events in the world today. Select a current event
or situation and specifically discuss the relevance of the book to this event
or issue.
Part 2 of this assignment is due in your Benchmark Portfolio on November
18 (it should be approximately two to three typewritten pages).
The Moon Is Down Community Read Discussion
Please answer at least 2 of the questions.
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Group 1 |
Group 2 |
Group 3 |
- If your town was being invading and you had the opportunity
to fight back, would you or would you not fight against this action
and why?
- Why didn’t the mayor stop his people from using the dynamite?
How does it reveal the responsibility of a mayor in today’s
world?
- Do you agree that the enemy was everywhere, in every woman, in
every man, and in every child? Why?
- Would you fight for your country knowing that you could die at
any time or would you rather run away? Relate this to the book,
The Moon Is Down.
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Interpretive
- By using Steinbeck’s techniques of making the soldiers human
describe the terrorists who attacked the United States.
- If there was an invasion of New York City today, would Mayor
Bloomberg be able to handle it better than Mayor Ordain?
- If the book was about current circumstances, would the United
States be the aggressor or the victim?
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Evaluative
- How did the novel convey propaganda?
- Did Steinbeck try to show the enemy soldiers as ‘more human’
since he wrote about them having feelings and missing their families
at home?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of being able to choose
the future of your town or country?
Interpretive
- Why did the invaders decide to hold the trial against Alexander
Molden in the Mayor’s house?
- What did Tonder mean when he said “conquered and we are
afraid; conquered and we are surrounded”?
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Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.
-Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1949)
If liberty and equality, as is thought by some are chiefly to be found in democracy,
they will be best attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost.
-Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC)
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve
neither liberty nor safety.
-Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790)
You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has
his freedom.
-Malcolm X (1925 - 1965)
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