Essay Questions

Steinbeck does not specifically name either of the countries involved in the story; there are, however, clues as to their identities. What countries are they believed to be and why?

Steinbeck mentions neither the true identity of the invaders or the country that they are occupying. However, given that the novella was written during World War II, it is widely believed that the invaders are the Germans and the country that has been invaded, Norway.

There are several reasons for this. Firstly, the invaders are said to be at war with England and France, making it more than likely that they are German. Secondly, they revere their country's Prime Minister, a man known only in the story as "The Leader". Adolf Hitler was known as the Fuhrer, which means "leader" in German. His soldiers seem greatly affected by his words and in particular by his propaganda, and in some ways Lanser is a great proponent of propaganda himself, wanting to propagandize the townspeople into believing that he and the mayor are working together when they are not; like the Third Reich's propaganda machine, what something appears to be is far more important than what it actually is.

The nation that is occupied by the invaders is believed to be Norway, primarily because of the environment described, and also because the King of Norway seemed hugely supportive of the novella. He awarded Steinbeck a medal for his authorship of the story, and he also went to see it performed as a play in London towards the end of the war. The townspeople in the novella have a very strong and active resistance movement; this was also true of Norway. The hub of the resistance movement was in France, but it was also extremely strong in Europe's northernmost nations, again suggesting that the identity of the country in the novella is Norway.

Why does Lanser want to live in the mayoral palace?

Lanser does not just want to live in the palace himself; he wants his entire leadership team to reside there, and to make the palace the operations office for the occupation. The main reason for this is that he can see the respect that the townspeople have for the Mayor. He is a popular leader, and well-respected. He governs successfully and the town thrives. Lanser believes that by associating himself with the mayor, and both living and working in the same place that the Mayor does, he will give the impression that the two are working together and that the town is now being governed by an alliance of incumbent and invader.

This plan falls down because Lanser fails to grasp the way in which the Mayor runs the town. Mayor Orden does not think it is the job of mayor to tell the townspeople what to do. He thinks it is his job to be instructed by them, and to inform his actions and decisions based on the opinions and wishes of the people who elevated him to office. This is why he is successful, and it is also why the Colonel's plan to appear allied with Orden fails.