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The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Written by Robert A Heinlein (1907-1988)
n friend and conspirator, Mike,is the large, 'alive' computer who both enables the underground movement to have excellent secure communications and is central to the revolution, servingas its head commander "Adam Selene." Without him, the revolution would most likely have failed due to the overwhelming conditions against them.
The most striking plot events concern the rebellion itself, including how the rebellion was set off by the rape and murder of a Loonie women by the military forces brought in for peacekeeping, creating a slightly ironic affect on the part of the Lunar Authority. Furthermore, the story detailshow the Earth was defeated by throwing rocks. Which sounds at first silly, but it is actually the worst weapon that the Loonies (including Mike) could find.
The novel is broken into three books: (1) That Dinkum Thinkum, (2) A Rabble in Arms, and (3) TANSTAAFL!
Mike -Mycroft Holmes, the giant, alive supercomputer- alias "Adam Selene" and is also comedian "Simon Jester". His personality grows throughout the piece, and despite being a computer, he displays one of the most multifaceted personalities in the book. It is unclear as to what degree of autonomy Mike possesses in his actions; although his status as a computer suggests he can take no action that disagrees with his programming, it is never entirely clear how this limits him. Mike finds ways to circumvent his programming several times, and towards the end of the book actually imitates the voices of his friends to issue orders in their names.
Professor Bernardo de la Paz -picked up rather late in his life and sent to the moon for 'subversion'. He is an anarchist and the strongest theorist among the rebel leaders- Code named "Bill"
Wyoming Knott aka "Whyo" She arrived on Luna with her parents as a child. Lived in Hong Kong in Luna, until she could no longer safely travel back after a riot at a rally. Known as "Betty" for revolution name
Mimi Davis - "Mum", Matriarch of the Davis line marriage family. Part of the revolution and helps organize the Davis family.
Stuart Rene LaJoie- "Stu" Rich Earth man who came to Luna on vacation and finds himself in trouble, however Mannie clears it up and Stu becomes a friend of the Davis family (and later opts in) and the supporter of the rebellion cause on Earth making ready for when the revolution must face Earth.
Greg Davis, Hazel Meade, Mortimer Hobart, Security Chief Juan Alvarez.
Element of doubt: The reader is constantly left wondering if things are the way Mannie describes because they succeeded in the rebellion, but failed at the governmental reforms they wanted, or if Terra kept her hold on the Moon and simply changed the way things were run. (It turns out to be the former)
Time: Mannie's temporal stance within the actual content of the book as written by the author is different from the temporal point from which Mannie is "writing" what we are reading. This is evidenced throughout the book by use of past tense verbs on Mannie's part, but this is insufficient evidence on its own. On page 260, however, it becomes clear that Mannie himself is the "writer" of what the reader is presented with: ...(She did talk that way but was understandable once I got program. Won't spell it again)..." By spelling out phonetically what the Earth woman was saying, the reader gets the impression that Mannie is writing this later on, and does this as evidence of how Earth was different. There are other examples of this, such as when Mannie mentions that the history books "now" are nothing like what really happened during the revolution (page number), and referring to himself in the past, using past tense (page numbers).
Mike
Thinking Computer: unique as in this case there in only one thinking computer and that computer is known to basically none but it displays the difference that one extremely high-leveled mind can make.
Mistakes...?: Although in discussion the issue of Mike making mistakes was never brought up, according to Mannie he did make mistakes. It was taken for grant in discussion that Mike always got everything correct that he was told to do, and that his morality was the only question that had to be decided. According to page 295: "...hadn't thought of it - one of Mike's few oversights.)." This is in reference to setting the price of higher quality alcohol incorrectly, which "Adam" as a "teetotaler" should have known. This explanation by Mannie that Mike did in fact make mistakes should remove any arguments from the discussion that Mike is a deity-like figure: he may have been omniscient (all-knowing) in terms of having read every book, but he lacked wisdom and experience in order to always apply that knowledge correctly. Whats more, is that although he was effectively omnipresent (everywhere on Luna at once), there were major places where he couldn't see/hear/be present - whenever there wasn't a telephone, his radar blind-spot of the other side of Luna, and so forth. Finally, he may have had control over most variables in the Revolution, making him effectively omnipotent (all-powerful), yet he could not control the decisions made by actual Loonies, nor could he repel the invaders - people had to do that. This should be sufficient evidence to deny any argument that he is a deity-figure in the book, and is actually a thought-experiment given form in terms of the discussion: "what if there was a way to have perfect communication and timing within a revolution of libertarians."
Implications of for life-sentences, an putting people who are born of prisoners will stay prisoners
Societal Set up: Marriages and Deaths of newcomers
How a small number of people can be powerful and influential, while a larger body will never get things done
Political Statements made through the Book
Forms of Government: The difference between what was originally thought of by Prof. and followed by Mannie is not what Luna seems to have at the end. They have a democracy, with all he regulations that entail. One of Heinlein's messages seems to be that democracy has become stall and has become the automatic outcome of a rebellion. Therefore it is no longer reworked and a better type of government found or improved upon.
Governmental "Rights": On page 302-303, the Professor is clear to state: "Comrades, I beg of you – do not resort to compulsory taxation. There is no worse tyranny than to force a man to pay for what he does not want merely because you think it would be good for him." This is a fairly strong statement, particularly since the offered method of solving taxation issues is for the Congressmen to pay the government's operating costs out of their own pockets.
Views of the roles in Lunar society played by men and women
Men: For the majority of people mentioned in the book, the men are depicted as the rugged individuals, who go out and do things the way they each feel is best. They are also subject to the majority of "laws"-by-custom, seeing as though there were 2 men for every one woman at the time this novel was narrated. Therefore, a man is never able to touch a woman without her consent; to do so would be an open invitation for every other man present to jump to her defense. More generally, the men are depicted as the part of society that is much more fragmented and self-serving.
Women: For each women described in the book, they almost always end up fulfilling certain roles as envisioned by the author. For example, they always make peace between the men, such as Man's Mimi - she is depicted as always knowing what each person is going to say at a family meeting, whereas Man is not even sure of his own opinion, let alone any other person's thoughts. They are never subject to rape or crimes of violence, because they are such a rare "commodity" (the expression used by Man) and therefore must be protected. Most of the women described are also in jobs and/or vocations of upkeep - whether it be in a line marriage, a clan, or at an orphanage, they are almost always in a support job/position.
Exceptions: Although it was mentioned in discussion that there is never mention of homosexuals, transsexuals, etc.; that is actually not the case. On page 164: "One thing is what always happens in prisons: men turn to other men. That helps not much; problem still is because most men want women [emphasis in original] and won't settle for substitute while chance of getting true gelt." So, it appears as though there was/is homosexual behavior, at least in the beginning of the colonization of the moon. In fact, it also appears as though "most men want women;" this implies that there are still some men on the moon who are homosexual. This says nothing to women who might have similar tendencies, and also leaves the huge issue of what happens if a women makes a non-consensual move on another women (a case study examined in class, but without much in the way of a real answer determined).
The other major exception to this rule of men and women's roles is Wyoming - Man goes out of his way many times to describe in clear terms how she is almost easier to deal with because she is more like a man in different ways (examples here).
Plot Synopsis
This novel follows Manuel Garcia O'Kelly Davis, an average "loonie" born on the moon, who finds himself enmeshed with the struggle to throw off the yoke of the Lunar Authority which has a monopoly on all lunar activity. His main friend and conspirator, Mike,is the large, 'alive' computer who both enables the underground movement to have excellent secure communications and is central to the revolution, servingas its head commander "Adam Selene." Without him, the revolution would most likely have failed due to the overwhelming conditions against them. The most striking plot events concern the rebellion itself, including how the rebellion was set off by the rape and murder of a Loonie women by the military forces brought in for peacekeeping, creating a slightly ironic affect on the part of the Lunar Authority. Furthermore, the story detailshow the Earth was defeated by throwing rocks. Which sounds at first silly, but it is actually the worst weapon that the Loonies (including Mike) could find.
The novel is broken into three books: (1) That Dinkum Thinkum, (2) A Rabble in Arms, and (3) TANSTAAFL!
Main Characters
Manuel Garcia O'Kelly Davis aka "Mannie" or "Man" -computer technician, code named "Bork" in the cell format. His pragmatism permeates the book, and he serves as a moderating factor throughout the story; while he proposes few ideas of his own, he is quick to point out the flaws in the ideas of others.Mike -Mycroft Holmes, the giant, alive supercomputer- alias "Adam Selene" and is also comedian "Simon Jester". His personality grows throughout the piece, and despite being a computer, he displays one of the most multifaceted personalities in the book. It is unclear as to what degree of autonomy Mike possesses in his actions; although his status as a computer suggests he can take no action that disagrees with his programming, it is never entirely clear how this limits him. Mike finds ways to circumvent his programming several times, and towards the end of the book actually imitates the voices of his friends to issue orders in their names.
Professor Bernardo de la Paz -picked up rather late in his life and sent to the moon for 'subversion'. He is an anarchist and the strongest theorist among the rebel leaders- Code named "Bill"
Wyoming Knott aka "Whyo" She arrived on Luna with her parents as a child. Lived in Hong Kong in Luna, until she could no longer safely travel back after a riot at a rally. Known as "Betty" for revolution name
Mimi Davis - "Mum", Matriarch of the Davis line marriage family. Part of the revolution and helps organize the Davis family.
Stuart Rene LaJoie- "Stu" Rich Earth man who came to Luna on vacation and finds himself in trouble, however Mannie clears it up and Stu becomes a friend of the Davis family (and later opts in) and the supporter of the rebellion cause on Earth making ready for when the revolution must face Earth.
Greg Davis, Hazel Meade, Mortimer Hobart, Security Chief Juan Alvarez.
Major Themes
Method of Story NarrationElement of doubt: The reader is constantly left wondering if things are the way Mannie describes because they succeeded in the rebellion, but failed at the governmental reforms they wanted, or if Terra kept her hold on the Moon and simply changed the way things were run. (It turns out to be the former)
Time: Mannie's temporal stance within the actual content of the book as written by the author is different from the temporal point from which Mannie is "writing" what we are reading. This is evidenced throughout the book by use of past tense verbs on Mannie's part, but this is insufficient evidence on its own. On page 260, however, it becomes clear that Mannie himself is the "writer" of what the reader is presented with: ...(She did talk that way but was understandable once I got program. Won't spell it again)..." By spelling out phonetically what the Earth woman was saying, the reader gets the impression that Mannie is writing this later on, and does this as evidence of how Earth was different. There are other examples of this, such as when Mannie mentions that the history books "now" are nothing like what really happened during the revolution (page number), and referring to himself in the past, using past tense (page numbers).
Mike
Thinking Computer: unique as in this case there in only one thinking computer and that computer is known to basically none but it displays the difference that one extremely high-leveled mind can make.
Mistakes...?: Although in discussion the issue of Mike making mistakes was never brought up, according to Mannie he did make mistakes. It was taken for grant in discussion that Mike always got everything correct that he was told to do, and that his morality was the only question that had to be decided. According to page 295: "...hadn't thought of it - one of Mike's few oversights.)." This is in reference to setting the price of higher quality alcohol incorrectly, which "Adam" as a "teetotaler" should have known. This explanation by Mannie that Mike did in fact make mistakes should remove any arguments from the discussion that Mike is a deity-like figure: he may have been omniscient (all-knowing) in terms of having read every book, but he lacked wisdom and experience in order to always apply that knowledge correctly. Whats more, is that although he was effectively omnipresent (everywhere on Luna at once), there were major places where he couldn't see/hear/be present - whenever there wasn't a telephone, his radar blind-spot of the other side of Luna, and so forth. Finally, he may have had control over most variables in the Revolution, making him effectively omnipotent (all-powerful), yet he could not control the decisions made by actual Loonies, nor could he repel the invaders - people had to do that. This should be sufficient evidence to deny any argument that he is a deity-figure in the book, and is actually a thought-experiment given form in terms of the discussion: "what if there was a way to have perfect communication and timing within a revolution of libertarians."
Implications of for life-sentences, an putting people who are born of prisoners will stay prisoners
Societal Set up: Marriages and Deaths of newcomers
How a small number of people can be powerful and influential, while a larger body will never get things done
Political Statements made through the Book
Forms of Government: The difference between what was originally thought of by Prof. and followed by Mannie is not what Luna seems to have at the end. They have a democracy, with all he regulations that entail. One of Heinlein's messages seems to be that democracy has become stall and has become the automatic outcome of a rebellion. Therefore it is no longer reworked and a better type of government found or improved upon.
Governmental "Rights": On page 302-303, the Professor is clear to state: "Comrades, I beg of you – do not resort to compulsory taxation. There is no worse tyranny than to force a man to pay for what he does not want merely because you think it would be good for him." This is a fairly strong statement, particularly since the offered method of solving taxation issues is for the Congressmen to pay the government's operating costs out of their own pockets.
Views of the roles in Lunar society played by men and women
Men: For the majority of people mentioned in the book, the men are depicted as the rugged individuals, who go out and do things the way they each feel is best. They are also subject to the majority of "laws"-by-custom, seeing as though there were 2 men for every one woman at the time this novel was narrated. Therefore, a man is never able to touch a woman without her consent; to do so would be an open invitation for every other man present to jump to her defense. More generally, the men are depicted as the part of society that is much more fragmented and self-serving.
Women: For each women described in the book, they almost always end up fulfilling certain roles as envisioned by the author. For example, they always make peace between the men, such as Man's Mimi - she is depicted as always knowing what each person is going to say at a family meeting, whereas Man is not even sure of his own opinion, let alone any other person's thoughts. They are never subject to rape or crimes of violence, because they are such a rare "commodity" (the expression used by Man) and therefore must be protected. Most of the women described are also in jobs and/or vocations of upkeep - whether it be in a line marriage, a clan, or at an orphanage, they are almost always in a support job/position.
Exceptions: Although it was mentioned in discussion that there is never mention of homosexuals, transsexuals, etc.; that is actually not the case. On page 164: "One thing is what always happens in prisons: men turn to other men. That helps not much; problem still is because most men want women [emphasis in original] and won't settle for substitute while chance of getting true gelt." So, it appears as though there was/is homosexual behavior, at least in the beginning of the colonization of the moon. In fact, it also appears as though "most men want women;" this implies that there are still some men on the moon who are homosexual. This says nothing to women who might have similar tendencies, and also leaves the huge issue of what happens if a women makes a non-consensual move on another women (a case study examined in class, but without much in the way of a real answer determined).
The other major exception to this rule of men and women's roles is Wyoming - Man goes out of his way many times to describe in clear terms how she is almost easier to deal with because she is more like a man in different ways (examples here).
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