So I just finished Moon Is a Harsh Mistress and am not sure what I make of the ending. Will have to think on that and come back. What to make of Mike's sudden silencing? And I agree with what Bia said--it did make me sadder than Prof's death. Even sadder is that Mike's role in the whole thing was never acknowldged (of course not--it would do a lot to unravel the new society, but still...). Perhaps that's a little too egoistic...i should stop egozing...
What I was struck by in the book was how accurately Heinlein predicted certain parts of our world. This was written in 1966-66, when China still adhered to a Communist economy and was on the eve of the Cultural Revolution. Yet, Heinlein portrays the Chinese (or Chinee) as ardent capitalists, eager to make business deals that will put them in front of the crowd. Dr. Chan, much the archtype of the Communist Chinese hero admired at this period, says, "Anything which is physically possible can always be made ifnacially possible; money is a bugaboo of small minds" (247). Sounds more like China today! Much energy is also focused on India, which is a country that has had enormous economic growth. Also, Hong Kong Luna is further indicative of a decidedly Eastern influence on the world of 2072 (or whichever year the novel takes place in). Seems commonplace in our world today, but to do this during the Cold War seems almost groundbreaking and highly visionary.
The failure of diplomatic measures and ultimate success of force in achieving Luna's aims for Terran recognition highlights the ultimate success of power politics and again, is a highly accurate portrayal of our current reality where international organizations like the federated nations are manipulated by economic interests of those countries in charge rather than "what's right" for the people. In this case, this is represented by the federated nations sending basically "the authority" to oversee Prof and Manuel's pleas to be recognized as sovereign.
Another interesting (although insignificant) insight is on pg. 204 when the woman wants to define what Loonie language is and fine anyone who doesn't use it. English as the Official Language, anyone??
The method of using stones to launch at Earth reminds me of the (was it Einstein?) quote that said, "I know not what weapons WWIII will be fought with, but WWIV will be fought with sticks and stones."
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Yes, it was Einstein. And that was an excellent point about China, I didn't even think about that as I was first reading (probably was too caught up in the revolution.) On the other hand, if we're going to view Heinlein's reality as an extension of our own, there were a lot of places where he shot and missed, like the moon being colonized by 1999. Oh well, you win some you lose some.
I'm glad you touched on the language element! I'm taking another class called "The Triumph of English," and that detail stuck out to me, too. I loved how Heinlein sort of created a Loonie dialect - it's not very solid, even Mannie slips in and out of using it, but when it's well-written it's distinctive: short words like "the" and possesives, plus abbreviations like "fem" and of course, "TANSTAAFL!!" It economizes, shortening and preserving, signifying that the people on the moon don't waste anything, even words.
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