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"The Moon Is Down" is set in a Norwegian town under Nazi occupation during World War II. It tells the story of Mayor Orton who leads the people to resist the invasion with silence and action, portraying humanity and free will under oppression.

"Little Red Pony" is Steinbeck's coming-of-age novel. It tells the story of a boy, Jody, who receives a little red pony as a gift. He experiences life, death, parting, and the cycle of life. He learns about responsibility, loss, and growth in ranch life. The simple writing style expresses the true nature of life.

Lenny is two meters tall and frighteningly strong, but has the mind of a child. George had grown up with him and was his best friend. George took Lennie around doing odd jobs to make ends meet. Lenny is simple and kind, but he often gets into big trouble. Every time Lennie got into trouble, George had to take him on the run and wander around forever. George and Lennie have a humble dream, hoping to one day save enough money to buy a small plot of land. They can grow vegetables, raise chickens, pigs, and Lenny's favorite rabbit in their own little world. They don't have to wander anymore. They wandered to a farm again. This time, the never-ending wandering has finally come to an end, and so has the dream. George finally helped Lennie find a place. There, Lenny will never get into trouble again, never get hurt again, never have to run away again...

The story takes place on a seaside street in Monterey Bay, California before World War II. In the early 1940s, the production of canned sardines was the main feature here, so it was called Cannery Row. The central character of the novel is a marine biologist named "The Doctor". Being highly educated, he did not look down on his neighbors - gamblers, traders, prostitutes, and homeless people. In his eyes, these people were "very healthy and surprisingly clean." Another group of characters, Mark and his friends, are a group of penniless vagrants with no ideals or pursuits. They live happily in Cannery Row. Their lives are simple. They neither hide their desires nor let money corrupt their souls. They are sincere and helpful. The 1930s and 1940s were a turbulent decade in American history. The sudden economic crisis put pressure on all social strata and shook Americans' cultural values. The entire society fell into a spiritual crisis. This ideal state of life in "Cannery Row" is the value system established by Steinbeck for Americans in crisis. "Cannery Row" was first published in 1945 and is one of John Steinbeck's masterpieces. It shows the mental outlook of the lower class in Monterey during the Great Depression.

"The Moon Has Gone" is a novel by Steinbeck published in 1942. The novel takes the German occupation of a Nordic country (an allusion to Norway) during World War II as the historical background. It describes the story of the anti-fascist people in a small town led by Mayor Oton who resisted the Nazi occupying forces. What is different from general anti-fascist works is that in this novel, Steinbeck's descriptions of the positive and negative characters try to show the two sides of human nature: the heroic (or fascist) side and the ordinary side. He did not exalt the anti-fascist people and write about them as "high and mighty", but highlighted their love for freedom and their various forms of resistance as they could not bear the aggression of the occupying forces. He also did not demonize the German occupying forces in his description. In his writing, these invaders were weak and even full of humanity.

For diver Kino, finding a magnificent pearl means the prospect of a better life for his impoverished family. The dream blinded him from seeing the greed and disaster caused by the pearl. Steinbeck's classic reveals the absurdity of the American Dream - where wealth solves all problems - and how we fall from innocence and then back again.