A Scholarly Exposition of the Dark Message Behind the Children's Book "Goodnight, Moon" (Comedy Open Mic Round # 25)

Among children’s books, the classic Goodnight, Moon stands among the most famous. Published over 60 years ago, readers today may miss the tragic themes explored within the pages of this seemingly innocuous goodnight story. The disturbing premonition laying beneath the surface of the colorful illustrations and simplistic rhymes is jarring in its bleakness and sobering in scope.

This book was first published in 1947, a mere two years after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States and a scant two years before the Soviet Union would test their own atomic bomb. The fact that the U.S.S.R. was aggressively pursing nuclear weapons capabilities of its own was no secret. It was during this time, in the infancy of the nuclear age, that the author, Margaret Wise Brown, penned a cautionary tale masquerading as a children's book.

Goodnight, Moon is a bedtime story not for a small child, but for the entire human race. It is a requiem for mankind after we are inevitably consumed by atomic weapons and plunged into centuries of nuclear winter.

The story opens in the “great green room” - a metaphor for the verdant and life-filled planet we all live on. Note the article used: “the”, not “a”. There are many rooms in the world, but just one Earth.

The telephone signifies the emergency communications lines at military installations and the offices of political leaders. Note that the phone is not ringing or otherwise in use. All diplomacy has failed.

The red balloon symbolizes two things: red meaning danger, and the balloon itself a manifestation of the colloquialism “when the balloon goes up.” This phrase was quite commonly used around the time of writing, and signifies the following:

When the balloon goes up is a phrase used to imply impending trouble. This relates to the use of observation balloons in the first World War. The sight of such a balloon going up nearly always resulted in a barrage of shells following soon after. The expression was re-inforced during WWII when the hoisting of barrage balloons was part of the preparations for an air raid.
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Indeed, a fatal barrage of nuclear warheads is on its way.

The cow jumping over the moon signifies the sight of a missile launching far into the stratosphere on its way around the globe. Such a sight would be the first indication to a civilian that nuclear Armageddon was imminent. As the rocket ascended higher and higher into the atmosphere, it would eventually appear to go “over” the moon.

Bears have long been used in propaganda films to represent members of the Soviet Union. The three bears in this photo represent Joseph Stalin, Vyacheslav Molotov, and Lavrentiy Beria. The fact that the three men are seated indicates that they have given the final launch orders for their own missiles and are now simply awaiting the inevitable end.

The two kittens are a masterpiece of metaphor. They represent Romulus and Remus, the two brothers from Roman mythology raised by a wolf (here alluded to by the feline species). Romulus would go on to found the city of Rome and the entire Roman empire. This is important further on in our analysis.

The pair of mittens represent human conflict and warfare through an implied link to boxing gloves, which would have been out of place in this children’s book.

The little toyhouse represents all the great cities of humanity, from New York to London to Moscow.

The young mouse signifies restraint. As mice are generally timid creates and will avoid conflict at any cost, this mouse represents humanity’s capacity for self-control. In Brown’s telling, the mouse is young, meaning that humanity does not possess enough restraint to avoid an atomic holocaust.

As brushes were traditionally used by women and combs by men, these grooming devices signify vanity and pride, two character flaws stereotypical of their respective genders.

The bowl of mush is a metaphor for agriculture.

The old lady here is Mother Nature herself, whom humanity is about to destroy forever. As nothing can be done at this point, she is calling on people worldwide to accept their fate with a calm quietude and to attempt to find peace in these final moments.

Farewell, planet Earth as we know it. The word "goodnight" is subsequently used on each page to indicate the end of each associated item.

The mushroom clouds produced by hundreds of explosions around the world coalesce into radioactive ash clouds which will block out the sky for decades if not longer. Mankind will no longer be able to see the moon, even if there are survivors.

Ironically, once the missiles reach their destinations, civilization will have ensured that this will never happen again (in other words, no one will ever see a "cow jumping over the moon" ever again).

The world will go dark forever. The “red balloon” of danger will have passed, but only after a terrible price has been paid.

The Soviets will be wiped from the face of the Earth forever.

No new empires will form – no new countries will emerge from the wreckage. The glory of Rome and all subsequent great nations is gone forever.

There is no more need to fight, and the world will never see a war again.

Here two new items are introduced: clocks signifying technological progress and socks signifying industry. Both are gone forever after the planet is annihilated.

The great cities of the world are completely destroyed.

The small chance that humanity could avert this disaster is rendered irrelevant and snuffed out forever.

Vanity and pride are no longer pertinent or meaningful emotions. Any who survive the initial exchange will likely be deformed and have little of value over which to be proud.

Eventually, there will be no one remaining to mourn.

All plants will die and agriculture will be impossible.

Mother Nature will be transformed into a very different force – one of death, decay, and radioactivity. Note here specifically the illustration, showing an anthropomorphized flame. The old lady is plunged into darkness but the fires of destruction burn with anger and hatred for any who remain.

Similarly to the moon no longer being visible, the stars (including the Sun, which is also a star) will be blocked from view.

The air will no longer be breathable as it fills with microscopic radioactive particulate.

Weeks after the fateful nuclear exchange, all life will have perished, and the Earth will fall silent, forever.

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This was my entry for Round 25 of the Comedy Open Mic contest. I will continue to nominate @janton for this, because I think you could really have us all laughing if you tried! I also nominate @denmarkguy, because you already put together the beginnings of the post when you started talking about the “engrish” you’ve seen and the funny stuff your wife saw in her insurance job.

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Legal Disclaimer: All the images in this post were taken by me of a copy of the book I own. The book itself is copyrighted by HarperCollinsPublishers.

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