The Moon is Down - Lieutenant Tonder

Lieutenant Tonder is my favorite of all the soldiers who came with Colonel Tonder. I really like him, despite him and Lieutenant Prackle being described by Steinbeck as "snot-noses and undergraduates" (Steinbeck 21). He seemed to be a very romantic and naive. He also dreamed up perfect futures that he planned to pursue. Even though it was all really childish, I still found it really sweet. When he first came to the town when they capured it, he seemed really happy and optimistic. He really thinks the town has nice people. "There are some beautiful farms here. If four or five of them were thrown together, it would be a nice place to settle, I think." (Steinbeck 29).

He also seemed to believe that the war was going to be ending soon. He liked to believe that the people they conquered actually like them, which is why he started to fall in love with Molly, the woman that was married to Alexander. While he believed this, he obviously did not realize the plans for revenge that were boiling up around him. "Now it was that the conqueror was surrounded, the men of the battalion alone among silent enemies, and no man might relax his guard for even a moment" (Steinbeck 58). Knowing that they had no friends in the town, Tonder became very lonely. I slightly feel bad for him and the other soldiers. I especially felt bad for Lieutenant Tonder when he tried to talk with Molly. One thing that he said really hit me. "Please don't hate me. I'm only a lieutenant. I didn't ask to come here. You didn't ask to be my enemy. I'm only a man, not a conquering man." (Steinbeck 78). That quote basically summarizes war and soldiers, and makes me think that not everyone on the other side of a war is against you. Many times, there are people thrown unwillingly into war, when they do not really want to fight. I believe that Tonder was one of these people. Unfortunately, when he finds out that he was the one who murdered Molly's wife, he is overcome with grief. It is then that he realizes that he has no chance with Molly. Despite this, he says that he will return. We learn later that Molly killed him when he returned. I am really not happy about that. I believe that Tonder represents the average unwilling soldier, and I am really sad that he ended up dying. He always wished to die on the battlefield, so in a way, since they were in a war situation, him getting killed by Molly was sort of fulfilling that wish.

Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down. New York: Penguin Classics, 1942. Print.