Lieutenant Tonder from The Moon is Down

Lieutenant Tonder is another character in the book "The Moon is Down" by John Steinbeck. In "The Moon is Down", there are really two sides. These two sides would be the oppressors, who are the Nazi soldiers, and then the ones being oppressed, who are the townspeople of the small coal-mining village that the Nazis take over. Lieutenant Tonder is a part of the oppressors side because he is one of the Nazi leaders. Being the rank of Lieutenant, Tonder plays an important role for this side. Lieutenant Tonder is described as being the romantic of the group of Nazis. He is a poet and a bitter one at that who dreams of perfect love. He later recites a poem by Heine for Molly when he is trying to start a friendship with her. "Your eyes in their deep heavens Possess me and will not depart; A sea of blue thoughts rushing And pouring over my heart" (Steinbeck, 76). The book talks about him being a dark romantic. Lieutenant Tonder is also described as being young and sentimental. Along with Lieutenant Prackle, they were "snot-noses, undergraduates, lieutenants, trained in the politics of the day, believing the great new system invented by a genius so great that they never bothered to verify its results" (Steinbeck, 21). When Tonder first arrived, he thought the townspeople would be very accepting of him and even said how he would like to settle in the village possibly with four or five beautiful farm houses. He is then hit with the reality of the situation. Later in the book, Tonder becomes very lonely. He then seeks Molly Morden for friendship and someone to simply talk to. In the end though, he is murdered by her out of revenge for her killed husband. I think Lieutenant Tonder was a good character and represented the sensitive side of the soldiers. I think John Steinbeck used him to show that soldiers are still humans too and have needs and human desires just like anybody else.

Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down, by John Steinbeck,... Stockholm: Continental Book C°, 1949. Print.