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Lieutenant Tonder
Like Lieutenant Tonder, Prackle is an inexperienced young man who assumes his involvement in the military is worthwhile no matter what the cause. He is idealistic and “sensitive,” a man who prides himself in condemning art he believes goes against the regime he serves. In this way, Steinbeck portrays Prackle as person who will blindly and vigorously follow his nation regardless of its creed. It is this disposition that drives him to oppose Lieutenant Tonder when the latter openly complains about the war. Nonetheless, after Tonder’s death, Prackle himself begins to lose faith, admitting to Colonel Lanser that he wants to go home. Unfortunately for him, Lanser reminds him that he has a duty as a soldier to serve his country, telling him, “We can’t take care of your soul.” Disheartened but obedient, Prackle calmly stands and thanks the colonel for his advice, demonstrating how hopelessly bereft he is of any ability to think critically about his own actions or role in the war.
Lieutenant Prackle Quotes in The Moon is Down
The The Moon is Down quotes below are all either spoken by Lieutenant Prackle or refer to Lieutenant Prackle. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 2 Quotes
Lieutenants Prackle and Tonder 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. They were sentimental young men, given to tears and furies.
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Steinbeck writes these words about Lieutenant Tonder and Lieutenant Prackle as a way of introducing the two young men. In this manner, he presents them as naïve and idealistic, a characterization he achieves right away by calling them “snot-noses” and relating their young sense of entitlement to “the politics of the day.” Even more importantly, he emphasizes the inordinate amount of faith the two lieutenants place in their regime. In fact, Steinbeck uses the word “great” twice in the same sentence, saying that Tonder and Prackle believe the “great new system [was] invented by a genius so great” that they Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut
Chapter 5 Quotes
Tonder got out his handkerchief and blew his nose, and he spoke a little like a man out of his head. He laughed embarrassedly. He said, “I had a funny dream. I guess it was a dream. Maybe it was a thought. Maybe a thought or a dream.”
Prackle said, “Make him stop, Captain!”
Tonder said, “Captain, is this place conquered?”
“Of course,” said Loft.
A little note of hysteria crept into Tonder’s laughter. He said, “Conquered and we’re afraid; conquered and we’re surrounded.” His laughter grew shrill. “I had a dream—or a thought—out in the snow with the black shadows and the faces in the doorways, the cold faces behind curtains. I had a thought or a dream.”
Prackle said, “Make him stop!”
Tonder said, “I dreamed the Leader was crazy.” […]
And Tonder went on laughing. “Conquest after conquest, deeper and deeper into molasses.” His laughter choked him and he coughed into his handkerchief. “Maybe the Leader is crazy. Flies conquer the flypaper. Flies capture two hundred miles of new flypaper!” His laughter was growing more hysterical now.
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Here Lieutenant Tonder doesn’t hold back from voicing his grave misgivings regarding the war and the nature of conquest in general. In turn, his decision to speak honestly about his skepticism is met with anger, fear, and scorn. This is in part because fascist regimes thrive on limiting what people can say about the government. Tonder, then, is blatantly defying a central tenant of fascist order by calling the Leader’s decisions into question. Prackle, who’s still invested in believing the propaganda set forth by his government, desperately wants Tonder to stop speaking this way. After all, to admit that the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestia
Chapter 7 Quotes
“Good. Now I’ll tell you, and I hope you’ll understand it. You’re not a man any more. You are a soldier. Your comfort is of no importance and, Lieutenant, your life isn’t of much importance. If you live, you will have memories. That’s about all you will have. Meanwhile you must take orders and carry them out. Most of the orders will be unpleasant, but that’s not your business. I will not lie to you, Lieutenant. They should have trained you for this, and not for flower-strewn streets. They should have built your soul with truth, not led along with lies.”
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Colonel Lanser says this to Lieutenant Prackle when the latter complains of wanting to go home, saying he dislikes that all the townspeople—including a girl he has taken a fancy to—detest him and the other soldiers. Colonel Lanser’s response is harsh and once again shows his belief that one must sacrifice his own humanity in order to properly serve the military. When he says, “If you live, you will have no memories,” readers are reminded of Lanser’s earlier conversation with Mayor Orden, in which he insinuates that he’s a “man of certain memories,” memories that have taught him about the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molesti
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Lieutenant Prackle Character Timeline in The Moon is Down
The timeline below shows where the character Lieutenant Prackle appears in The Moon is Down. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
...stern, young, and vigorously committed to following military protocol, especially in terms of appearances. Lieutenant Prackle is naïve and idealistic, a man who hates “degenerate art” and prides himself in his...
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...patrol shift. While taking off many pieces of equipment, he tells Major Hunter and Lieutenant Prackle that he has just seen Bentick, who is overseeing the townspeople as they labor in...
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After Loft leaves, Lieutenant Prackle asks Lanser when he thinks they will win the war, admitting that he’s eager to...
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...avoided. Corell then asks to speak with the colonel alone, and Lanser dismisses Tonder and Prackle, leaving Major Hunter in peace because the man hears nothing while working on his engineering...
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Chapter 4
...shots are fired, a shout sounds outside and something crashes through the drawing-room window. Lieutenant Prackle, who was standing in front of the window, grabs his shoulder, injured. Colonel Lanser jumps...
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Chapter 5
In these tense conditions, the officers seek refuge in the mayoral palace. One night, Prackle, Tonder, and Hunter sit in the darkness, the room lit only by lanterns because the...
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...course,” Tonder replies in a wild voice, “Conquered and we’re afraid; conquered and we’re surrounded.” Prackle interjects, pleading with Loft to silence Tonder, but the crazed lieutenant Tonder goes on, laughing,...
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Chapter 7
...relents and allows him to investigate the situation further, telling him to bring along Lieutenant Prackle, too. In turn, Loft expresses that he’s uncomfortable with the way Prackle has been behaving...
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After Loft leaves, Lieutenant Prackle comes in hoping to speak to Lanser, who anticipates the young man’s complaints: “You didn’t...
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Upon dismissing Prackle, Colonel Lanser finally welcomes Mr. Corell into the drawing-room. Corell informs Lanser that he has...
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Chapter 8
...or “departure,” Lanser interjects, saying, “‘Departure.’ It is ‘immediately after my departure.’” Later, when Lieutenant Prackle rushes in and tries to get the colonel’s attention, Lanser holds out his hand and...
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Finally, Mayor Orden can remember no more of the monologue, and Lanser tells Prackle to have Captain Loft guard the men who were found with dynamite. He then turns...
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...stay with Madame, whom he kisses on the forehead before going to the door, where Prackle stands waiting. He turns to Winter and quotes Socrates once more, saying, “Crito, I owe...
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