Molly's Role in The Moon is Down

In The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck, the readers are introduced to a character in the middle of the story named Molly. Molly is a lovely villager and is married to a man named Alex. Tragedy soon strikes after Alex attacks one of the soldiers when he decides he does not want to work in the mines anymore (Steinbeck 52). This soldier dies and Alex is soon tried and convicted of killing an officer (Steinbeck 52). Molly pleads with the mayor to save her husband, but he cannot (Steinbeck 44). This leads to his death by firing squad, and leaves Molly a widow (Steinbeck 54). When Molly was pleading to the mayor he said, "Do they know how to go about it? Do they know what methods to use against this armed enemy?"(Steinbeck 44). Molly says to this, "No sir, But I think the people want to show these soldiers that they aren't beaten."(Steinbeck 44). This shows that Molly is the epitome of the people. She represents and knows how the general population feels and shares this with the mayor. This is her major role in the book and can be seen later in the story when the Anders brothers, the mayor, and Annie all meet at Molly's house (Steinbeck 78). All of the villagers trust Molly and make her a mediator between the people and the mayor. She also helps plan a rebellion at this meeting. Another time we see Molly act as the epitome of the people is when Lieutenant Tonder comes to her house (Steinbeck 72). This scares Molly because she thinks that he will try to take advantage of her, but underneath the fear is boiling rage (Steinbeck 73). She hates him (Steinbeck 74). She hates what he and the other soldiers have done to their town. He hates that they killed her husband. This hatred and fear is what it seems most people in the town feel and her anger shows this to the reader. The hatred she feels even leads her to kill him with a pair of scissors at her front door (Steinbeck 81).

Bibliography:Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down. New York. Penguin Group USA, 2009. Print