The Moon is Down Character List
Written by David Gravolet
1. Mr. George Corell (1) – owns a boat; sponsored a shooting competition on
the day of the invasion; seems to be a storekeeper but actually a spy for the
invader; wants to be recognized as a soldier for his spying, but Lanser instead
recommends that he go to the capital; refuses to go; survives attack by
Anders; appointed mayor of the town by headquarters and recommends
that Orden and Winter be imprisoned
2. Mayor Orden (2) – mayor of the town; refuses to punish Alexander himself;
attends secret meeting in Molly’s house before the Anders escape; asks
Anders to request weapons from English; arrested; memorized Socrates'
Apology for school and recites it at end of story
3. Colonel Lanser (2) – leader of the group that invades the town; had been in
Belgium and France (only experienced one from invading group), had seen
futility of war; tells story about old Belgian woman who killed twelve people
(precursor to Molly); helps Orden to finish reciting Apology
4. Doctor Winter (2) – the town’s historian and doctor; second-in-command; so
simple that only a profound man would know him as profound; rolls his
thumbs; "a time-minded people"; arrested; in same class as Prden; criticized
his ability to memorize and recite Apology
5. Joseph (2) – the Mayor’s servant; obsessive about placement of furniture
6. Annie (4) – the Mayor’s cook; first in Mayor’s house to hear of soldiers killed by
Invader; throws pot of boiling water on soldiers; becomes symbol of liberty
among townspeople for actions; tells Joseph that William and Walter fled to
England; visits Molly with meat stolen from Lanser’s plate
7. Madame Sarah (4) – the Mayor’s wife; goes to stay with Molly to comfort her
8. Captain Bentick (5) – military officer who comes to inspect the room before
Lanser meets with Orden; reveals Corell’s treachery; family man; Anglophile
(wanted to be British); wrote letter to the Times with pen name Edmund
Twitchell, and it was published; killed by Alexander Morden with a pickaxe
while attempting to prevent him from attacking Loft
9. Christine (19) – Annie’s friend; cook allegedly better than Annie
10. Major Hunter (20) – engineer for the Invader; planning bridge for model
railroad in backyard (invaders are humans too); plans railroads to transport
coal, constantly destroyed; inspects the packages dropped by England
11. Captain Loft (21) – young; knows all the rules of conduct and expects all to
follow them; reports Bentick’s death to Lanser; comes up with plan to give
food only in exchange for coal; first from invader to notice blue packages of
dynamite; Lanser will recommend him for General Staff
12. Lieutennant Prackle (21) – carried lock of hair in watch; dancing partner;
“gay young man” (more like Malcolm and not the modern connotation);
skilled artist; dreams of seducing Tonder’s sister; adjusts Major Hunter’s tripod
with shaving cream still on face; likes girls too much (again like Malcolm)—
hangs up picture, but Loft makes him take it down; shoulder injured after
Alex’s execution; mocks Tonder for farm statement (see below)
13. Lietennant Tonder (21) – poet; takes the modern approach to death and
power (he wants them like Frank and Zoe); believes that “if four or five of
them [farms] were thrown together, it would be a nice place to settle.”; in
charge of firing squad to kill Alexander; wants Molly Morden; wants to go
home; dreams that the Leader is crazy; “Flies conquer the flypaper.”; visits
Molly; killed by Molly Morden
14. Alexander Morden (40) – put on trial and killed for killing Bentick; childhood
friend of Orden; says he isn’t sorry for killing Bentick; was once an alderman
(city council member)
15. Molly Morden (40) – Alexander’s wife; makes a nice cake; taught grammar
school; supposedly attractive; doesn’t like wearing her glasses; drives Tonder
away by offering herself as a prostitute for food; kills him with scissors
16. William Deal (41) – fled town on a boat with Walter
17. Walter Doggel (41) – fled to England with William
18. Jack Anders 972) – shot for “wrecking that little car”;
19. Will Anders (80) – plans to escape on Corell’s boat and kill Corell at sea
20. Tom Anders (80) – plans to escape with brother
Quotations
1. “A time-minded people” (Doctor Winter, 3)
2. “I don’t suppose there would be any harm in telling. His name is Corell.”
(Bentick, 6)
3. “Should we offer them tea or a glass of wine” (Madame, 9)
4. “The people don’t know yet what has happened.” (Winter, 15)
5. “We’ve found that when a staff lives under the roof of local authority, there’s
more tranquility.” (Lanser,19)
6. “We must maintain a military standard, an alertness, and never change it.”
(Loft, 25)
7. “You mean to say you wouldn’t take a date with her if you could? (Prackle,
26)
8. “…he’s being a soldier the way a lot of men would be politicians.” (Lanser
about Loft, 29)
9. “…if four or five of them [farms] were thrown together, it would be a nice
place to settle.” (Tonder, 29)
10. “There’s an idea about it: if you go through the form of a thing, you have it.”
(Winter, 43)
11. “I like the sweet, cool smell of snow.” (Orden, 50)
12. “I am a free man … I’m not sorry.” (Alex Morden, 53)
13. “So it starts!” (Lanser, 55)
14. “I hope they aren’t rationing girls at home.” (Prackle, 61)
15. “I want a girl. I want to go home. I want a girl.” (Tonder, 64)
16. “The enemy’s everywhere! Every man, every woman, even children! (Tonder,
64)
17. “I dreamed the leader was crazy.” (Tonder, 68)
18. “The flies have conquered the flypaper.” (Tonder, 68)
19. “I stole it from the colonel’s plate. It’s meat.” (Annie, 72)
20. “”You want to call it something else. You don’t want a whore. Is that what
you mean?” (Molly Morden, 78)
21. “”it’s people against people, not idea against idea.” (Mayor Orden, 83)
22. “Let the British bombers drop their big bombs on the works, but also let them
drop little bombs to use, to hide, to slip under the rails, under tanks.” (Mayor
Orden, 83)
23. “If there is organization among these people, we have to find it, we have to
stamp it out.” (Loft, 96)
24. “Orden must be a hostage and his life must depend on the peacefulness of
this community.” (Corell, 101)
25. “You never were a good scholar. You were wrong in the denunciation, too.”
(Winter, 106)
26. “They have made a song out of it. The flies have conquered the flypaper.
You do not keep secrets, Colonel.” (Winter, 111)
27. “The debt shall be paid.” (Winter, 112)