The Vigilante by John Steinbeck. Short summary

5 seconds

A lynching took place in the park. Mike, who had taken part in it, felt tired. He went to the bar and talked to the barman. At home Mike’s wife thought he was with a woman.

1 minute

Mike participated in the lynching of the black man as a vigilante («vigilantes» citizens who ostensibly monitored the law, but are actually racists). He watched the crowd and the feet of the hanged man in the light of the torches. The moments of joyous excitement he had just experienced were replaced by fatigue.

Mike went to the bar. The bartender said he was here «to cap it off» and decided to open the bar in hopes that the guys would come in to soak their throats. Mike remembered what it was like.

A crowd had gathered at the door of the jail. The sheriff made a speech, but no one listened to him. Everyone was afraid of the arrival of the «lawyer boy who’d get anyone away with it.»

The crowd shoved the jail door open. The sheriff pointed out the cell number. The black man stood with his eyes closed. They pinned him down and started banging his head on the cement floor.

Mike showed a flap from the hanged man’s pants. The bartender bought half of it for $2 to hang on the bar wall.

At home, Mike’s wife was waiting. She thought her spouse was cheating on her. He looked in the mirror. «It looks exactly like this,» he decided.