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Darkness at NoonAlthough it is never named outright in the novel, Koestler clearly intends the setting of Darkness at Noon to be the Soviet Union. References to the nation's shadowy leader, Number One, are meant...
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Darkness at NoonThe main thrust of Darkness at Noon concerns the "end-means" debate. The Bolsheviks, represented by the figure of Rubashov, believed that the end justified the means. In other words, they believed...
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Darkness at NoonDarkness at Noon is a classic statement, in the form of fiction, of Lord Acton's principle that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Koestler depicts the situation as it was in...
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Darkness at NoonIn Darkness at Noon, the first term, anti-vivisection morality, is used during Rubashev's interrogation by Ivanov. The Party operative tells Rubashev that actions should be based on the need to...
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Darkness at NoonThe author of Darkness at Noon, Arthur Koestler, actually was a communist who sympathized with the Soviet revolution and went to live and work there for years, saw firsthand the brutality of...
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Darkness at NoonMost people don't know this about Arthur Koestler, the author of the book, but he was at one time, himself a communist. He was in the German Communist Party, and also lived in the Soviet Union for...
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Darkness at NoonThis is Arthur Koestler's fictional history of Stalin’s Russia, and his main purpose is to expose the tragedy of Stalin’s reign.This historical/fictional novel reflects the difficult times during...
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Darkness at NoonOne can argue that Rubashov had to confess because he had no other choice. As a lifelong and faithful Communist, Rubashov had been taught to adhere to every tenet of the Communist ideology. He was...
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Darkness at Noon" ... We seem to be faced with a pendulum movement in history from absolutism to democracy, from democracy back to absolute dictatorship. "The amount of individual freedom which a people may...
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Darkness at NoonDarkness at Noon represents the philosophical and political ideal of the revolutionary ideology and social morality, cannot possibly function or work. Koestler says, —“Wherever [Rubashov’s] eye...
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Darkness at NoonThis novel/play is a thinly disguised criticism of communism, but on another level, it describes the tendency of all Western governments (including capitalism) to deal with abstractions and...
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Darkness at NoonA totalitarian state is that which is run by one party, or more often, by one person, with little to no individual freedoms or rights. The people are often referred to in the collective (for...
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Darkness at NoonThe vast majority of Darkness at Noon is spent in dialogue between Rubashov and his interrogator, who repeatedly tries to trap him into confessing his guilt. Rubashov, of course is no fool, and...
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Darkness at NoonThe "grammatical fiction" is what Rubashov experiences when his individuality defies Party bounds and appears, often when he has a toothache or is daydreaming. The grammatical fiction equates with...
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Darkness at NoonSince Darkness at Noon deals heavily with the concepts of individuality and consciousness, you might do well to select "Consciousness Derived from Material Conditions" by Karl Marx for a...
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Darkness at NoonDarkness at Noon takes place during the 1930s, when Josef Stalin ran the Soviet Union and was conducting a series of bloody purges of his party and his military. The bulk of the dialogue in the...
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Darkness at NoonWithin the traditional definition of "motif" as it applies to literature, if we think of a motif as a recurring theme, fragment or event, then Rubashov's eyeglasses (known then as "Pince Nez"...
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Darkness at NoonArthur Koestler's Darkness at Noon was written to reflect his own combined horror at Nazism and disillusionment with communism as it had evolved in Russia under Stalin. The figure of Commissar...
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Darkness at NoonNo. 1 is the fictional representation of USSR leader Joseph Stalin. This leader plays an important role in the novel, although he is entirely behind the scenes. He is the successor to the grand...
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Darkness at NoonThe repeated mentioning of the "Pince Nez", or eyeglasses that were popular at that time which were supported by pinching the bridge of the nose rather than hooking around the ears seems to be a...