Darkness at Noon Questions and Answers: Part 2—The Second Hearing—Chapters 1-3
by Arthur Koestler

Study Questions
1. Why was the agriculturist B. executed?

2. How did Gletkin get the scar on his forehead?

3. What does Ivanov tell Gletkin he has given Rubashov?

4. What is Rubashov’s clearest memory of Arlova?

5. What does Arlova say Rubashov can do to her?

Answers
1. B. was executed because he disagreed with No. 1’s opinion that potash manure was better than nitrate artificial manure.

2. Gletkin got his scar when, during the Civil War, the Party’s enemy tortured him by tying a lighted candlewick onto his skull.

3. Ivanov tells Gletkin he has given Rubashov fourteen days to reflect.

4. Rubashov’s clearest memory of Arlova is the curve of her bent neck as she works.

5. Arlova says Rubashov can do whatever he wants to her.