Darkness at noon quotes. Darkness at Noon: Important quotes with page numbers 2022-10-30
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"Darkness at Noon" is a novel by Arthur Koestler, published in 1940. It is a fictionalized account of the show trials and executions that took place in the Soviet Union during the 1930s, under the rule of Joseph Stalin. The novel explores the theme of totalitarianism and the consequences of blindly following a leader or ideology.
Throughout the novel, several characters express profound insights about power, politics, and human nature. Here are a few notable quotes from "Darkness at Noon" that capture these themes:
"The old believe everything; the middle-aged suspect everything; the young know everything." - This quote, spoken by the character Ivanov, highlights the difference in perspective between generations. The old are blindly trusting and accepting, while the middle-aged are more skeptical and cynical. The young, on the other hand, are confident and self-assured, but may not have the wisdom or experience to fully understand the complexity of the world.
"The essence of the revolutionary spirit is to will change, and to will change in the face of obstacles." - This quote, spoken by the character Rubashov, reflects the driving force behind revolutionary movements. Revolutionaries are driven by a desire for change, and are willing to overcome any obstacles that stand in their way. However, as the novel illustrates, this drive for change can also lead to violent and oppressive tactics, as the revolutionaries become consumed by their own ideology.
"Every state, every government, every system is a swindle, because it is based on the exploitation of the masses, and only the most naive or the most stupid can fail to see it." - This quote, spoken by the character Gletkin, reflects the disillusionment and cynicism that many characters in the novel feel towards politics and power. They see the state as a corrupt and manipulative force that serves the interests of the ruling class, rather than the people it claims to represent.
"Power is a hypnotic suggestion that makes people behave like chickens." - This quote, spoken by the character Rubashov, highlights the way that power can manipulate and control people. Those in power are able to influence and manipulate the behavior of those around them, leading to a kind of "mass hypnosis" that allows them to maintain their authority.
In conclusion, "Darkness at Noon" is a powerful and thought-provoking novel that explores the consequences of blindly following a leader or ideology. Its quotes reveal profound insights about power, politics, and human nature, and serve as a cautionary tale about the dangers of totalitarianism.
Darkness at Noon Symbols, Allegory and Motifs
To want to conduct history according to the maxims of the Sunday school means to leave everything as it is. Rubashov resignedly reflects on the fact that humorless, brutal people like Gletkin, who hold an unwavering faith in the Party, are the heirs to the revolution to which he dedicated his life. He is paired with Rip Van Winkle, who turns out to be a friendly but fragile old man, clearly affected by his twenty years in solitary confinement but not insane as Rubashov had previously imagined. It was a surgical operation which had to be done once and for all; but in the good old days before the Revolution just as many died in any dry yearâonly senselessly and pointlessly. Rubashov is forced to watch as Bogrov is led to execution.
Otherwise they would not be worshipped. Koestler often compares the Communists and the Nazis in the narrative of the novel, who are more similar than different despite the fact they are on different sides in the war. He is in his thirties, keeps a revolver in his belt at all times, and has a large scarâthe result of having been torturedâon his shaved head. Two weeks later he was arrested as a member of the opposition. We brought you freedom, and it looks in our hands like a whip. Other usurpers in Europe pretend the same thing with as much right as youâŚ.
Humbugs and dilettantes have always tried to mix the two conceptions; in practice, it is impossible. He is damned always to do that which is most repugnant to him: to become a slaughterer, in order to abolish slaughtering, to sacrifice lambs so that no more lambs may be slaughtered, to whip people with knouts so that they may learn not to let themselves be whipped, to strip himself of every scruple in the name of a higher scrupulousness, and to challenge the hatred of mankind because of his love for it--an abstract and geometric love. Passing ripples, little eddies and breaking waves. These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. As Bogrov is carried off crying and screaming, all the prisoners, as is their tradition, drum along the walls to signal their brotherhood.
Richard Richard, a young man arrested in Germany while Rubashov headed the Party Intelligence and Control Department. You can help us out by revising, improving and updating thissection. We brought you the living life, and where our voices is heard the trees wither and there is a rustling of dry leaves. We brought you the living life, and where our voices is heard the trees wither and there is a rustling of dry leaves. Corrupt methods are elevated to accomplish moral finishes, and, similar to the Transformation, the individual is enslaved to the benefit of the numerous in an utilitarian condition that extracts the plausibility of pity or kindness. The last date is today's date â the date you are citing the material. Six and a half steps to the door, whence they must come to fetch him, six and a half steps to the window, behind which night was falling.
Rubashov also learns from No. In his cell, Rubashov reflects for the last time on the failure of the revolution. Koestler compares the gentleness and mercy of Christianity with the brutality and complication of Communism. New books arrived, too: the classics of social science appeared with new footnotes and commentaries, the old histories were replaced by new histories, the old memoirs of dead revolutionary leaders were replaced by new memoirs of the same defunct. Ivanov advises Rubashov to confess to being a member of the opposition but to deny having plotted against No. The motives of the individual did not matter to her.
Darkness at Noon Quotes by Arthur Koestler(page 2 of 3)
But we had descended into the depths, into the formless, anonymous masses, which at all times constituted the substance of history; and we were the first to discover her laws of motion. Let me, then, confess what I know about myself, and confess too what I do not know, because what I know of myself I know only because you shed light on me, and what I do not know I shall remain ignorant about until my darkness becomes like bright noon before your face. Thus, it was easy to die, with the visible certainty of one's goal before one's eyes. Nicolas Salmanovitch Rubashov Rubashov is the protagonist of Darkness at Noon and is intended to represent an amalgamation of real Soviet intellectuals and politicians. Similarity Between Dictatorships Communists and Fascists consider themselves to be about as far apart as any group of people can possibly be, yet Rubashov expresses Koestler that there is really no difference between the two.
29+ quotes from Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler
Ivanov begs Rubashov to listen to logic instead of to his personal feelings and moral quandaries. It was this sentence which had killed the great fraternity of the Revolution and made them run amuck. Politics mean operating with this x without worrying about its actual nature. For forty years it had been driven through the desert, with threats and promises, with imaginary terrors and imaginary rewards. They wondered at the changing forms of the surface and could not explain them. His commitment to following his logic to its final conclusionâand his own lingering dedication to the Partyâcauses him to confess fully and publicly. By promising that the atrocities that are being committed are for the benefit of future generations, for whom they are creating a near-perfect society, the regime are effectively weighing the abuses done to a few thousand against a benefit for millions in generations to come.
Rubashov used to be a pretty big wheel at the Party factory; Commissar of the People. See eNotes Ad-Free Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts. Having reached this conclusion, Rubashov resigns himself to execution without defending himself against charges of treason. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make yourown. He was a vocal supporter of voluntary euthanasia, and in 1983 he and his third wife Cynthia killed themselves by overdosing on pills. After fighting for the Communists in one of the small-scale civil wars that broke out across Europe during the Russian Revolution, he was arrested and imprisoned for twenty years.
We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community. Tormented by an ache in the root of a tooth that was knocked out during his torture in Germany, Rubashov continues to ruminate on his past. In the cabin, people slammed into each other in the terror of flashblindness. History is a priori amoral; it has no conscience. Little Loewy Little Loewy, a Party worker who hanged himself after being denounced as an agent provocateur.
Between you and us there is no common currency and no common language. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make yourown. The Party had taught one how to do it. The first conception could be called anti-vivisection morality, the second, vivisection morality. The teacher would draw on the blackboard an algebraic formula representing the conditions of life of the masses of a particular nation at a particular period: 'Here, citizens, you see the objective factors which conditioned this historical process. Koestler notes: The first obstacle was that, half-way through the book, I again ran out of money.
