Isaac Asimov Nightfall Sparknotes

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Nightfall can be considered one of the best sf short stories of all times, because of the writer’s ability to integrate theories, events, and beliefs of others, into a captivating fictional story. In that, Isaac Asimov, cleverly combined, one might say, “past, current, and future events into his storyline.” He included theories of gravitation, events predicted by those called, “Cultist,” in his story, and various beliefs of the different characters. Wikipedia states “Aton, one of the characters in the story, who formulated the Theory of Universal Gravitation, in-story discussion of this makes light of an article once written about Einstein's theory of relativity, referencing the false notion that "only twelve men" could understand it.” …show more content…

Inasmuch as, Christians believe there is coming a day when Believers, who were referred to as, “Cultist,” in the writing, will be taken away. Consequently, Christians who believe they are the light of the world, will no longer be on this earth, therefore, darkness will consume it. By the same token, Nightfall, included a similar event into its storyline which was a catastrophic eclipse, that would send their planet, Lagash, into a period of utter darkness, removing all light. Wikipedia states, “Beenay, through his friend Theremon 762, a reporter, has learned some of the beliefs of the group known as the Cult ("Apostles of Flame" in the novel). They believe the world would be destroyed in a darkness with the appearance of stars that unleash a torrent of fire. Beenay combines what he has learned about the repetitive collapses at the archaeological site, and the new theory of potential eclipses; He concludes that once every 2049 years, the one sun otherwise visible is eclipsed, resulting in a brief "night". His theory is that this "night" was so horrifying to the people who experienced it, they desperately sought out any light source to try to drive it away: particularly, by frantically starting fires which burned down and destroyed their successive civilizations.” In the final analysis, Nightfall can be considered one of sf’ best, for its ability to masterfully expose real fear, in a

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