Rubashov In Arthur Koestler's Darkness At Noon

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Arthur Koestler is the author of Darkness at Noon, a novel in which the main character Rubashov is imprisoned for his alleged crimes against the communist party. Rubashov is an active member in communist activities and was shown to have great value to the party’s advancement. As Rubashov is imprisoned his mind crosses between the ‘I’ and ‘We’ mindset consistently. His logic sways between dying in silence and confessing to the crimes that he has been accused of. For Rubashov to die in silence would mean he elects to stay with his individualistic mindset on how the communist party should pursue its ultimate goal, he would not be helping No. 1 further consolidate power. There are two sides to the communist party. There is the side to which Rubashov belongs, that believes that the communist party should attempt to …show more content…

For Rubashov to die in silence, he would hold true to his original belief that communism should be spread internationally. However, the opposition wants him to die, helping the party further its control. If Rubashov is to confess to the crimes and oppositional thoughts he has, he will show the citizens that there can be no opposition to No. 1’s rule and will thus help the party gain more control, furthering the communist revolution. Rubashov should die in silence. The communist party would have stood a better chance at surviving if it had a larger party population; however, there are many more risks to expanding internationally than consolidating power within a single country first, yet these are risks that would lead to greater success. Simply put, Communism can be related to a virus. The more hosts the virus has the greater potential it has for spreading, limiting this virus to one region limits it ability to spread. Rubashov should die in silence because helping No. 1 further consolidate power will only help destroy the communist party faster. Dying in silence he is holding true to his beliefs which he sides with more so than the beliefs of the

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