Prison

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Recommended: Analysis of darkness at noon by harold krents

Prison: Confined, dark, and empty. Freedom is denied. Punishment is evident. Men, both guilty and innocent, are held captives within the dark corridors. Escape is possible but difficult – dangerous. If captive to for too long, the prisoner can lose his hope, his faith, his mind, himself. In Arthur Koestler’s Darkness at Noon, Nicolas Salmanovitch Rubashov is imprisoned, both physically and philosophically. Accused of treason and the attempted assassination of No. 1, Stalin, Rubashov is taken in to custody for a crime did not commit. It is during the physical imprisonment, however, that Rubashov’s enters a development, or rediscovery, of his individuality – a part of him that was long repressed for the sake of the Party. It is here that Rubashov is offered a chance of philosophical freedom. Arthur Koestler wrote Darkness at Noon to reveal the ruthless methods of a totalitarian regime. Rather than focusing on the mechanics of the government’s creation, Koestler describes the psychological manipulation totalitarianism practiced, in order to operate and survive, during Stalin’s purges. Rubashov is depicted as neither a hero nor a villain, but rather a victim who is trapped within communist theology. However, during his imprisonment, the individual resurfaces and Rubashov reveals the ethical turmoil between two opposing principles. He describes the first principle, which is the Party’s “neo-Machiavellism” “political ethics”, as a consequentialist ethics that is driven by the idea that the ends justifies the means (Koestler, 98). It is the Party that decides upon what the end was and what the means were. As they are obstacles to achieving the Party’s ultimate goal, the individual is repressed and morality is twisted. Rather than “I”, i... ... middle of paper ... ...ut because of the ruthless means of the Communist Party, a dystopian end was formed. Koestler portrays that it is psychological methods that drive a totalitarian regime. By manipulating the people’s beliefs, morals, and desires, by imprisoning people within a single belief, one can achieve great power. Through this power, the ideas of good and evil can be twisted so that it may serve as a means to an end. As the human mind continues to doubt, question, and wonder, ethical manipulation can, and does, occur in today’s society and, thus, a totalitarian is a frighteningly possible. If captive to for too long, the prisoner can lose his hope, his faith, his mind, himself. Escape is possible but difficult – dangerous. Men, both guilty and innocent, are held captives within the dark corridors. Punishment is evident. Freedom is denied. Confined, dark, and empty. It is prison.

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