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<\/a><\/div>\nTogether with <\/span>Brave New World <\/i>by Huxley (1932), <\/span>We <\/i>by Zamyatin (1920-1921) and <\/span>Nineteen Eighty-Four <\/i>by <\/span>Orwell (1948), <\/span>Darkness at Noon <\/i>is one of the principal<\/span>dystopian or anti-utopian novels of the twentieth century. <\/span>Although s<\/span>ome may disagree <\/span>regarding the choice of novels<\/span><\/span>\u2013<\/span>there are, after all, many novels that fall into that category <\/span>\u2013<\/span><\/span>most would agree that all these novels <\/span>highlight the danger of<\/span><\/span>dubious<\/span>utopian societies and their power to completely annihilate all values associated with normality and justice<\/span>. Sometimes these societies are placed in the future; other times they are an actual part of our reality.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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Koestler, a Hungarian, <\/span><\/span>(born 1905, died 1983)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>wrote <\/span><\/span>Darkness at Noon<\/span><\/i>after becoming<\/span><\/span>disillusioned <\/span><\/span>with<\/span><\/span>Communism <\/span><\/span>when<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Stalin began his purges <\/span><\/span>in<\/span><\/span>the late 1930s. <\/span><\/span>The book does not directly refer to the soviet regime or to Stalin (Stalin is portrayed in the book as No.1), <\/span><\/span>and <\/span><\/span>the<\/span><\/span>story centres on a man <\/span><\/span>called<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Nicholas Salmanovitch Rubashov, <\/span><\/span>an old Bolshevik. <\/span><\/span>At the beginning of the novel, <\/span><\/span>Rubashov is <\/span><\/span>captured by <\/span><\/span>the government’s security police and is <\/span><\/span>thrown into<\/span><\/span>prison. <\/span><\/span>H<\/span><\/span>e is not completely sure what<\/span><\/span>will happen to him, but <\/span><\/span>he <\/span><\/span>suspect<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span>that he will probably be shot. <\/span><\/span>A<\/span><\/span>n idealist, <\/span><\/span>he has<\/span><\/span>always <\/span><\/span>believed <\/span><\/span>that the <\/span><\/span>utopia promised by socialism was worth the thousands, if not millions, of lives sacrificed. But, as he ruminates in prison, he is well aware that the goal is still <\/span><\/span>well beyond reach. <\/span><\/span>He had always been a loyal party member, yet, sitting in his isolation cell, he is no longer certain that <\/span><\/span>the intimidation and cruelty he and many others have used was the right way to <\/span><\/span>try to <\/span><\/span>achieve the goal. <\/span><\/span>Hours<\/span><\/span>of solitary confinement and <\/span><\/span>several<\/span><\/span>interrogation sessions <\/span><\/span>make him realize that replacing ideals with brutality <\/span><\/span>simply <\/span><\/span>negate<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>any possibility of reaching the utopia that once may have seemed possible.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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<\/a><\/div>\n <\/span><\/span><\/span>The photo of Arthur Koestler is from <\/span>www.theguardian.com<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
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I<\/span><\/span>n one part of the book Koestler quotes Machiavelli when he says: <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>Occasionally words must serve to veil the facts. But this must happen in such a way that no one becomes aware of it; or, if it should be noticed, excuses must be at hand <\/span><\/span>to be produced immediately.<\/span><\/span>\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>(p.135, paperback edition, published 1984, Bantam Books). <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Worth considering, perhaps, in relation not only to the anti-utopian society of Darkness at Noon<\/i> but also in relation to facets of present-day society.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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Darkness at Noon<\/span><\/span><\/i>is actually the second book in a trilogy <\/span><\/span>where the first book is <\/span><\/span>The Gladiators<\/span><\/i>and the third is <\/span><\/span>Arrival and Departure<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n