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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Rubashov mean to study when he was a boy?

2. What did Rubashov talk about with a diplomat of a foreign power which Gletkin says was a conversation to get a foreign power to overthrow the government?

3. Why does Rubashov think that Gletkin has nothing to erase?

4. Why does Wassilij not protest the removal of Rubashov’s picture off the wall?

5. When is Rubashov taken from his cell after turning in his confession?

Short Essay Questions

1. With whom does Gletkin confront Rubashov and with what charge?

2. What does Rubashov confess to in the beginning? What is Gletkin’s response to this?

3. What verdict is reached on Rubashov's charges? What evidence is presented?

4. What is Rubashov’s response about Arlova when the prosecutor asks about her? What does the prosecutor say to Rubashov about Arlova?

5. What does the prisoner in 402 tell Rubashov to do before they come for Rubashov and how long does 402 have to remain in prison? What are 402’s last words to Rubashov?

6. For what reason does Rubashov think the regime is attempting to get rid of the old guard?

7. What does Wassilij say to his daughter about Rubashov’s speech?

8. How does Rubashov respond to Hare-lip’s accusations?

9. What does Rubashov say some of his ideas could cause?

10. What does Rubashov feel about the grammatical fiction and the USSR right before he is taken to be killed?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Often, authors will write about what they know. Sometimes knowing a little about the author makes the books more interesting. Discuss the following:

Research and give a brief biographical sketch of Arthur Koestler. Do you think there is always some of the author's own life in his/her novels? Why or why not? Give examples. Name one idea/concept you think may have been a part of the Koestler's agenda. Analyze that idea throughout the book and discuss Koestler's probable agenda concerning that idea.

Essay Topic 2

Stalin initiated the Moscow Show Trials. It was part of his manipulation to eliminate all those who could threaten his power. Based on Rubashov’s reflections about the Party and on what a revolution must do to stay in power, discuss the following:

Was Stalin solely responsible for the Moscow Show Trials, or do you think they reflect the inevitable tendency of the Bolsheviks? Use examples from Darkness at Noon to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Koestler was an active Zionist (a believer that Jews should have a homeland in Palestine) during his youth, he supported the creation of an Israeli state after World War II, and later in his life he became very interested in spirituality.

Discuss the religious undertones in Darkness at Noon. Use examples from Darkness at Noon to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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