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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 does Rubashov realize he missed right after breakfast?
2. What did Wassilij hide in his mattress?
3. Who appoints the examining magistrate?
4. What does Gletkin say was the purpose of Rubashov’s confession two years previously?
5. What does Rubashov realize about his position with Gletkin?
Short Essay Questions
1. What does Rubashov confess to in the beginning? What is Gletkin’s response to this?
2. What does Rubashov feel about the grammatical fiction and the USSR right before he is taken to be killed?
3. With whom does Gletkin confront Rubashov and with what charge?
4. 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?
5. What does Rubashov realize about his relationship with Gletkin? Why does he think this?
6. What is the result of Gletkin’s pushing Rubashov with no sleep?
7. What happens after 402 taps his farewell to Rubashov?
8. What does Rubashov’s diary entry at the beginning of the Third Hearing contain?
9. What does Wassilij’s daughter tell him about the petition at work?
10. What does the reactionary peasant do to end up in prison?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Rubashov feels more strongly than ever before the presence of the "grammatical fiction" that represents his individuality, and he ponders whether there is any purpose in life.
Discuss what Rubashov means by the phrase "grammatical fiction." Use examples from Darkness at Noon to support your answer.
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
Choose one of the following to discuss:
Choose two significant symbols and trace and analyze their appearance in Darkness at Noon. Are these universal symbols that would have the same meaning in any culture? What other symbols could portray the same idea? Why do you think Koestler chooses the symbols he does? Consider symbols such as the window in the prison cell, the Judas hole, the map of Prisoner 406 and Rubashov’s constant cleaning of his monocle.
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This section contains 849 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) |
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