The Conflict Between the Individual and the State and the Grammatical Fiction in Darkness At Noon

"The Party denied the free will of an individual-and at the same time exacted his willing self-sacrifice." The obvious contradiction of the above definition of the Communist party is depicts the conflict between the individual and the State in Arthur Koestler's novel Darkness at Noon. Koestler's protagonist Nicolas Salamanovich Rubashov, devout communist and former leader of the Communist party, falls victim to his own system during the time of the Moscow trials. Accused and imprisoned for crimes he did not commit, Rubashov is forced to choose between the ideology he has faithfully followed for the past forty years of his life, or a new found sense of self, which he calls the "grammatical fiction".

During the beginning of Rubashov's solitary incarceration, he begins to doubt the infallibility of the Communist regime, and for a time, views himself independent from the Party. Rubashov's pulling away from Communism is evident in his conversation with the examining magistrate, Ivanov, during his first hearing. Rubashov addresses Ivanov's coll

ective viewpoint with the developing views of his own:

All his life Rubashov had "burnt the remains of the old illogical morality from his consciousness", and was unaware that ideas outside of those expressed by the Party had any logical basis. He once thought that any other view was irrational and false. In his cell waiting to be taken to his execution, Rubashov reflects on his former devotion to the Party:

As a Communist he had sacrificed his individuality for the benefit of the Party, and forty years later he had lost the capability to even think outside the lines of the Party's dogmas. He had denied the individual within himself, which is why he is confused at the emergence of his "silent partner", the free-thinking individual within himself. His conscious self had been founded in the 'we', until he was imprisoned. Facing death, Rubashov realizes the destructiveness of a political system that doesn't account for the individual.

He was a man who had lost his shadow, released from every bond. He followed every thought to its last conclusion and acted in accordance with it to the very end. The hours which remained to him belonged to the silent partner, whose realm started just where logical thought ended. He had christened it the 'grammatical fiction' with that shamefacedness about the first person singular which the Party had inculcated in its disciples.

At this point Rubashov rests. The inner turmoil he had from being torn between two avenues of thought had ceased. He has realized the futility of the Party's actions, and in his own way repented of those actions by dissociating himself from the Party. Although the Party had essentially banished Rubashov first, Ru

Some common words found in the essay are:
Communist Party, Communism Rubashov, Party Rubashov's, Salamanovich Rubashov, Communist Rubashov, Party Rubashov, Party Instead, Ivanov Rubashov's, Noon Party, Rubashov Rubashov's, grammatical fiction, darkness noon, conflict individual, communist party, grammatical fiction darkness, individual confused, party rubashov's, individual grammatical, individual reason, silent partner, conflict individual grammatical, individual grammatical fiction, fiction darkness noon, communist rubashov,
Approximate Word count = 1134
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)