Red Dusk and the Morrow · Theme
Revolution and Its Betrayal
How Red Dusk and the Morrow develops Revolution and Its Betrayal.
The narrative contrasts the initial hopes of the 1917 revolution for freedom and democracy with the subsequent reality of Bolshevik tyranny, describing how the revolution was hijacked by a ruthless minority that imposed a new form of serfdom and starvation.
Where it surfaces
- I: One of the Crowd
The narrator reflects on the initial hopes for freedom in the revolution and how they were 'blighted' by the Bolsheviks, leading to starvation and serfdom.
- VIII: A Village “Bourgeois-Capitalist”
The narrator contrasts the hope of the 1917 Revolution with the current terror and oppression, noting that the Bolsheviks have restored Tsarist police and imprisoned revolutionaries.
- XIV: Conclusion
The author laments that the revolution, which promised so much, has given Russia a government alien to the nation's sympathies and ideals, and that the Bolsheviks have betrayed the revolution's potential.