Summary of Joseph Patrouch’s Critical Review of “Nightfall”
By: Dane Hall
The purpose of this selection from The Science Fiction of Isaac Asimov is to showcase “Nightfall” and provide legitimate criticism of its style, while placing it in the proper context of Asimov’s career and Science Fiction in general. Although it is merely a small section of a book, it reads like a critical essay, has thoughts as meaningful and deep as a critical essay, and is accordingly treated as a critical essay.
First, a brief summary of Asimov’s career up to “Nightfall” is provided. Patrouch shows that Asimov was an as yet underdeveloped writer, still relying on the trite language and horrid shallow characterization of pulp science fiction. Furthermore, certain inconsistencies or inaccuracies in the story are pointed out- from the colors on Lagash (with six differently colored suns, how could one describe a color under just one of them, as in “Nightfall”?) to the outcome of the story (unclear and mysterious).
However, Patrouch is not all negative- he does have some very good things to say about Asimov and “Nightfall”. Near the end of his essay he marvelously explains what science fiction really is, and how the story fits into that, using ideas that Asimov had about the distinctions between science fiction, “future writing”, and social fiction. As Patrouch argues, “science fiction creates an alternate society for its own sake, to show us that things could be different, to accustom us to change.” (27) He argues that “Nightfall” accomplishes this purpose beautifully because of one fundamental aspect of its setting: being so absolutely different from Earth. The point of having six suns is that Lagash is placed in an entirely different cosmic situation from Earth; there can be no historical similarity and, in fact, the consequences stemming from this difference in technological development are what drive the plot of the story.
Finally, Asimov’s most famous of short stories is compared to John Donne’s Seventeenth Meditation. It is argued that the people of Lagash, though never described as human, are nevertheless sacred, as is all conscious life. When the people of Lagash perish, some small part of humanity, he argues, perishes as well- because all conscious beings are linked. In the end, Patrouch says that the real message of “Nightfall” is not on aliens or astronomy or even psychology at all- instead, the message of the story and of science fiction in general, is “the sacredness and dignity of life.”
First, a brief summary of Asimov’s career up to “Nightfall” is provided. Patrouch shows that Asimov was an as yet underdeveloped writer, still relying on the trite language and horrid shallow characterization of pulp science fiction. Furthermore, certain inconsistencies or inaccuracies in the story are pointed out- from the colors on Lagash (with six differently colored suns, how could one describe a color under just one of them, as in “Nightfall”?) to the outcome of the story (unclear and mysterious).
However, Patrouch is not all negative- he does have some very good things to say about Asimov and “Nightfall”. Near the end of his essay he marvelously explains what science fiction really is, and how the story fits into that, using ideas that Asimov had about the distinctions between science fiction, “future writing”, and social fiction. As Patrouch argues, “science fiction creates an alternate society for its own sake, to show us that things could be different, to accustom us to change.” (27) He argues that “Nightfall” accomplishes this purpose beautifully because of one fundamental aspect of its setting: being so absolutely different from Earth. The point of having six suns is that Lagash is placed in an entirely different cosmic situation from Earth; there can be no historical similarity and, in fact, the consequences stemming from this difference in technological development are what drive the plot of the story.
Finally, Asimov’s most famous of short stories is compared to John Donne’s Seventeenth Meditation. It is argued that the people of Lagash, though never described as human, are nevertheless sacred, as is all conscious life. When the people of Lagash perish, some small part of humanity, he argues, perishes as well- because all conscious beings are linked. In the end, Patrouch says that the real message of “Nightfall” is not on aliens or astronomy or even psychology at all- instead, the message of the story and of science fiction in general, is “the sacredness and dignity of life.”