The young comrade (allegory)
The young comrade is an allegory of kindness that is both reckless and short-sighted. He is eager to help, his heart “beats for the revolution.” “The sight of injustice” drives him into “the ranks of the fighters.” The young comrade is “for freedom” and believes “in humanity,” what is more he is “against exploitation and ignorance.” He is always ready to lend a hand those who are in need. However, his eagerness to serve brings nothing good. His companions see that the young man’s tender heart causes only trouble. Revolutions tend to kill people like the young comrades first.
Black pages (symbol)
“Blotting-out a face” is a symbol of anonymity. As the chorus says, “who fight for communism must be able to fight and not to fight,” “to speak and not to speak,” “to perform services and not to perform services,” “to keep promises and not to keep promises,” “to go into danger and to keep out of danger,” “to be recognizable and not to be recognizable.” Those who fight for communism have “only one virtue.” These fighters are not going to be remembered by people, for they agreed to be a part of a revolutionary machine. They are anonymous soldiers.
Giving a verdict (motif)
“In yet another country the ranks of the fighters are joined,” and “the revolution marches on.” But what is the price of that success? The four agitators tell the control chorus a story about a crime they committed. They killed “a comrade” and “threw him into a lime pit.” Now they have “to demonstrate how it happened” to hear “the verdict.” Before that unfortunate event, they made propaganda and tried to build up “the Chinese Party.” They show no pity, no mercy, these four agitators don’t reflect on hardship of the workers’ lives, they are ready to sacrifice everything for the revolution’s sake. This leads to the young comrade’s death.
