Comparison between major characters:

1. Hugo V/S Hoederer: A fight between Deontology and Consequentialism. From the play, it can be seen
that Hugo is a Deontologist, believing that there are objective rights and wrongs, and one must always
stick to the objectively right path. He is a staunch supporter of the party adhering to its ideologies, no
matter what. In stark contrast to this, we have Hoederer, who is a consequentialist and believes that
whatever the means are, if the ends are moral, the act can be undertaken. This is made clear when
Hoederer decides to break bread with the Nationalists and the Fascists for the greater good of the country,
even if it involves diluting down the ideologies of the party.
What is of particular interest in the play is the conversation that happens between Hoederer and Hugo,
wherein Hoederer explains the current political situation in Illyria and how real politics work. When
Hugo naively tells Hoederer ‘Let’s seize power’, Hoederer explains to him the real condition of the party.
He explains that the party only 20% of the population, and not everyone supports them. In contrast, the
Peasants party holds 55% of the population, and hence the requirement of collusion with the Fascists
(controlling army and police) is unavoidable if the party is to survive. He mentions that it doesn’t matter
to him what has happened in the past or who has died, as long as his decisions go on to save the lives of
people that are alive. This is evident from the conversation when Hugo asks the possibility to ride the
coattails of the red army who will be across the border in weeks, to which Hoederer points out the
potential deaths, and bolsters the idea that peace will prevail over a wasteland. When Hoederer leaves
after this conversation, even Jessica understands that Hoederer was right. However, the worse part was
that even Hugo knew that Hoederer was right. And regardless of Hugo’s intention to stay true to his
original mission, Hoederer succeeded in converting him.

2. Hoederer V/S Louis: Hoederer and Louis are the masterminds that are present on the two sides of the
fight inside the party. Hoederer can be seen as the person to be able to make the bolder move. By diluting
the party’s ideological stance, he makes a sacrifice to achieve the greater outcome of widespread
communist influence. Louis, on the other hand, is an inherently opportunistic person. He decides that
Hoederer must die and agrees to let Hugo, who makes up for his lack of experience by show of
commitment. When the communication came that proved that Hoederer was right all along, he was
thinking of killing Hugo, so that there are no loose ends, providing him and the party with a clean slate to
run with.

Comparison with leaders of the past:

A direct comparison that can be made is the characters of Hoederer and Louis with that of Chanakya.
Both these characters were masters when it came to planning and were able to see through their
opponent’s plan and take measures against it.