The book A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is a highly regarded piece of literature read by many people both young and old. It’s focused during the time period of the first French Revolution hitting key points such as the fall of the Bastille, the Reign of Terror and the September Massacres.
At the beginning of the book we meet Mr. Lorry, a worker at Teller’s Bank who receives a message from Jerry Cruncher. Mr. Lorry sends Cruncher back with the response “Recalled to Life” troubling Jerry. We later then learn about how Mr Lorry has been having dreams of people being buried for almost 18 years, and then being “recalled to life” and having a request to see a women. This brings up the topic of ressurection used currently throughout the book.
We are then taken to Paris, France, where a keg of red wine spills on the street with “...no drainage to carry off the wine...” so the poverty stricken ran towards the cobblestones drinking the mixture of alcohol and mud, feeding their children and themselves as much as possible. Due to the sanitation during that time period, along with the economic issues, if a keg of wine had spilled a scene much like this would have most likely taken place. Dickens also says that this takes place in the suburb of Saint Antoine, which was a revolutionary epicenter of the time and a manufacturing district foreshadowing our meeting of Dr. Manette.
Mr.Lorry then meets Lucie Manette, and he tells her that her seemingly deceased father is actually alive. They then go to find him in Saint Antoine meeting Mrs. Defarge, who addresses several people by Jacques meaning that they’re revolutionaries. This name was seemingly taken from the very real group the Jacobins. They lead them to Dr. Manette, who is busily m...
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...cie along with her daughter to finish the job. Carton overhears this and warns Lucie and Dr. Manette to run away. He helps Darnay escape and takes his place to be executed in a final act of his love toward Lucie. Madame Defarge tries to kill the remaining family, but ends up confronted by Miss Pross. Madame Defarge ends up accidentally shooting and killing herself. The book ends with Carton being guillotined.
A Tale of Two Cities is an intricate book filled with many more historical accuracies that can fit in an essay. The amount of characters and actions happening make it a seemingly interesting read, but the wording and density of the book in actuality, causes it to be rather dull and difficult to understand. I wouldn’t recommend it for high school level readers. Perhaps people who have gone through and graduated college have a better chance of appreciating it.
Charles Dickens writes this book explaining the French Revolution, in which the social and economic systems in France had huge changes and the French monarchy collapsed. This causes high taxes, unfair laws, and the poor being mistreated. Charles Dickens shows that cruelty of other people will lead to a revolution and in addition to the revolution more cruelty will occur. He explores the idea of justice and violence through the use of ambiguous characters with positive and negative qualities, meaning that they have to different sides to them; for example, Charles Darnay, Sydney Carton, and Dr. Manette. Throughout the story of A Tale of Two Cities, Charles dickens uses ambiguous characters to shows how violence and cruelty can be stopped through the power of true sacrifice.
Charles Dickens writes this book explaining the French Revolution, in which the social and economic systems in France had huge changes and the French monarchy collapsed. This caused high taxes, unfair laws, and the poor being mistreated. Charles Dickens shows that cruelty of other people will lead to a revolution and in addition to the revolution more cruelty will happen. He explores the idea of justice and violence through the use of characters that are ambiguous, meaning that they have to different sides to them; for example, Charles Darnay, Sydney Carton, and Dr. Manette. Throughout the story of A Tale of Two Cities, Charles dickens shows the ambiguous characters through the power of true sacrifice.
The French Revolution was a period of radical social and political upheaval, lead by the lower class of France, which began the decline of powerful monarchies in France and the rise of nationalism and democracy. In A Tale Of Two Cities, written by Charles Dickens, he highlights these aspects of the war between classes and makes them personal to the reader. Throughout the novel, Dickens’ establishes and develops several symbols in order to help the reader better understand the Revolution and the way people acted during this time. He shows that while emotion, desperation, and irrationality run high, humanity, justice, and morality are scarce. The blue flies, Madame Defarge’s knitting, and the sea are three of Dickens’ symbols that develop his theme of man’s inhumanity to his fellow man throughout the novel.
The French Revolution is a war between the peasants and the aristocrats. A Tale of Two Cities is by Charles Dickens and is set in England and France from 1775-1793. The French Revolution is starting to come about because the French peasants are trying to model their revolution after the American Revolution. King Louis XVI of France supported the colonists in the American Revolution; therefore, it is ironic that he does not help the poor, distressed, and oppressed peasants in France. The peasants are trying to rise against the oppressive aristocrats because the rich are unfeeling and mean towards the poor serfs. In A Tale of Two Cities, the symbols help represent the theme of man’s inhumanity toward his fellow man because the symbol of the scarecrows and birds of fine song and feather is helpful in understanding the differences between the poor and the rich, the Gorgon’s head is meaningful because it shows that change needs to occur, and the knitting is insightful because one learns that evil can come out of good intentions.
A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens, occurs in two cities, Paris and London, during the commencement of the French Revolution. Revolution is a major theme in this novel, which makes it one of his most gloomy stories. Dickens’ portrayal of the French Revolution proves the inhumanity of humans towards one another. Although the theme of revolution carries a dark tone, Dickens uses his expertise to include happy moments that lighten the story. A Tale of Two Cities incorporates the theme of inhumanity through many metaphors, such as “the great blue flies,” knitting, and the sea.
Kalil, Marie. Cliffs notes on Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. Cliff Notes Inc, June 2000
Charles Dickens’s voice varies from being sympathetic with the revolutionaries, to a feeling of discord with their method of revolting. A Tale of Two Cities revolves around the French revolution and the tension in England. Dickens gives the tale of a family caught in the conflict between the French aristocracy and radicals. In the course of the book, the family handles extreme difficulty and obscurity. Dickens’s neutrality, though sometimes wavering from side to side, is apparent throughout each book in the novel.
A Tale of Two Cities takes place in England and France, during the time of the French Revolution. A Tale of Two Cities is a classic novel, where Charles Dickens presents to the reader archetypal main characters. From the beginning of the novel, the reader can know whether the characters are evil or not. In the novel, the main character, Sydney Carton, also contributes a lot to the theme of the novel-every individual should have both moral and physical courage, and should be able to sacrifice everything in the name of love.
During the 1800s, the aristocracy of England and France lived in luxury and possessed an enormous amount of power in the society while peasants live in poverty. Dickens links the two countries with the theme of how history repeats itself. Dickens compares the social rankings, rulers, and events of the two countries and warns how if the English aristocracy did not change their ways, what happens in France would happen to them. In the novel, Dickens portrays the character, Monseigneur as an individual character as well as a social class of France. Monseigneur is a character who Dickens portrays as the entire class of the French aristocracy in the way of which he abuses his power. Dickens describes how the Monseigneur was having chocolate prepared for him by four men who are wearing gold watches as peasants were starving and dying. Dickens uses the actions of the Monseigneur to represent the entire population of the aristocrats in the city of St. Antoine. Another way in which Dickens shows how the Monseigneur was corrupt was how he appointed people to be officials not by their skill but by the way they would appraise him or by their status. Dickens foreshadows how France would become corrupt over time from the action...
his true love for Lucie. After the second arrest of Charles Darnay, Carton urges Dr.
With imagery revealing the poor straits and desperation of the peasant class of France, Dickens influences the reader to pity them. He writes, “The cloud settled on Saint Antoine, which a momentary gleam had driven from his sacred countenance, the darkness of it was heavy—cold, dirt, sickness, ignorance, want were the lords waiting on the saintly presence—nobles of great power all of them; but most especially the last” (Dickens 22). Through hunger, want, etc. being personified and compared to nobles through language such as “nobles” and “lords”, Dickens shows the extent of the suffering of the peasants, their deserving to be pitied, and the human nobles’ apathy towards them. The peasants of Saint Antoine suffer in the 1770s, and the town’s name is made into a play on words with “saintly presence”, with the cloud of cold, dirt, sickness, ignorance, and want looming forming the imagery of irony. Another description of the peasants’ plight is revealed in the quote saying, “Ploughed into every furrow of age and coming up afresh, was the sign Hunger. It was prevalent everywhere...Hunger was the inscription on th...
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is a classic novel written in the 1850’s by Charles Dickens. The novel is set in London and France during the French Revolution. The novel features an amazing use of themes as well as sensational development of characters. Charles Dickens and his feature style of the poor character who does something great is very evident in Sydney Carton, a drunken lawyer who becomes the hero of the book.
A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens, is a story set in the year 1775 and through the turbulent time of the French Revolution. It is of people living in love and betrayal, murder and joy, peril and safety, hate and fondness, misery and happiness, gentle actions and ferocious crowds. The novel surrounds a drunken man, Sydney Carton, who performs a heroic deed for his beloved, Lucie Manette, while Monsieur and Madame Defarge, ruthless revolutionaries, seek revenge against the nobles of France. Research suggests that through Dickens’ portrayal of the revolutionaries and nobles of the war, he gives accurate insight to the era of the Revolution.
A Tale of Two Cities is the adventure of a loving family in search of happiness, but is ultimately stuck in the challenges of freeing everyone from the unfortunate mistakes Darnay’s family committed. This novel is a whirlwind of twists and shocks as characters begin to develop and the French Revolution gets underway. The Manette family grows greatly throughout the book, finding true happiness.
History has not only been important in our lives today, but it has also impacted the classic literature that we read. Charles Dickens has used history as an element of success in many of his works. This has been one of the keys to achievement in his career. Even though it may seem like it, Phillip Allingham lets us know that A Tale of Two Cities is not a history of the French Revolution. This is because no actual people from the time appear in the book (Allingham). Dickens has many different reasons for using the component of history in his novel. John Forster, a historian, tells us that one of these reasons is to advance the plot and to strengthen our understanding of the novel (27). Charles Dickens understood these strategies and could use them to his advantage.