Free Essays - A Tale of Two Cities - Critical Analysis

1155 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Revenge as a theme in Literature

A Tale of Two Cities - Critical Analysis

In 1859, Charles Dickens wrote the book A Tale of Two Cities. In A Tale, Dickens writes about the French Revolution, and relates the events in the lives of two families, one French and one English. In addition to writing about a very interesting fiction plot, Dickens also tied in a wide variety of important themes and sub plots that keep the reader interested as well as portraying very valuable lessons for us even today. He chose very archetypical characters for the book, all strengthening or portraying one of the themes. The main themes are revenge, courage and sacrifice, and resurrection.

One theme involves revenge; the evil effects of revenge bring out one's bad side. Although it occurs many times in A Tale, Madame Defarge is the main character representing this theme. Her sister and mother were assaulted by the brothers Evrémonde. After this, she vows to herself that all members of the Evrémonde family will die. She turns into a ruthless killer because she must get revenge. When her husband tells her to stop, she replies, "tell the wind and fire to stop, not me" (pg 338). We now see that she is a person teeming with hatred. Revenge is so powerful. When she found out Charles Darnay is an Evrémonde and is planning to marry Lucie Manette, she began to knit his name into the shroud she was making, symbolizing his impending death. Also, she tried to kill Lucie and her daughter, just because they were related to an Evrémonde, even though Darnay (Evrémonde) denounced his heritage and disconnected all relationships to them. Lucie was in a state of mourning so Defarge jumped on the situation.
"She will be at home, awaiting the moment of his death. She will be mourning and grieving. She will be in a state of mind to impeach the justice of the Republic. She will be full of sympathy with its enemies. I will go to her." (p. 349)
She had no mercy, her main goal was to kill all descendants of the Evrémonde family, women and children included and even non-blood relatives. At the end of the novel, she receives an end fitting her ways; she was killed by Ms. Pross, who is the epitome of love and kindness. It is evident from here that Dickens believed that good would always win over bad.

Show More
Related

  • Evilness And Selfishness Of Abigail Williams In The Crucible

    942 Words  | 2 Pages

    her selfish and evil ways, causes the destruction of many people in the town of

    Read More

  • William Shakespeare's Use of Dramatic Devices in Act 3 Scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet

    679 Words  | 2 Pages

    William Shakespeare's Use of Dramatic Devices in Act 3 Scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet

    Read More

  • The Importance of Act 3, Scene 1 in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

    1424 Words  | 3 Pages

    in the play. The sudden and fatal violence in Act 3, Scene 1, as well

    Read More

  • Gender Stereotypes In Frederick Douglass

    1494 Words  | 3 Pages

    “ … mistress was as I have said, a kind and tenderhearted woman…to treat me as she supposed one human being ought to troat another…there was no sorrow or suffering for which she had not a tear. She had bread for the hungry, clothes for the naked, and comfort for every mourner that came within her reach…She finally became even more violent in here opposition than her husband himself”

    Read More

  • Fate In A Tale Of Two Cities

    1043 Words  | 3 Pages

    “There is no such thing as accident; it is fate misnamed. “ – Napoleon Bonaparte. The idea that we control our own destinies has existed since the 16th century. Charles Dickens’ novel, A Tale of Two Cities, written in 1859, depicts a story of loss and love during the French Revolution of 1789. Throughout the novel, Dickens uses many symbols and characters to develop the theme of fate and destiny. Many symbols used in Tale of Two Cities revealed the fates of many characters and foreshadowed conflicts. A character analysis of Sydney Carton also reveals that fate guided his path to make the ultimate Christ-like sacrifice to save the Manette family. The fate of the major characters such as Darnay, Carton, and Dr. Manette were all like through

    Read More

  • A Tale of Two Cities Essay

    668 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the more famous power struggles takes place between Miss Pross and Madame Defarge, towards the end of the novel. When Madame Defarge, who because of her evil nature and devilish appearance is compared to "the wife of Lucifer", appears at the Manettes' residence to accuse the remaining members of the household of ridiculous crimes, she is confronted by Miss Pross. The result is a struggle between these two magnificent women, who are complete opposites of each other: "It was in vain for Madame Defarge to struggle and to strike; Miss Pross, with the vigorous tenacity of love, always so much stronger than hate, clasped her tight…" (p. 360). Miss Pross loves Lucie with all her heart and would never allow any harm to come to her. Madame Defarge, on the other hand, does not just hate Lucie, but she hates the Manettes and all Evremondes. One would think that such a strongly fueled hatred would permit Madame Defarge to overpower Miss Pross, but, as the reader finds out, Miss Pross' determination to keep her darling "Ladybird" safe, from any harm that might come to her or her family, allows her to overpower and kill her enemy. This time, the power of good overcomes the power of evil due to Miss Pross' true love and dedication for Lucie.

    Read More

  • Madame Defarge Essay

    804 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although Madame Defarge’s hatred is initially fixed solely on the Evrémondes brothers, the revolutionary atmosphere extends this hatred to Lucie and her family. Dickens portrays Madame Defarge’s enemies, the Darnays, as the protagonists of the novel by provoking sympathy from the audience. As a result of Madame Defarge’s struggle to deal with her family’s death, the conflict between the opposing forces arises. Originally, Madame Defarge’s goal was to bring justice to the guilty. Due to the rise in the Revolution, her motives become based more on executing cruelty without

    Read More

  • A Tale Of Two Cities

    2254 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Abigail Williams in The Crucible by Arthur Miller

    3729 Words  | 8 Pages

    And she revelled in it, before it became too dangerous. She, unblinkingly, sent countless people to their deaths; she effortlessly imposed dreadful fear upon the young girls in the village, to the extent that one was reduced to insanity. She thought not once to stop, the euphoric indulgence was too great for her, because she could, she did. Ironically throughout her diabolical reign the one redeeming feature she possessed enforced her actions and accusations most powerfully, her illusive childlike innocence.

    Read More

  • Use of Poetic Devices in Thomas Hardy's Poem, The Convergence of the Twain

    413 Words  | 1 Pages

    In addition to the use of colorful diction, Hardy employs detailed imagery. The phrase “Dim moon-eyed fishes near Gaze at the guilded gear” depicts fishes looking at the sunk Titanic and wondering what “this vaingloriousness” was doing under the sea. He also mentions in the third stanza how the “jewels in joy designed To ravish the sensuous mind” were all lost and covered by darkness. Using these detailed images, Hardy is portraying the contrasts of before the ship sunk and after.

    Read More

  • The Dramatic Significance of Act III Scene I of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

    948 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Dramatic Significance of Act III Scene I of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

    Read More

  • Free Essays on A Tale of Two Cities: Sentimentality

    451 Words  | 1 Pages

    Lastly and most importantly would be Lucie’s elaborate expression of sentimentality in her constant fainting at the least sign of distress. However unbearable it might have seemed, the reader could not fully appreciate the significance of her character and why she was loved by so many equally sentimental; characters in the novel. When Lucie early on testifies at Darnay’s trial in the English court, she says, “He was kind, and good, and useful to my father. I hope,” and here she bursts into tears, “ I may not repay him by doing him harm here today.” Her deep sensitivity and generous nature shines through. And remember, when Lucie stands forlornly and devotedly at a place near the Paris prison in order for her husband, Darnay, to glimpse her and their child, it is clear that Dickens wanted to portray her as a loving, faithful, and sympathetic person.

    Read More

  • Thesis on a Tale of Two Cities

    528 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Historical Context of A Tale of Two Cities

    2559 Words  | 6 Pages

    Charles Dickens is a talented author who wrote many notable novels, including A Tale of Two Cities. Barbara Hardy notes that at a young age Dickens’ father was imprisoned for debt, leaving young Charles to support himself and his family alone (47). Dickens strongly disliked prisons, which shows as a motif in A Tale of Two Cities. Many of his interests contributed to the formulation of the novel. In the essay “Introduction” from the book, Charles Dickens, Harold Bloom claims Dickens hoped “to add something to the popular and picturesque means of understanding [the] terrible time” of the Revolution (20). Dickens’ reading and “extraordinary reliance upon Carlyle’s bizarre but effective French Revolution” may have motivated him to write the novel (Bloom 21). Sir James Fitzjames Stephen believed that Dickens was “on the look-out for a subject, determined off-hand to write a novel about [French Revolution]” (Bloom 20). In Brown’s book Dickens in his Time, Dickens guided the writing of the play Frozen Deep where two rivals share the same love, and one ultimately sacrifices himself for...

    Read More

  • A Tale of Two Cities Essay: The French Revolution and the Legacy

    698 Words  | 2 Pages

    A Tale of Two Cities promoted the image of a stable England by using revolutionary France as a setting to highlight the contrasts between the two countries, although Dickens seemed to believe in the eighteen-fifties that England was heading towards an uprising on the scale of the French Revolution. In the twentieth century, we see the French Revolution used as a 'lavish' setting in film and TV productions of A Tale of Two Cities. In the preface to the novel, Dickens says "It has been one of my hopes to add something to the popular and picturesque means of understanding that terrible time" (xiii).

    Read More

More about Free Essays - A Tale of Two Cities - Critical Analysis

Open Document