Chapter five was one ... ... middle of paper ... ...t the lower classes experience. Dickens’ satire and use of irony and humour throughout the novel describes the charitable institutions as places that breed corruption, inhumanity, and alienation. The treatment Oliver received is a prime example of this. In Dickens’ time society’s failure to recognize these problems destroyed the lives of many innocent children. Dickens highlights these problems extremely effectively throughout his novel using various literary techniques such as irony, satire and humour and also uses his characters to represent such corrupt institutions.
Dickens’ satire and use of irony and humour throughout the novel describes the charitable institutions as places that breed corruption, inhumanity, and alienation. The treatment Oliver received is a prime example of this. In Dickens’ time society’s failure to recognize these problems destroyed the lives of many innocent children. Dickens highlights these problems extremely effectively throughout his novel using various literary techniques such as irony, satire and humour and also uses his characters to represent such corrupt institutions. By exploring the problems of the past, perhaps we will be more capable of identifying the downfalls that may arise in the institutions of our time.
The poem metaphorically suggests the theme of the tendency toward violence and oppression in revolutionaries after being so wrongfully treated by the aristocracy. Dickens supports this theme by finding immense fault in the social structure of society, the judicial system during that time period, and the lunacy of the revolution. Throughout the novel, Dickens approaches the revolution with ambivalence. He provides layers of perspective, for while he supports the revolutionary cause, he often gestures to the evil of the revolutionaries themselves. Dickens often conveys his deep sympathy towards the plight of the French peasantry and accentuates their need for liberation.
The use of the scarecrows and birds of fine feather, knitting, and noble prisoners in La Force achieves Dickens’ goal, which was to show how horrible man can be to his fellow man. The aristocrats ignored the peasants’ suffering, which definitely came back to affect them later as the roles were switched, similar to karma. Meanwhile, the peasants’ thirst and desperation for revolution grows, and their plans for revenge grow as well. The noble prisoners exhibit how the guilty and the innocent are all killed, regardless, and the mercilessness of the revolution. Dickens shows through his deliberate symbolism and metaphors just how the oppressed can become the oppressors, how easily the tables can turn, and how quickly things can change.
Throughout the novel, Dickens illustrates through his imagery how the peasants change from poor, secretive, and then on to vicious. In the beginning of the story, the peasants live a harsh and depressing life. Dickens clearly states, “The time was to come when that wine was to be spilled on the street-stones and when the stain of it would be red upon many there”(Dickens 21-22). Through this quote Dickens shows how the wine is a representation of the bloodshed going on in the revolutionaries lives. Also, he states, “Hunger was patched into them with straw and rag and wood and paper.” This term, hungry, that he used is to illustrate how hungry they are for literal food as well as how hungry they are for revolution (22).
On one occasion, Dickens shows us insight into the nobles’ perspective of life at this time through the Mons... ... middle of paper ... ...use of Dickens’ clever use of knitting, birds of fine song and feather, and feasting on another man’s fate throughout his novel A Tale of Two Cities, he developed a very moving and informative story. Dickens saw faults in an event that was vital to Europe and France’s history and future. He elaborates and links each fault through his themes. Both the antagonistic classes commit acts of unjust humanity and foul treatment. These acts are seen through the guillotine, LaForce, the wine shop, and the peasants’ state of poverty.
Upon closer inspection, one may find the nature of a shadow to share a striking likeness to the darker aspects of human emotion. Waning by day and ubiquitous by night, as apprehension shrinks from confidence and thrives with ambiguity, shadows clearly display many symbolic characteristics of fear. Throughout his novel, A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens visually illustrates this concept through numerous instances of his own motif of shadows. He makes use of the prevalence of oppression regarding eighteenth century France and its observably dehumanizing effects on its victims, specifically Alexandre and Lucie Manette as well as the entire peasant class, to form the image of a fearful target, frequently faced with the shadow of its own repressed fears. As evidence shows, Dickens appropriately uses visual imagery to depict how the motif of shadows corresponds with apprehension and fear.
This book includes stark criticisms of many aspects of Victorian society such as child labor and class structure. He criticizes class structure by portraying other characters’ cruelty and corruption as an impediment from Copperfield’s discovery from himself. Dickens depicts an evil character as someone who is a result of their experiences such as James Steerforth or Uriah Heep or as someone who is inherently evil such as Mr. Murdstone. Also, Dickens is able to create a contrast between the evil of these characters and the warmth and goodness characterizing the people on Copperfield’s side. By comparing their characters, Dickens further emphasizes the difference between the two sides and “provides a forum for Dickens's views of the inherent nature of evil as well as a critique of a society that enables and shapes this darker side of humanity”(Miline, 102).
One side of progress is wealth, the other side of the same coin is poverty, despair, misery and crime. Dickens allegorized evil in contrast to good through characterization and melodrama. "Most of the moral judgments of the reader are pre-made for him or her. As a result, the reader objectively absorbs the moral lessons Dickens has set forth" (Stoddard). Gregory Stoddard writes: "in Oliver Twist, there is a clear, defined system of criticism and rhetoric marked by sarcasm, and the language of judgment" (Stoddard).