Vengeance and Blood in A Tale of Two Cities
In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens depicts how pointless the revolution becomes when the original goal of equality becomes lost when the anger, frustration, and desire for revenge of the third estate is finally discharged. The trial of Charles Darnay, the words and actions of
Madame Defarge, and use of symbolism and foreshadowing show how anger
drove the revolution to a state of pointlessness.
One major reason the revolution became out of hand was due to unscrupulous people running the courts and the imprisonment of innocent people for no reason. Charles Darnay happens to be a character in dire trouble, when he finds himself being imprisoned and tried before an unjust tribunal. Darnay was a wealthy man who left France, but returned to help a former servant and " was accused by the public prosecutor as an emigrant, whose life was forfeit to the Republic, under the decree which banished all emigrants on pain of Death" (413). One way to impose revenge on the higher classes was to sentence them to death for little or no reason, which was the case with Darnay. At his second trial Darnay realized that " before the unjust Tribunal, there was little or no order of procedure, ensuring to any accused person any reasonable hearing.
There could have been no such Revolution, if all laws, forms, and ceremonies, had no first been so monstrously abused, that the suicidal vengeance of the Revolution was to scatter them all to the winds" (457).
The chaotic and murderous atmosphere within the courts reflected the frenzied state that lay outside of its dreaded doors. Another example of revenge can be seen in the character Madame Defarge.
Madame Defarge represents the people in France who gave in to hate to satisfy the hurt and pain that had churned inside of them for so long, and is finally released in murder and acts of revenge. She was a woman without pity and virtue. For " it was nothing to her, that an innocent man was to die for the sins of his forefathers; she saw, not him, but them. It was nothing to her, that his wife was to be made a widow and his daughter an orphan; that was insufficient punishment, because they were her natural enemies and her prey, and as such had no right to live" (
524). Many people showed this same type of vindictiveness, which created a curtain that blocked the original goal of the third estate.
Would you be able to resist savagery from being away from society? Could you resist the urging power to kill? How about being able to find food without killing or not to go full savage on other people, could you still do it? A normal person could say no to all of these. In the novel, “Lord of The Flies”, William Golding shows that without civilization, a person can turn into a savage by showing progressively how they went through the seven steps of savagery.
In A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens explores the concept of rebirth (physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally) through the exploits of Doctor Manette, Charles Darnay, and Sydney Carton. Some major keys in his ideas of being resurrected are physical and mental recovery, escaping an unworthy past for a worthy cause, and the nobility of sacrifice.
...EDs and I am trying to educate the young so that they don’t follow the wrong footsteps, and up banned from the sport they love, and so they will not do exactly what their role model does because sometimes what they do isn’t always the best. But I am excited to go out and make a difference in my community. But the most important thing is that we educate young athletes to not get involved with these drugs, so that they don’t mess their life up and go down the wrong path. Steroids can lead to other drugs possibly and mess up their life even more.
A Tale of Two Cities Essay Throughout history, the powers of love and hate have constantly been engaged in a battle for superiority. Time and time again, love has proven to be stronger than hate, and has been able to overcome all of the obstacles that have stood in the way of it reaching its goal. On certain occasions, though, hate has been a viable foe and defeated love when they clash. In the novel A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens presents several different power struggles between love and hate.
Viadero, Debra. "Uniform Effects?." Education Week Vol. 24, No. 18. Jan. 12 2005: 27-29. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
... where somebody is intentionally hurting someone you care about deeply is a reason I believe that murder is justifiable.
Two men with two different ways of life are connected through a time period and these two words: determination and dedication. Erik Larson does a great job developing these two characters in The Devil in the White City. On one hand, Daniel Burnham is trying to build the world’s fair in Chicago, on the other H.H. Holmes is a dedicated doctor who is determined to open a hotel for the world 's fair. Burnham is determined and works diligently to get the job done, and he won’t stop for any reason. Holmes driven dedication towards this isn’t for the common reason of making money, but instead he wants to create a safe place that he can murder people. The major difference is that Burnham choose the better path, so he was able to help others in the process. Burnham gave a blank canvas to so many inventors and creators, so that they could change the way things are viewed in the world. These two men show the opposite ends of the spectrum, which is why we have different results caused by their determination and dedication.
In Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, the concept of sacrifice repeatedly emerges throughout the novel. Dickens expresses his views on sacrifice through Sydney Carton’s sacrifice of life to Lucie, Mr. Lorry’s transformation from giving up his personal life for his job to sacrificing his professional duties for his personal life, and Miss Pross’ self sacrifice in order protect Lucie. Charles Dickens uses different motivations for sacrifice in each case, but he uses the concept repeatedly to show that it is important for people to sacrifice for the sake of loved ones rather than themselves.
without her. "He was his wife's man and not his own." When he became aware of
Throughout A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens repeats a number of symbols and motifs. By employing these two literary devices throughout the duration of the story, Dickens is working to emphasize the importance of these specific components of the story. Motifs and symbols represent repeating ideas that help the reader to understand, as well as highlight the author’s central idea. Dickens employs the usage of symbols and motifs, such that by using both he adds a layer of significance and deeper meaning to actions, people, as well as objects. Additionally, by using symbols and motifs, Dickens is able to create a story in which both the characters, and the plot are interwoven.
“People have only as much liberty as they have the intelligence to want and the courage to take.” This quote by Emma Goldman not only perfectly sums up the French Revolution, but also reflects on the issue in society today with police racism and brutality. In Charles Dickens’ novel A Tale of Two Cities, the peasants suffer extreme injustice, they allow the revolution to go to their heads, and we see how violence only ever brings more violence .
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.
her marriage, resulting unfortunately by portraying her true colors of being greedy and unappreciative of the little money her family had.
...ent-teacher relationship. Less distractions and a more respectful school setting for children would certainly help them concentrate on their studies more effectively. Also, with blurred socioeconomic lines, children would not have to worry about being bullied because they wear the same couple of shirts every day, as that is all that they own, or the wrong brand of jeans. All children being dressed the same would lend itself to a sense of camaraderie instead of competing to see who is dressed the best. A reduction in bullying and violence, less peer pressure, lower costs to parents, increased academic scores, and a sense of belonging are all reasons that I am certainly in favor of the implementation of school uniforms in our public school system. With so many positives, maybe the real question should be why don’t more public schools have school uniform policies?
In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens uses a variety of themes, including, revenge, revolution, fate, and imprisonment. Though these are very important themes, and were integral elements of this novel, resurrection served as the main theme aside from the obvious one which is revolution. The reason I chose resurrection instead of revolution, is because it is applicable outside of this novels setting. It is also important to note that the theme of sacrifice is closely tied into resurrection.