The 1920s time period is very applicable to the saying, from A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, and it was the age of foolishness.” The 1920s had been a decade of success and the “best of times” for women folk. This was witnessed by the attempts at equality through the suffrage movement, which aimed at winning the right to vote. Through potential leaders such as Nelly McClung and Therese Casgrain, women gained the vote in 1925 (throughout all parts of Canada except Quebec). Women were also very successful at obtaining their due political rights such as education. The restrictions imposed on women were lifted and the WCTU (Women’s Christian Temperance Union) views on prohibition were readily accepted. While women made many strides towards equality, other groups continued to face prejudice and inequality.
Numerous groups encountered conflict and had to endure hardships. These comprised of the First Nations, Chinese Immigrants as well as Black Canadians. The First Nations were assimilated and Residential schools were built for children. They were discouraged to speak in their native tongue and follow their native traditions (ethnic nationalism was highly discouraged). They were brutally punished and abused, for disobeying instructions, which lead to deaths and personality disorders. The Chinese Immigrants also faced much neglect, after their assistance with the Canadian Pacific Railway, they were compelled to pay a head tax and a law was passed which prevented Chinese immigration. The plight of Black Canadians was solely due to the KKK (Ku Klux Klan) which aimed at the destroying interracial relations. Their actions weren’t condemned, which was shocking.
The Black Canadians, Chinese Immigrants and First Nations weren’t the only groups to face prejudice, other groups such as workers and labor class, also endured laborious hours and jobs, under unfair conditions. Because of this, worker unions formed and there were violent strikes across Canada. This was because workers weren’t getting decent wages for their hours of strenuous labor. The Winnipeg General Strike, made its mark on history, on the 21st of June as metal trade workers protested about their long hours and unfair wages. With assistance from the Central Citizens Committee, the city shut down for up to six weeks. This was followed by a riot, where the mob set a street car on fire and threw bottles and bricks at the police.
critical acclaim, A Tale of Two Cities occupies a central place in the cannon of Charles Dickens’ work. A Tale of Two Cities, published in serial form starting on April 30, 1859, is a historical fiction novel. A dominant theme in this historical novel is the duality found in many of Dickens’ characters. Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities is somewhat autobiographical; emphasizes the key elements of theme, plot, and character; and has received extensive criticism. A Tale of Two Cities is told in three parts
history – the best of times and the worst of times. The violence enacted by the citizens of French on their fellow countrymen set a gruesome scene in the cities and country sides of France. Charles Dickens uses a palate of storm, wine, and blood imagery in A Tale of Two Cities to paint exactly how tremendously brutal this period of time was. Dickens use of storm imagery throughout his novel illustrates to the reader the tremulous, fierce, and explosive time period in which the course of events takes
Of the extraordinary amount of literary devices available to authors, Charles Dickens uses quite a few in his novel A Tale of Two Cities, which is set during the French Revolution. One of his more distinctive devices is character foils. The five sets of foils are Carton and Darnay, Carton and Stryver, Darnay and the Marquis de Evremonde, Madame Defarge, and Mr. Lorry and Jerry Cruncher. Dickens uses foil characters to highlight the virtues of several major characters in order to show the theme of
Charles Dickens, a very successful writer who was born in 1812, wrote many famous novels during his life. Dickens wrote A Tale of Two Cities about the French Revolution in 1859, sixty years after it ended, and was still able to capture so many details in the captivating yet heartbreaking novel. Dickens’ usage of many symbols and metaphors throughout the novel is extremely effective. Through these symbols, Dickens skillfully incorporates various themes in the story. Fate is a significant theme that
To most, Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities is that book about the poor people and the French Revolution that isn’t Les Miserables where he ravages the rich people, calling them “tigerish,” (Dickens 33) following the lord “ignorancem” (Dickens 33) and saying that they “held life as of no account,” (Dickens 221) right? Wrong. Yes, A Tale of Two Cities is a book by Dickens mostly about the poor people and the French Revolution (that isn’t Les Miserables) wherein he makes metaphorically eviscerates
when an individual sows love and compassion for mankind, their actions will positively impact those around them, and they will most certainly reap the benefits. Although a person of this magnitude seems rare in our society today, in Charles Dickens’, A Tale of Two Cities, Lucie Manette is the embodiment of compassion for those around her. In the novel, those whom encounter Lucie view her as pure, noble, strong and loving, and through her endeavors as a compassionate young woman she brings her father
The French Revolution can best be described by Dickens in the opening phrase of his novel A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” (Dickens 1). A Tale of Two Cities, written by Charles Dickens in 1859, takes place in London and Paris during the French Revolution. The book tells the story of a circle of people living and fighting during this dangerous time. These characters include Dr. Manette, a doctor and prisoner of the Bastille for eighteen years who is just
A Tale of Two Cities is a novel written by Charles Dickens in 1859. The book was originally published in Dickens’ literary periodical, All the Year Round, due to Dickens having a falling out with his regular publishers. The first installment was printed in the first issue on April 30, 1859 and the last was printed thirty weeks later on November 26th. The story begins in 1775 with Mr. Jarvis Lorry, a businessman who works at Tellson’s bank, traveling to Dover to see Lucie Manette. He begins to tell
In society today, all people determine their lifestyle, personality and overall character by both positive and negative traits that they hold. Sydney Carton in Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities was a drunken lawyer who had an extremely low self- esteem. He possesed many negative characteristics which he used in a positive way. Carton drastically changed his life around and became a new man. Sydney is not the man he first appeared to be. He is first described at Darnay’s trial as slouching and
A Tale of Two Cities is a classic novel loved by many about the beginning of the French Revolution, and how it affected a certain group of French and English people. Charles Dickens was originally known for his light-hearted novels, but later on he emerged into a vein of darker themes, questioning the roles of power and whether or not the world was the way it ought to be. His constant questioning came from a life where the people in power were cruel and made the poor pay even if they could not. His
Charles Dickens uses A Tale of Two Cities to institute the idea that the past can be overcome in order to establish a better future. No matter what one's origin is, it cannot be used to excuse a disappointing future. In the transformation of three different men in the novel a pattern is found, one that reveals this message through the pattern's shared theme. Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities uses the theme of rebirth through multiple characters to show the opportunity for redemption is always
Charles Dickens captures the aura of the French Revolution so poetically it is almost as if he was there. Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities is a thrilling novel originally printed in the newspaper, explaining the cliffhangers at the end of many a chapter. One of the elements that makes the story so thrilling is his incorporation of the theme of fate. Dickens incorporates innumerable symbols to enforce this theme. The echoing footsteps, the storm, and the water are all symbols that reflect the theme of
In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens fills the pages with numerous incidents of violence. There are lots of examples to choose from, but three scenes in particular convey Dickens’s feelings on the use and ill effects of violence in society. Dickens shows us physical abuse, rape, murder and brutal executions. He illustrates the environment of England and France in the late 1700s, and he describes the conditions and class struggles leading up to the French Revolution. In the words of Dickens,
Throughout the novel A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens draws deep comparisons in the corruption between two power houses in Europe, England and Paris. In chapter seven, “Monseigneur in Town”, Dickens summarizes the whole aristocrat population of France and England as being corrupt and fraudulent individuals in both their diplomacy and social hierarchy. Dickens displays his level of disgust for these practices by using a plethora of literary devices to sway the reader's emotions and convey an
“A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens is an artfully crafted tale that unabashedly tells the story of the injustice, the horror and the madness of the French Revolution. More than this, it is a story of one man’s redemption, one man who Dickens vividly portrays as being “a nobody”. This nobody had thrown away his life. “A Tale of Two Cities” is the tale of Sydney Carton and his full circle redemption. The first impression we get of Sydney Carton is not a pleasant one. “[Sydney Carton] sat