Many people are not worthy of the title ‘honest tradesman’. One man, by the name of Jerry Cruncher has the job title of ‘honest tradesman’, but he is not honest or respectable at all. However, by the end of A Tale of Two Cities, Jerry Cruncher undergoes this huge transformation whereby he achieves the title of ‘honest tradesman’. This transformation is brought about by his change in attitude, but, however, it is most brought out by when Dickens refers to Jerry by ‘Jerry’ or ‘Mr. Cruncher’. Because Dickens only refers to Jerry as ‘Mr. Cruncher’ when he is near people of equal or lower class than him or for humorous reasons, there is a huge change at the end of the book which signifies the transformation of Jerry into Mr. Cruncher. People of a Higher Class than Jerry To begin with, Jerry is a member of the lower class. He spends his time as a lowly messenger scraping up enough money to feed his family while literally scraping up bodies to increase his income. So, in the ages a long time long ago (approximately 230 years), higher class people embellished the fact that they could distinguished themselves as such by calling the …show more content…
In, “A Hand at Cards”, Dickens strays from his usual pattern of referring to Jerry as ‘Jerry’ when he is in conflict with higher class characters. As Carton and Lorry are interrogating John Barsad, “Here, Mr. Lorry perceived the reflection on the wall to elongate, and Mr. Cruncher rose and stepped forward” (307). If Dickens uses his patterns that have been established, he would have used ‘Jerry’ instead of ‘Mr. Cruncher’ because not only is Jerry in conflict one character, but three. However, by using ‘Mr. Cruncher’ there is this sudden change when viewing Jerry. Instead of a brute going to roughen up a spy, an image of a strong man with a purpose is portrayed. Even the words “rose and stepped forward” seem to suggest that something is
The pawnbroker had “trinkets and expensive jewellery, while the more humble money-lender boldly advertises his calling, and invites observation.”Dickens described...
Not only was the age of Dickens' script evident in his style of writing, but also in the actions and reactions of his characters. Both the signal man and the narrator were uncomfortably polite and their language was noticably archaic:
She turned to Miss Baker for confirmation: "An absolute rose?" This is not true. I am not even faintly like a rose. She was only extemporizing, but a stirring warmth flowed from her, as if her heart was trying to come out to you concealed in one of those breathless, thrilling words. Then suddenly she threw her napkin on the table and excused herself and went into the house” (F. Scott Fitzgerald 14).
Ralph is an attractive boy, "built like a boxer." His name, Anglo-Saxon in origin, means "counsel." He, along with Piggy, depicts the struggle for order and democracy. He illustrates law, order, organized society, and moral integrity. He knows right from wrong, and he is constantly m...
These definitions of this age old symbol, the rose, evolved over time as cultures came into contact with what has now called the Language of the Flowers. This “language” first appeared in the East and was used as a form of silent communication between illiterate women in harems. During the Victorian era this form of communication began to move towards Western Europe. The first compilation of this language was written in French and then was later translated into English. (Seaton, ).The Victorians used this new method of communication to express love, sorrow and much more through the flowers that they cultivated and bought. This language of flowers or rather the use of flowers to symbolize different messages can certainly influence a story if one has knowledge of this method and chooses to interpret it in this manner.
Gross, John. "A Tale of Two Cities." Dickens and the Twentieth Century. Ed. John Gross and Gabriel Pearson. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1962. 187-97.
In this essay, I will argue that one of the underlying motives in Charles Dickens' novel A Tale of Two Cities (1859) is the reinforcement of Christian values in 18th century Victorian England. Dickens was very concerned with the accepted social norms of industrialized England, many of which he felt were very inhumane. Christian values were challenged, largely due to the recent publication of Darwin's Origins of a Species, and philosophy along with literature was greatly affected. In 1859, the industrial age was booming, making many entrepreneurs rich. However, the majority of the lower economic class remained impoverished, working in unsafe and horrific environments as underpaid factory workers. Additionally, child labor was an accepted practice in Victorian England's factories. Dickens, who worked, as a child in a shoe polish factory, detested this social convention with such strength that only one with experience in such exploitation could.
Charles Dickens was an English writer born in the 1800’s. Dickens named this book A Tale of Two Cities because it is a parallel between London and Paris. In A Tale of Two Cities, there are many wrongs done by peasants who want to do right. Dickens is very descriptive partly to get across the idea of mans inhumanity towards man. Charles Dickens creates scenes like the guillotine, the use of the blue flies analogy and Madame Defarge’s hate stricken heart to develop the theme of mans inhumanity to fellow man.
9. Ashbury, M (2001) Representation of Industrialization in Dickens’ Hard Times [Online]. Available: http://www.colourpurple.com [Accessed 25th April 2005].
Smith draws a connection between many of the plot points in Dickens’s story with identifying issues that exist within the economy. One such example of the connections that Smith perceives is in his analysis of the economic state within the story A Christmas Carol. Smith explains that Dickens provides an example of the state of the economy within the story, yet he fails to develop the “role of money, which is represented as both the source of the problem and its
Dickens is often held to be among the greatest writers of the Victorian Age. Nonetheless, why are his works still relevant nearly two centuries later? One reason for this is clearly shown in Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. In the novel, he uses imagery to sway the readers’ sympathies. He may kindle empathy for the revolutionary peasants one moment and inspire feeling for the imprisoned aristocrats the next, making the book a more multi-sided work. Dickens uses imagery throughout the novel to manipulate the reader’s compassion in the peasants’ favor, in the nobles defense, and even for the book’s main villainess, Madame Defarge.
In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens’ choice of sentimental expression had an excellent effect on the readers’ responses to the characters. The use of exaggerated sentimentality helped create a clear picture of the story’s issues in the readers’ minds; it gave a feel for the spirit of the times, and made it easier to understand the characters’ points of view. It was this very sentimentality that Dickens strived to achieve.
When considering representation, the ways in which the authors choose to portray their characters can have a great impact on their accessibility. A firm character basis is the foundation for any believable novel. It is arguable that for an allegorical novel - in which Hard Times takes its structure, Dickens uses an unusually complex character basis. The characters in Hard Times combine both the simplistic characteristics of a character developed for allegorical purposes, as well as the concise qualities of ‘real’ people (McLucas, 1995). These characters are portrayed to think and feel like we as readers do and react to their situations in the same way that most of us would. Such attributes are what give the characters life and allow us to relate to their decisions.
In A Tale of Two Cities, the actions of Jerry Cruncher, while essentially very humorless, may seem peculiarly funny to some people. The events that occur in chapter one of book two, concerning Mrs. Cruncher, is an appropriate example of this idea. In this scene, Jerry Cruncher yells at his wife because he thinks she was praying against him. To start with, because of this accusations obvious ridiculousness, it strikes readers as comical. One may even argue that he didn’t actually believe this, but maybe he was just bored and finds joy in harassing his wife. To say such silly things out of boredom also may hit someone as amusing. What generally makes this scene humorous is that Cruncher is so unjustified in yelling at his wife for such an absurd thing, and furthermore, he lacks any real evidence that she was doing what he accuses her of doing. While this scene may seem like a comical one, with a silly husband, it is really calling attention to verbal abuse to wives. It is palpable that Cruncher has no respect whatsoever for his wife. At the time of this book, this was a common situation so either people did not notice the seriousness because of the humor that is masking it, or it was an every day happenning for them.
Proposing the inevitable motif of duty v. desire in A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens portrays the commitment of certain characters to their involvement in society. As he refers to himself as an “honest tradesman”, Jarvis Lorry is portrayed as a professional that gets his job done. (Dickens 22). In the early stages of the novel, although “the bank was almost always with him”, Lorry is fascinated by “another current impression that…he was on his way to dig some one out of a grave” (23). Dickens effectively implies foreshadowing as a tactic to further develop the theme of duty vs desire.