Entry 1: On the first page of the book, Dickens uses a great number of contradictory phrases. Some of these phrases are, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other was, [...]” (1). I believe the use of such phrases has many purposes. One of these purposes is to show the different views in society at that time. Another is to show the significance of time, notice how in the beginning …show more content…
In this description, The word hunger is repeatedly used, but not just any hunger, this is Hunger! He capitalized the word as well as repeating it eight times in one paragraph. Here are some of the instances, “[...] was the sign, Hunger. [..] Hunger was pushed [...]; Hunger was patched into ]...]; Hunger was repeated [...];Hunger stared down [...]. Hunger was the [...]. Hunger rattled its dry bones [...]; Hunger was shred into [...]” (32). I think the repeating of the word was to show its importance and possibly establish it as a motif in the book. Now, the capitalization of the word hes two purposes, one more interesting than the other. The first is to show its importance to the reader. The next, more in depth one is to show Hunger as a force or even as a person! The two things that elude to this more than the others is where Hunger is actually doing something that a living creature would do (personification). These are, “Hunger stared down,” and “Hunger rattled its dry bones” (32). Much like the creature Death, Hunger is described as a humanoid-like creature too. Another instance of this is where Want is described. Want is only mentioned once and not described a doing anything, just that it showed in everything. Thus, the reader can determine that a possible character of want is much less important than the established character of
In this passage, Dickens’ juxtaposition, personification, detail, and diction reinforce Dickens’ tone of empathy and pity for the social conditions of the people of lower class France. When a large cask of wine spills open on the streets of France there is a mad rush to collect a taste of the spoiled wine. The people’s reactions consisted of “...frolicsome embraces, drinking of healths, shaking of hands, and even joining of hands and dancing a dozen together.” This exciting and scene of much happiness is juxtaposed by the “gloom that gathered on the scene that appeared more natural than sunshine” that occurs after all the wine has run out. This juxtaposition of the momentary happiness that the peasants of St. Antoine experience provide a contrast
Dickens used his great talent by describing the city London were he mostly spent his time. By doing this Dickens permits readers to experience the sights, sounds, and smells of the aged city, London. This ability to show the readers how it was then, how ...
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.
Right from the famous first sentence, A Tale of Two Cities is a book of parallels; even the novel’s title suggests a concept of duality. A careful reader can find parallelism on nearly every page of the book, with subjects ranging from characters to the general tone of the novel. The clearest example of parallel characters is Doctor Manette and Sydney Carton. Carton’s self-created mental imprisonment parallels Doctor Manette’s literal imprisonment. In addition to parallel characters, there is a set of two physical settings - Paris and London - that give the book its name. In these two settings, Dickens carefully crafts individual tones that help define the events that occur in each of them. These tones parallel each other, with some aspects of each being similar and others forming clear contrast. Even within these settings, variations in tone can emphasise the importance of certain events and concepts. In his novel A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens creates and uses well-established tones to highlight the importance of events and themes.
“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.
In the Prologue to the Merchant’s tale, the Merchant begins to speak of marriage. He explains how he has a cynical view of marriage. In lines 1219-20, the merchant says of his wife, “For if she and the devil were a pair, / She’d be more than his match, I dare to swear.” The Merchant then begins to tell his tale.
A Tale of Two Cities In every great novel, there is a theme that is constant throughout the story. One of the better known themes portrays the fight of good verses evil. Different authors portray this in different ways. Some use colors, while others use seasons to show the contrast. Still, others go for the obvious and use characters.
In order to stress the various types of hunger that he felt, Hemingway uses repetition. He uses this device often, as the word “hunger” appears frequently throughout the entire passage. Hemingway uses the word to stress the significance some the different meanings and leave the reader to use syntax to figure it out the correct meaning. He used the phrase, “I knew I was hungry in a simple way” to let the reader know that he was hungry only because he had not eaten (Hemingway 57). He was not hungry for life or for art; he just needed food to satisfy his craving. Hemingway describes the hunger as simple because its meaning is the denotative form of the word. The other types of hunger are sometimes difficult to decipher. When Hemingway questioned Hadley if he was truly hungry, Hadley responded, “There are so many sorts of hunger. In the spring there are more, But that’s gone now. Memory is hunger” (Hemingway 57). When Hemingway asked Hadley to describe and define his hunger, there is repetition of the word in unconventional settings. Hadley shared Hemingway’s view that there are different types of hunger and explains that springtime brings the kind that he feels as a writer. During the spring, nature begins to bloom and the weather begins to warm; this is prime material for Hemingway to write. He also repeated the word in other parts of the novel when he writes, “Hunger is healthy and the pictures do look better when you are hungry” (Hemingway 72). Many people would never imagine that hunger is healthy, yet Hemingway used this to play with the denotative form of the word. In this sentence, he uses an oxymoron of sorts to explore the contrast between literally being hunger and the writer’s hunger that he feels.
Many famous writers use foreshadowing. An author needs to use different instances of foreshadowing. Charles Dickens was a great British author who used foreshadowing. A Tale of Two Cities, written by Charles Dickens, contains many examples of foreshadowing.
My favorite scene in A Tale of Two Cities is one of the last scenes, when Sydney Carton is about to go to the guillotine. It takes place in Paris, near a prison, and many people have gathered to watch french aristocrats be beheaded. The atmosphere is tense and chaotic; Sydney, however, remains calm, even though he is about to be killed. Sydney is holding the hand of a young girl who is given no name other than a "poor little seamstress". Sydney and the seamstress, who are both being wrongfully killed, comfort each other just before they reach the guillotine, and they seem to have an instant romantic connection with each other. I loved this scene because it showed that Sydney Carton had finally found someone who could love him, as he could love them, but it saddened me that he had found her just before their deaths.
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is a classic novel written in the 1850’s by Charles Dickens. The novel is set in London and France during the French Revolution. The novel features an amazing use of themes as well as sensational development of characters. Charles Dickens and his feature style of the poor character who does something great is very evident in Sydney Carton, a drunken lawyer who becomes the hero of the book.
... time in this book is Miss Havisham. Dickens goes on, “On this day of the year, long before you were born, this heap of decay," stabbing with her crutched stick at the pile of cobwebs on the table but not touching it, "was brought here. It and I have worn away together. The mice have gnawed at it, and sharper teeth than teeth of mice have gnawed at me." (97). She might have stopped all of the clocks in the Satis House, but she cannot stop time. She is stuck and destroyed by time. No matter how hard someone tries, time is the only thing that is impossible to get back.
In the tale, the historical technique has been used quite perfectly. Dickens uses the element of history not only to advance the plot, but also to show connections between life in the eighteenth century and the novel. Another way Dickens’ uses history is to show the partnership between evil and history itself (Allingham). Dickens showed how the population felt about the government, how they acted, and what the end result was. He did all of this while advancing the storyline. He also continued to develop the many characters of the book. He also showed many connections between the novel and history including characters, events, places, and overall feelings.
A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens, is a story set in the year 1775 and through the turbulent time of the French Revolution. It is of people living in love and betrayal, murder and joy, peril and safety, hate and fondness, misery and happiness, gentle actions and ferocious crowds. The novel surrounds a drunken man, Sydney Carton, who performs a heroic deed for his beloved, Lucie Manette, while Monsieur and Madame Defarge, ruthless revolutionaries, seek revenge against the nobles of France. Research suggests that through Dickens’ portrayal of the revolutionaries and nobles of the war, he gives accurate insight to the era of the Revolution.
Hunger is used to represent the use of a motif. Richard is hungry for “the insight into [his] own life and the life about [him]” (194). His hunger is to live and be free from the racist people in the south. To do this, he does everything he can to move to the north where there would be less discrimination. When his mother became ill and was unable to care for her family, he has this opportunity. Richard goes to live with his Uncle Clark and Aunt Jody. When he is with them, he worries about embarassing himself by saying the wrong thing. They start to ask him questions, and, at that moment, Richard grows “so self-conscious that [his] hunger left [him]” (90).