...Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities: Pro-Nobility or Pro-Peasant? During the infamous French Revolution, France was in a great divide and suffered the consequences of a country split up not by success or job titles, but by inherited power and social ranks. While the power-wielding nobels never went to bed hungry and lived lavish lifestyles, the peasants were slowly starving to death. Because of these less than ideal circumstances, a common misconception was thereby created that Charles Dickens blamed the French Revolution on the nobility in his famed book A Tale of Two Cities. However, this stands to be argued against because while the nobles may have committed wrongful acts, the peasants also committed violent crimes against the nobility...
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...Charles John Huffam Dickens was born on February 7, 1812. Although Charles Dickens was not born during the time of the French Revolution, which is the time period his book, A Tale of Two Cites takes place in. He still infuses pieces of his life’s story into the characters and plot of A Tale of Two Cites. He shows similarities between himself and Jerry Cruncher. Dickens shows a few similarities between Dr. Manette and his own father. He also explains in detail the lives of the poor and the rich, in a way that only one who was once poor and rich can explain. Charles Dickens was born into a poor family, so when his father went to jail for debt, he had to get a job to help support his family. Jerry Cruncher, who is a character in Charles Dickens...
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...A Tale Of Two Cities The focus of A Tale Of Two Cities concerns the impetus and fervor of 18th century European socio-political turmoil, its consequences, and what Dickens presents as the appropriate response of an enlightened aristocracy and just citizenry. The tale opens with Dr. Manettte having spent the last 18 years of his life in the Bastille - innocent of all crimes save his disdain for the base actions of a French Marquis. The heinous nature of his confinement induced a madness remedied only by the devoted love of his Lucie. We next encounter these characters five years later attending the trial of Charles Darnay - a nobly born French immigrant who relinquished his station rather than partake in the barbarous class structure of 18th century France. The beautiful and virtuous Lucie Manette is admired by both Sydney Carton and his repugnant legal partner, C.J.Stryver. It is the inherently ethical Carton, not the aristocratic (and bellicose) Stryver who realizes that marriage to Charles Darnay would bring the greatest happiness to Lucie. Their bliss is short lived however,as the honor bound Darnay returns to Paris. His prosecution is propelled by a vengeful and newly empowered Madame Defarge a "patriot of the revolution" who utilizes the revolutionary "People's Tribunals" to redress grievances committed by the Evremonde clan. Aided by her cohort (aptly given the code name of "Vengeance") retribution, not justice, is her sole...
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...Modern Life in A Tale of Two Cities During period of lost hope, death and war, the golden thread, Lucie Manette plays the part of a woman doing anything she can to make sure the main people surrounding are content. Lucie suffices not only warmth toward her dad, Dr. Manette, but also for the man that yearns for Lucie's love; Sydney Carton. Despite all the negative inputs that surround Lucie and her beloved peers, she doesn't hesitate to guide her father and Carton to resurrection. Unlike the steps of real birth, rebirth is partners with rejuvenation. Rebirth is a better or new birth and in the idea of A Tale of Two Cities it is deserved. Rebirth is thought of as...
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...Code Switching Assignment: “Charles Dickens’ relations to A Tale of Two Cities” Shaniyaz Chowdhury ENG 201-33 03. 14. 2014 A Tale of Two Cities and it's relation to the author Charles Dickens life It is to be believed that in “A Tale of Two Cities” Dickens reflects on his affair with eighteen year old actress Ellen Ternan. The relationship was maybe certainly romantic but also probably asexual. In his novel, Lucie Manette resembles Ellen Ternan physically. After starring in the play “The Frozen Deep” by Wilkie Collins, Dickens became inspired to write tales. In the play, he performed in a role who sacrifices his own life so his rival may have the woman they both loved. This love triangle became the main plot in his novel “A Tale of Two Cities” where Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton both loved Lucie Manette. The pair of Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay may also bear importance on Dickens' personal life. They look exactly alike that Carton saved him twice from being sentenced to death. It is implied that Carton and Darnay don’t only look alike, but also have the same genetic attributes. Though, many argued that the pair of Carton and Darnay is a doppelgänger; a pair that typically represents evil in which Darnay is worthy but dull and Carton is dishonorable but fascinating. Analysis The level of formality in writing should be suited by the expectations of the intended audience and the objective of the writer. Since I knew the type of people...
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...A Tale of Two Cities: Theme Bloodshed, violence, and revenge: the daily occurrences in the French Revolution of the eighteenth century. One would not dream of any revival. However, in A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, Dickens clearly illustrates of the resurrection that takes place before, during, and after the French Revolution. Early on in the novel, many years before war, Dr. Alexandre Manette is spiritually revived by his daughter, Lucie Manette. Dr. Manette’s 18-year imprisonment represents a sort of temporary death considering his being shut out from the rest of the world. He falls into a lapse of shoemaking: his only priority up until he reunites with his daughter. Lucie’s love conquers many in this book and it is obvious as soon as Dickens symbolizes her as the “Golden Thread”. Her motherly love towards Dr. Manette, such as the cradling of her father on her breast, allows for the rebirth of Dr. Manette. The “Golden Thread” does it again. Later on in the novel, Dickens introduces the reader to Sydney Carton, an extremely lazy alcoholic. Carton falls in love with Lucie, even while she is happily married to Charles Darnay, and credits her for drawing the last of his confidence. Carton is able to strive afresh and for his rising again to life, he promises to Lucie, “…there is a man who would give his life, to keep a life you love beside you!” (128). With his new mind-set, Sydney Carton fulfills his promise to Lucie when the time comes. Lucie’s husband, Darnay...
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...In Book One of A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens used diction, tone, and syntax to inform readers of the physical state of Doctor Manette, a former Bastille prisoner, in order for them to see how prisoners in the Bastille were treated. This was expressed in the following passage: "The faintness of the voice was pitiable and dreadful. It was not the faintness of physical weakness, though confinement and hard fare no doubt had their part in it. Its deplorable peculiarity was, that it was the faintness of solitude and disuse. It was like the last feeble echo of a sound made long and long ago. So entirely had it lost the life and resonance of the human voice, that it affected the senses like a once beautiful colour faded away into a poor weak...
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...of the British (Gubar par. 2), many of these perspectives were provoked by religious practice. Two of the most popular perspectives of children were focused on the child as an embodiment of the innocent and an embodiment of the sinful. First they were devilish creatures filled with an inherent sin (Garliz 647) then they became objects of piety where the child resembled something of a prophetic, all knowing creature due to their proximity with a creator. (Garlitz 640) I aim to argue that it is religion that shadows childhood with generalisations of purity and sin. Eliot and Dickens use the supernatural as a contrasting element to expunge stereotypes in order to...
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...recalled to life?” And the old answer: “I can’t say” (Dickens, 37). Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities has many recurring themes. One of them is the phrase “recalled to life”. Several people throughout the book each had a unique opportunity to start their life over; to be recalled to life. One person in particular, Dr. Manette, had been unjustly imprisoned for 18 years. After his release, he had the opportunity to start his life over. He does this in several ways. One, he was able to recover from his insanity and two, he was able to gain his respect in the community. In A Tale of Two Cities, Dr. Manette is recalled to life in the way he regained his sanity and respect. Dr. Manette had previously been a prominent physician with a beautiful wife and daughter. But suddenly, he found himself a prisoner in the Bastille. During the 18 years Dr. Manette had been imprisoned, he desperately tried not to lose his mind by learning the skill of shoemaking. Despite his efforts, however, he eventually was overcome by insanity. The only thing he knew about...
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...in the novel A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. Love is given to all of the men and women in the book, and love saves many people’s lives. The characters gave up everything for each other, and sought out revenge on the people that had hurt their families. Love is a very prominent idea in the novel. Even though Lucie is one of the most loved characters in the book, she loves Charles and Dr. Manette just as much as they love her. When Charles is in prison, Lucie “waited there for two hours. As the clock struck two, she was there, and at four she turned...
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...historical fiction, such as novels and biographies, to aid in the learning process. Using these tools, they could offer students a way to view the time period they are learning about in a different way and also make the subject matter more relatable through characters while also having historical events as a back drop. Historical Fiction, Novels and biographies, such as A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, can be used to make history more enjoyable and relatable to students in modern times. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is a prime example of literature that can be used to aid students in learning about history. Though it was written in 1859, almost 100 years after the book takes place, it had a series of relatable characters, all of whom were affected by the tension in the cities of Paris and London in the years leading up to the French Revolution. The book begins by demonstrating how impoverished the citizens were, as shown through the scene in which a bottle of wine is broken in the street and all of the citizens “within reach had suspended their business to run to the spot and drink the wine…” (Dickens 31). Later on, it is shown through the Monseigneur of Marquis how the wealthy aristocratic class lived and how they interacted with the common people. The Monseigneur showed no remorse after his carriage struck...
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...easy for the aristocrats to take advantage of their situation. In the novel, A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens portrays the peasantry as the most oppressed people who are unfairly treated by the aristocracy. Charles Dickens has greater sympathy for the peasants and their poverty-stricken lifestyles however, once the aristocracy is overthrown, he foreshadows further mistreatment and ridicules them for their brutality by treating people the same as the former ruling...
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...the twentieth century his literary genius was broadly acknowledged by critics and scholars. His novels and short stories continue to be widely popular. But the debate still continues. Was this man just an English storyteller or a campaigner for social justice? I believe Charles John Huffam Dickens was one of the greatest social critics the world has ever seen for his commentary on the English social structure. But why did Dickens commentate on social injustice? Was he ever affected? Dickens’s deep social commitment and awareness of social ills are derived from his traumatic childhood experiences when his father was imprisoned and he at the age of twelve worked in a shoe-blacking factory. Imagine that, working at the age of 12 in a factory with no guidance from a mother or father? As a result, Dickens developed a strong social conscious which put into his two most recognisable novels, A Tale of Two Cities which continues to be the best seller of all time with over 200 million copies and Oliver Twist. Dickens succeeded in making the Victorian public aware of the conditions of the poor through his book Oliver Twist and through the characterisation of his titular character, Oliver Twist. In Oliver Twist Dickens presents a portrait of the macabre childhood of a considerable number of Victorian orphans. The orphans are underfed, and for a meal they are given a single scoop of gruel. Oliver, one of the oppressed children, dares to ask for more gruel and is severely punished. This...
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...In the book, “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens, the use of nature to describe characters and human emotion is accurate and concise. Each example is able to illustrate the right emotion/situation in a natural context for the reader to truly understand. The connotations of their roles and how it can be reflected in nature is explored thoroughly throughout the novel. In chapter five, the Jackal, Dickens employs the use of animals to describe the relationship between Stryver and Carton with one being a lion and the other, a Jackal. ”... although Sydney Carton would never be a lion, he was an amazingly good jackal, and that he rendered suit and service to Stryver in that humble capacity” (Ch. 5, Pg. 120). In the court, Stryver is one...
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...Charles Dickens is considered one of the greatest authors of his time. In his well-know classic, A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens uses vivid imagery and strong diction to create suspense. Dickens uses vivid imagery to paint a picture of suspense in the passage. He immediately describes a “steaming mist” followed by a “clammy and intensely cold mist” moving slowly through the air. These phrases set the scene and overall tone of the passage. The mist allows the reader to create a dark and fearful image, drawing out fear and creating suspense in the passage. He also describes the characters as “wrapped to the cheekbones end over the ears.” The cold and dreary weather does call for warmer clothing, but the passengers of the mail coach literally...
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