Characters In A Tale Of Two Cities

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is a story of great sacrifices being made for the sake of principle. There are many examples of this throughout the book made by many of the characters but some or more evident than others. In Book The First, entitled “Recalled to Life,” the most obvious sacrifice for the sake of principle was made by Dr. Manette. He is imprisoned for eighteen years in the Bastille, for no apparent reason. Another noticeable sacrifice made for the sake of principle was made in Book The Second, entitled “The Golden Thread,” also by Dr. Manette. Charles Darnay reveals the truth about himself and about his family history. He tells Dr. Manette his real identity and that he is heir to the Marquis

Charles Dickens had a way of writing amazing characters. He was known for his passion in writing and his way of words. A man once said that Charles was the greatest story writer of all time. He was able to craft fully make a character that was both memorable and taught you a valuable lesson on how to be a better you. In this book I spotted a few characters that stood out to me. It was either their courage or loyalty that stuck out the most. The biggest lesson I wish to share from these characters that I learned in this novel is that it is important to study a person and get to know them before you make assumptions on their life based on their outward appearance.

Doctor Alexandre Manette is a character in Charles Dickens' novel, A Tale of Two Cities. He is Lucie's father, a brilliant physician, and spent eighteen years as a prisoner in the Bastille prior to the French Revolution. Throughout the novel, Doctor Manette changes drastically.

Charles Dickens’ own father was in debtor’s prison when Dickens was a young boy. Dickens left his family to work in a factory so that his father could be liberated. Dickens did this out of the love he had for his father; however, he sacrificed living with his family for living on his own to work. The parallels between sacrifice and love are one of many of the reoccurring themes throughout Charles Dickens’ novel A Tale of Two Cities. Dickens shows that the power of love exceeds violence and hatred in life through the sacrifices made out of love from Miss Pross, Dr. Manette, and Mr. Carton.

Manette. Darnay recognizes the love they share and does not want to get in between their relationship when he states, “I have felt, and do even now feel, that to bring my love—even mine between you, is to touch your history with something not quite so good as itself” (102). Dr. Manette acknowledges Darnay’s request and allows him to marry Lucie. In this respect, Dr. Manette sacrifices Lucie, and in doing so he sacrifices his mental sanity. Furthermore, knowing that his daughter is married to an Evremonde, the very family that unjustly imprisoned him for eighteen years, brings the Doctor great turmoil. For example, while Lucie and Darnay are on their honey moon, Dr. Manette suffers from a nine-day relapse. However, Manette is willing to endure this mental turmoil if it means that Lucie is happy. In addition, later in the novel when Darnay is imprisoned Dr. Manette does everything he can to save him. Manette declares, “As my beloved child was helpful in restoring me to myself, I will be helpful now in restoring the dearest part of herself to her” (210). Doctor Manette has influence among the Revolutionaries in Paris because he symbolizes the noble’s tyranny, so the Revolutionaries sympathize with him. Manette “used his personal influence so wisely, that he was soon the inspecting physician of three prisons, and among them of La Force” (210). He works in La Force to ensure Darnay’s safety, despite the fact that being there brings back

Darnay’s imprisonment marks the high point of Dr. Manette’s resurrection as he realizes that “his suffering is strength and power ” (Dickens 260). Manette acknowledges that he can be Darnay’s savior and rejoices, “As my beloved child was helpful in restoring me to myself, I will be helpful now in restoring the dearest part of herself to her”(” (Dickens 260). Although Dr. Manette’s imprisonment had initially been the death of him, “he He had slowly forged the iron which could break the prison door of his daughter’s husband and deliver him” (Dickens 260). Eventually, Dr. Manette convinces the court to set Darnay free. He is finally able to be the father Lucie never had as he assures her that “I have saved him” (Dickens 280).

In his classical work of narrative fiction, A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens uses many literary styles and motifs to provide a vivid literary landscape as two sides of a mirror. On one side there is the peaceful and rational territory in England, with a stable government and socially conservative population. On the other hand, Dickens provides the reader with an alternative, the literal bloodbath of France. When discussing Madame Defarge near the end of the book, a shadow motif is commonly used “The shadow attendant on Madame Defarge and her party seemed to fall so threatening and dark” (book 3 chapter 3). Throughout the book, Dickens uses these motifs to provide alternatives for every event that happens, and to indirectly characterize many characters.

In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens frequently displays the recurrent theme of recalling one’s spirit back to life through the characters Dr. Manette, Sydney Carton, and Charles Darnay. After being imprisoned for 18 years, Lucie Manette presumes her father is dead. Consequently, his mental state deteriorates, until his reconciliation with his daughter, in which, “she became the golden thread that united him to a past beyond his misery” (Dickens 77). After Lucie Manette returns him from the brink of insanity, Dr. Manette became the person that he used to be. From the darkness of a shadow of a life nearly lost, the love and support of his daughter resurrected him into the light past his pain. In addition, Sydney Carton was the aide to a

Giving up something can be hard, but end the end you will really learn something from it. In A Tale of Two Cities the author Charles Dickens uses the forgiveness of Dr. Manette, the love of Sydney Carton, and the disguise of Charles Darnay to contribute to the theme of the novel that rebirth is possible through sacrifice.

When peasants sought revenge on the aristocracy in the French Revolution, this caused the death of many. Not only were the evil people killed, but also the innocent. In Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, this is shown multiple times. He shows how revenge can take away humanity, and how it affects both the innocent and the evil. Dickens develops this theme of revenge through the development of his characters, including The Vengeance, Dr. Manette, and Madame Defarge.

Manette. He was imprisoned for a long time and was finally freed. Lucie was finally able to meet her father and their love for each other grew to be extremely strong. At first Lucie was the one comforting her father after his imprisonment because he was going through a rough time. Then later he was the one comforting her because she was devastated with Darnay’s situation. Dr. Manette knew he had to try to save Darnay for Lucie because of how much he loves her. He knows that the people rebelling will respect him because he was in prison for so long. People trust him and follow what he says so he helps save Darnay from being sentenced to death the first time. Dr. Manette’s love for Lucie is also shown by when Darnay says to Lucie “And now speak to your father, dearest. No other man in all this France could have done what he has done for me,” (Dickens 242). In that quote Darnay is telling Lucie what a wonderful father she has. Dr. Manette’s love for his daughter drives him to go out of his comfort zone and pushes him to overcome his fears. He knows that it might be possible for Darnay to see Lucie through a window, only if she stands in a certain spot. Dr. Manette tells Lucie to stand there and she does every day for two hours. This is very dangerous because she could get in trouble for showing love to a prisoner. Dr. Manette finds out that Darnay has been seeing her through the window when she stands there, so it is definitely

The time before and during the French Revolution was one of the most gruesome periods ever existed. The monarchs and clergies could do anything they wanted, including murdering innocent people and escaped punishment due to their extreme influence in the government. In contrast, commoners and peasants started to die of diseases, starvation, and other extreme circumstances. Another tragic occurrence that happened to the commoners, was being punished in unspeakable ways. If a commoner was accused of a crime, they would almost instantly be found guilty and be sentenced to imprisonment and/or death. In A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, the circumstances above were shown through a major character named Sydney Carton. Carton was alienated from

Lucie was the light in the darkness for Dr. Manette, “She was a golden thread that united him to a past beyond his misery, and to a present beyond his misery: and the sound of her voice, the light of her face, the touch of her hand, had a strong beneficial, influence on him almost always”(77). Lucie was there for him after he was out of prison and always stayed with him. When she and Charles married she stayed and lived with him and had Charles move in, so she would not leave him alone in his mental condition. Lucie being with him kept him sane. Dr. Manette was not the only character that had a mental

An example of how Lucie restores hope in her father through her love and self-sacrifice when Dickens explains that Lucie was the “golden thread that united him to a past beyond his misery” (Dickens 88). Dickens shows that even just the presence of his long lost daughter Lucie is the hope Dr. Manette needed as he began a new chapter of his life. The comparison Dickens makes of Lucie being the thread that holds Dr. Manette’s life together is ironic because Madame Defarge plots to kill Lucie later in the book by knitting her name. Another example of when hope Lucie provided her father is illuminated takes place when Dr. Manette is discussing the marriage proposal with Lucie’s lover Charles Darnay, when he says to Darnay that “she is everything to me; more to me than suffering” (Dickens 152). Dickens describes how much suffering had an effect on Dr. Manette’s life, but shows that the love between Lucie and Dr. Manette trumps even the most defining experience of his life. This is very important to the transformation of Dr. Manette as he explains to Darnay just how different his life would be without her all by saying just a couple of words. Overall, because Lucie is reunited with her father, she is able to change him with the power of love and help him escape his mental

Dr. Manette, believed to be dead by his daughter, was actually unjustly imprisoned in the Bastille, in prison. In 1775, eighteen years after his imprisonment, Dr. Manette was released, and staying with the Defarge’s. Jarvis Lorry, a banker at Tellson’s, is responsible for identifying Dr. Manette and bringing him back to England safely. Lorry sees it necessary to bring Lucie, the doctor’s daughter, along because she will be the one to nurse her father back to health. Lorry tells Lucie “He is alive. Greatly changed , it is too probable; almost a wreck, it is possible; though we shall hope the best.”(Dickens 30) This gives Lucie hope that no matter how bad off her father is, they can fix him. When the two arrive, they see that the doctor is not