Coincidences in A Tale of Two Cities

The saying “recalled to life” in Tale of Two Cities (1859) signifies bringing people back from death, but it also reveals the transformation of characters as they face their obstacles.

In the novel, A Tale of Two Cities Charles Dickens opens with an anaphora, about how the world is throughout the novel. A reoccurring theme throughout this story is the battle between good and evil. Most of the novel is about the struggles each force has and how most of the time good triumphs over evil. In A Tale of Two Cities, the triumph of love, the death of the Marquis, and the contrast between Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay shows how good triumphed over evil.

The novel, A Tale of Two Cities, was written by Charles Dickens and was published in 1859. A Tale of Two Cities is a historical fiction based during the French Revolution. As two groups of people who both live in London and Paris find themselves in a situation that affects all of them, which ends with some deaths and suffering. Charles Dickens purpose for writing A Tale of Two Cities was to inform and amplify the readers mind on human nature. Throughout the book Charles Dickens uses many themes and characteristics, that bring out human nature in all his characters, to broaden the view of the readers.

Charles Dickens, author of A Tale of Two Cities, utilizes the literary devices of syntax, diction, and simile to produce a foreboding and sinister mood and foreshadow the nature of the French Revolution.

Charles Dickens expertly utilizes the stylistic element of juxtaposition in the first chapter of A Tale of Two Cities to add more depth of meaning and enunciate gaps between the

In a Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens juxtapositions suspense and humor in an intricate tale of love and loyalty.

Story-truth, these are the truths that cannot be seen but are known to exist. These connect with a person on an empathetic level. Tim uses his storytelling ability to highlight that even when a story is not true that it can be truer than a story that is founded in happening-truth. In a Tale of Two Cities a story truth can be seen in Chapter XV “Knitting”. The man who killed the Marquis is placed in a series of horrible tortures to atone for his crime. The ultimate result is an expounding of fact within the town nearby. The revolutionists of France use this story to portray the absolute horridness of the aristocracy. The “mender of roads”, who claims to have witnessed the whole event, states:

uniquely. In these stories, both authors use symbolism to help them develop themes in a unique

A Tale of Two Cities, a book written by Charles Dickens in 1859, describes the situation of France and the French Revolution. At the end of Chapter Six, Dr. Manette, Lucie Manette, Charles Darnay, Sydney Carton, and Miss Pross are at a Tea Party. A turbulent storm occurs and incites an eerie mood within the characters. Charles Darnay starts telling a story about a paper he found. After telling the story, Dr. Manette begins to feel ill. Following this is a section which contains multiple literary elements. In Chapter Six, Dickens utilizes descriptive literary devices, such as imagery, personification, and anaphora, to foretell the French Revolution and set the mood of the passage.

    Madame Defarge is seen as the villan in the story, but her negative decisions can be blamed on other character’s mistakes. After Doctor Manette reads his letter, Madame Defarge says  “that sister of the mortally wounded boy upon the ground was my sister, that husband was my sister’s husband, that unborn child was their child, that brother was my brother, that

Change is something that must come and will always come, whether it be for better or for worse. This is especially the case in the changing of power in our world, to spark this change, people will fight until they die. Everybody can justify their plight with speeches of justice and necessity, but whether or not the ends justify the means is something that every person must decide for themselves. The theme of revolution is explored in both A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens and Battleship Potemkin by Sergei Eisenstein, but their portrayals of it differ greatly. Throughout his Novel, Dickens clearly shows that he sympathizes with the peasants, but that he has very mixed feelings towards the way that the revolutionaries get what they want.

Charles Dickens utilizes doubles and contrasts to enhance the plot of Dickens uses parallels in characters, social classes, and events that compliment each other to strengthen the plot. Its themes of violence in revolutionaries, resurrection, and sacrifice also help support the story.

While the Victorian people called for romantic intrigue and petty drama in the literature of their time, Dickens’ added complexity to his novels not to satisfy the frivolous needs of Victorians but to further the theme of irony in his novel. In A Tale of Two Cities, irony is an ever-present theme and is woven into the plot seamlessly by author Charles Dickens. Coincidence is a complementary theme to irony in this novel. Dickens’ constant implementation of situations of coincidence and chance leads to a greater sense of irony throughout this book. Dickens adds complexity to the plot and further enforces the theme of irony in the novel through circumstances of coincidence, including the indictments of Charles Darnay, the life and associates of Dr. Manette, and Madame Defarge’s need for and path to revenge.

Out of all the compelling characters in this story, Lucie Manette and Jarvis Lorry are the two that are most interesting to me. In the beginning of the story, they were strangers. However, as the plot develops, we find out they have actually met before. When Lucie became an orphan, Lorry took her to England to be raised. This action shows that Lorry cared for Lucie and wanted what was best for her. They meet again when he takes Lucie to her father. Throughout the story, they grow a strong bond.

Charles Dickens wrote A Tale of Two Cities in order to enlighten the average Briton about the events of the French Revolution. The novel compares and contrasts cities of London and Paris, which represent French and British society, through the eyes of Dickens’ human characters. The two cities play such a large part in the novel that they become characters themselves, and the contrasting societies of the two cities become a conflict. In Charles Dickens’ classic, A Tale of Two Cities, the individualistic society of London champions the first feudalistic and later socialistic society of Paris.