Dickens Use Of Direct Opposites In A Tale Of Two Cities

During the French Revolution the two social classes, nobles and the peasants, clashed with each other because the peasants felt treated unfairly by the nobles. Dickens tells a story of both sides of the Revolution and emphasizes the fact that both sides endured hardships. Charles Dickens in his novel A Tale of Two Cities gets readers to sympathize with both sides of the revolution through character foils, flashbacks, and the theme of suffering by portraying both sides as victims.

Authors have often uses natural phenomena to comment on what is happening among the characters. Dickens wrote a book called, “A Tale of Two Cities” which was about the French Revolution and how life was like in the 1800’s. Natural phenomena are things from nature that Dickens uses for the characters in the book, for example, animals, the weather, flowers, and anything that occurs in nature that will fit what is happening among the characters, and the book. He also uses symbols, themes, he creates the atmosphere in the beginning of the book, and an outlook of what is about to happen in the book. We’re about to look at the different types of natural phenomena that Dickens uses in his book. On Chapter 5, Dickens uses an example of natural phenomena, which was when during the summer thunderstorm at the Manettes’ house in Soho. Dickens’s use of nature to mirror human emotions is effective.

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.

The literature that came out of the French Revolution often shares common themes of death, rebirth, and destruction. Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is much the same way. Throughout the novel, Dickens clearly supports the revolution but also depicts the brutality of the revolutionaries. Dickens uses powerful metaphors of a sea to symbolize the revolutionaries destroying old France and the belittling name of “Jacques” to depict the narcissistic views of the French aristocracy to show his support for the revolution.

Charles Dickens focuses on the revenge that put the bloody French Revolution in motion in his suspenseful story A Tale of Two Cities. The French Revolution was a revolt instigated by the peasants, who attacked the nobles with vengeful hearts starting in the year 1789, and going on until the year 1799. The settings of the book took place in both London and England, two parallels in novel, two cities where the plotting of the Revolution went into affect. Although the reasons behind the different examples of revenge are exposed, the actions taken with revenge in mind are inexcusable and not justifiable. Dickens portrays the theme of revenge successfully through the joker Gaspard, the brave younger brother who sacrificed himself to protect his

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.

During the French Revolution, over 40,000 people died, and over 12,000 of these people did not even have a trial. The French Revolution was over sixty years before A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens was released, but there were still many injustices and inhumane acts that took place in England during his lifetime. The inhumanity Dickens experienced during his lifetime is seen throughout the novel very clearly. Dickens portrays the inhumane people in the novel as successful at first, but they all eventually meet their horrific demise. Men are corrupted and doomed by the hatred and inhumanity towards his fellow man, and this is shown clearly through the Evrémonde brothers, Madame Defarge, and the revolutionaries.

Satire, or the use of exaggeration, incongruity, reversal, and parody to draw attention to and criticize the flaws of individual people or society as a whole, was used centuries ago and is still used today because of a satirist’s ability to creatively address issues they see. Throughout A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens effectively uses satire to encourage social reform in a society he saw was in dire need of it. Describing Darnay’s first trial, Dickens uses incongruity when comparing blue flies to the mob that has gathered to watch his trial. After the Attorney-General had stopped talking, “a buzz arose in the court as if a cloud of great blue-flies were swarming about the prisoner, in anticipation of what he was soon to become” (Dickens 69). A crowd of people is not the same thing as a swarm of flies, but by juxtaposing these two things, Dickens draws attention to the crowd’s tendency to act like a swarm of flies- obnoxious and unable to think for

Instead of a single main protagonist focused upon, the novel revolves around the lenses of various characters, dealing with their own stories and conflicts, while the overarching event, the French Revolution, is increasing in intensity. Because most of the characters belong to the upper class, they are later persecuted by the revolt. Dickens, at first, witness this uprising as inherently good, as the lower class will no longer stand against discrimination from the wealthy. The beginning of the novel gives off the impression that this would most likely become nonviolent, seeking justices by new laws and regulation. The main protagonist, dislike his aristocrat's upbringing, originally see this upset as something positive that will help relinquish the ills of society. Instead of this wishful thinking, the poorer citizen goes through exceeding lengths. At times such as back then, moral guidance becomes muddled. Dickens illustrates that although some of the powerful were corrupt and brutal to those of lower class, the reaction of the proletariat was unwarranted. Varying characters were affected by the events that took place, for must were or higher status. Families aware shatter as mobs were formed to storm the streets, seeking anyone to exact anger towards. And just as historical documents confirm, public executions took place as well. Dickens writes that evil, the one

In A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, it uses duality throughout the story. Duality often refers to having two parts and is usually used with opposite meanings. Charles Dickens wanted us to know about duality by the very first paragraph of his novel. One of the dualities has to deal with the two cities of the title, London, England and Paris, France. Also, some of the dualities show us opposite parallels dealing with two or more people. The two emotions love and hate also have something to do with the theme. I think the use of the doubles is significant

In the sociopolitical novel, A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens analyzes the events of one of the bloodiest revolutions in history, the French Revolution, characterized by its violence after no less than 40,000 people were sentenced to death. The violence of the revolution put irreversible change into motion, helping to bring greater equality between French citizens as a result of the upheaval, and causing political changes that affected millions. Through his changing tone, Dickens conveys that rebellion is necessary to amend the ever-growing divide between the social classes, but the mindless nature of the violence, as a result of mob mentality, is excessive, and blood is unnecessarily spilled.

In A Tale of Two Cities Charles Dickens uses foreshadowing to keep the reader hooked on the story. Dickens uses foreshadowing multiple times throughout the book and if the reader pays close attention they may be able to predict main plot points in the book. Dickens uses foreshadowing to give hints about important plot points that are to come in the novel and keep the reader in suspense.

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.

The French Revolution mainly took place in the city of Paris during the late 1700’s. The Revolution did not only affect the people of France, but also the citizens of England as well. The French Revolution is known as one of the most brutal and inhumane periods of history. If one studied the beliefs and views of the people involved at the time, one would see a reoccurring theme of “ being recalled to life”. Born from the world of literature, Charles Dickens’ novel, A Tale of Two Cities takes a deeper look at the culture of the late 1700’s, in both England and France. Dickens uses the character of Lucie Manette to further examine one of the major themes presented in the novel, consisting of the belief of one being

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.