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Inhumanity Of Man In A Tale Of Two Cities

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Man’s Inhumanity to Man: Corruption Runs Deep Charles Dickens composed many great novels, including A Tale of Two Cities. Dickens combats social injustice using great suspense and complex metaphors, leaving room for thought. There are three series of scenes which perfectly exemplify man’s inhumanity to man throughout the course of this novel. These scenes are used by Dickens to underline the inhumanity of mankind. The cycle of man’s inhumanity to his fellow man leads to the dehumanization of each man to another and is exhibited through the lives of the Monseigneurs, the execution of the prisoners, and the trials of Charles Darnay. The aristocracy’s lack of consideration for the poor is clearly illustrated through the lifestyles and actions …show more content…

It is quite evident that Dickens is using this quote as an exaggeration and mockery of the lives of the aristocrats, especially by saying that this man needs four men to prepare his hot chocolate for him, which is obviously not realistic. Next, we are introduced to Marquis Evrèmonde. The Marquis is not well liked throughout the entirety of France and is completely deserving of that. One night he was riding in his carriage, and he realized he had hit something; he had hit a child but of course that didn’t alarm him very much. The Marquis then states, “It is extraordinary to me,” said he, “that you people cannot take care of yourselves and your children.…. He threw out a gold coin for the valet to pick up, and all the heads craned forward that all the eyes might look down at it as it fell” (84). It is evident that although the Marquis is aware of the destruction he has just caused, instead of taking responsibility or feeling any guilt, he blames the poor. …show more content…

There were a total of three trials for Darnay throughout the course of this novel. All of these trials had the possibility of a horrible sentence for Darnay. The first trial was called for the suspicion of treason and he was almost guaranteed to be found guilty. People from all around came to the court to watch this trial as if it were a play or show. “For people then payed to see the play at the Old Bailey, just as they pay to see the play in Bedlam – only the former entertainment was much dearer” (45). Dickens supports the thought of people seeing trials as some form of entertainment, by comparing seeing a trial at a courthouse to seeing a play at a theatre. People would get just as excited about seeing the new play as they did by a trial. Dickens states, “When the Attorney-General ceased, 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” (50). The blue flies represent the “buzz” of the courtroom and how people are getting very excited about what the result of this trial may be. By comparing people to blue flies, Dickens clearly indicates to the reader that the people witnessing this trial do not take it as a serious matter and are more or less gossiping about the matter. They take the matter of this so lightly that in their eyes, Darnay is no longer seen as a human with a precious

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