Interpreting the French Revolution Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

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.

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.

In the Age of Revolutions, the world had mixed views about the massive revolutions spreading across countries. As the revolutions became more savage than civil, it became a popular topic regarding morals and revolutions itself. One of the biggest controversy was the French Revolution. The arguments between England, who mostly opposed the brutal onslaught, and France, who approved of the sacrifices to achieve freedom. This essay will examine the different outlooks of the two countries and the reasons for their own bias while showing how Charles Dickens’, an English writer, captures the essence of both sides in his novel A Tale of Two Cities.

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.

The novel, A Tale of Two Cities, takes place during the onset of the French Revolution, which shook the Western world with its violence and new ideas on freedom and the aristocracy. It was a period of major political and social change in the political history of both France and Europe during which the French governmental structure took on the Enlightenment’s ideals democracy, citizenship, and

A Tale of Two Cities has several recurring themes, including the failure of the French Revolution. In the book, the peasants defeated the aristocrats by imprisoning and murdering them. Although many of the imprisonments and executions were unjust, the peasants had gain complete power. The peasants’ revolution did not end the tyranny that existed with the aristocrats ruling, but created a new tyranny with lack of justice and mercy.

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.

The French Revolution was a time of despair when everyone doubted his or her fate. A Tale of Two Cities is a book by Charles Dickens about the disaster of the French Revolution. The French Revolution caused many people to become depressed because of the situations they faced. This fate was inevitable and no one escaped it. Fate is a very important theme that is reflected by the metaphors of the sea, the golden thread, and echoing footsteps.

Dickens begins the novel with a pro-revolutionary tone. His regard for the idea of the upcoming and inevitable revolution in a positive light is reflected by the atmosphere he sets for the reader. Dickens is able to make his readers pity the peasantry and sympathize with them. Through inclusion of detail, Dickens portrays the plight of the lower class writing, “gloom [gathers] on the scene that [appears] more natural to it than sunshine” (21). This allows the reader to imply that the suffering of the lower class has fallen into a continuous pattern, and they can understand the need for revolution. Additionally, Dickens uses anaphora with the phrase “Hunger [is]” (21). This gives the reader a sense of how much hunger dominates and defines their lives, effectively making their

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

‘The Prioress’ Tale’ in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer is a piece of literary work that emphasizes Christianity while conspicuously emanating anti-Semitism undertones. The Prioress’ unwavering devotion to Mary at the start of her tale provides the reader with an understanding of the Christian culture at this time. With an understanding of the Christian culture, the Prioress’ prejudice towards Judaism is portrayed as less incriminating. This understanding places the blame for the Prioress’ anti-Semitism ideals on the social influence of the Christian culture. ‘The Prioress’ Tale’ displays anti-Semitism undertones through the favoritism of Christianity over Judaism, the murder of the young Christian boy, and the terminology used to reference the Jewish community.

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.

Two main pillars support the field of medicine; research and direct patient care. During the past few years of my education, I was able to gain experience in both of these fundamental blocks that form the backbone of medicine. By not only volunteering in an emergency room but also working in a research laboratory, I have gained valuable experience and knowledge and developed an appreciation for both.

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.

In Europe, the eighteenth century was a time of great social upheaval and change. While England experienced a period of general discontent, particularly over events such as the American Revolution, France experienced a full-blown revolution, which tore down the existing social hierarchy and established a ruthless tyranny in its place. Such general discontent has been reflected throughout literature, which has been used to demonstrate how these changes affected the lives of individuals. In some cases, these experiences left some individuals with inklings of hope, while others were left to succumb to revenge and despair. In Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities, contrasting environments, actions, and character traits are utilized to strengthen the novel’s message that individuals who possess love and compassion will experience the greatest success in positively impacting the lives of those around them.