Literary Messages In Charles Dickens's A Tale Of Two Cities

Showing the beginning and end state of an individual can be used to highlight how drastic their change truly was. Witnessing a person go from a rough patch in their life to one where he is more stable allows one to see where he has truly changed. It highlights the changes with the individual and compares it to the state where one found him initially. The contrast between the opposing beginning and end states brings to the surface a comparison that other techniques cannot accomplish. Charles Dickens uses this technique in his novel A Tale of Two Cities; he opposes the end states of two individuals with their beginning selves and the crumbling society to bring to light how one can change no matter the situation present to them.

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.

Today many violent scenes are used for their shock value and for the sake of including violence. However, A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens, has violent scenes to illustrate the time period of the French Revolution. Scenes such as Foulon being paraded through the city and murdered, the Storming of the Bastille, and the fight between Miss Pross and Madame Defarge emphasize the violence of the time through graphic detail and imagery. These scenes add to the novel’s legitimacy by expressing the immense violence of the time and truly showing the horrors of the revolution.

Through the use of strong imagery of the descriptions of the seven prisoners and guards, Dickens emphasizes the shift in power among the French aristocracy and the commoners. As Madame Defarge leads the mob to seize the guards in Bastille and free the prisoners, the ironic contrast formed within the actions truly depict the power altering between the two distinctive social classes. The seven dead guards were portrayed as, “seven gory heads on pikes” and “impassive faces, yet with a suspended—not an abolished—expression on them”(170). The powerful imagery thoroughly proves their defeat against the mob, since after the seven prisoners were released, the power became of the commoners. Thus, this is a substantial event to the start of the revolution,

Madame Defarge is first introduced as a stern woman with a rather ominous habit of knitting, with no indication of her bloodthirsty habits. However, it is later noted that Madame Defarge is actually knitting the names of the victims of the Revolution, and we find out that she wants to eliminate the aristocracy because the Marquis and his brother raped her sister and stabbed and killed her brother-in-law. She eloquently describes her destroyed childhood to the Vengeance and her husband at the tavern.“Defarge, 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 father was my father, those dead are my dead, and that summons to answer for those things descends to me (346)”.

In the excerpt from, A Tale of Two Cities, the author Charles Dickens uses symbolism and alliterations to foreshadow the upcoming revolution and how much blood will be spilled because of

“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, there is liberty.”

The first immediate thought that comes to mind when pondering the French Revolution appertains to the excessive amount of gruesome acts that were executed by the frenetic peasants. Charles Dickens, the author of A Tale of Two Cities, captured the ferocity and horror of the French Revolution by showcasing the inhumanity that took place, and this theme of inhumanity is developed throughout the course of the book. The theme is shown through multiple characters, and even though repentance is an opportunity for all, only a few courageously take it. When a character’s inhumanity is brought to light, their true qualities are revealed. While many people convey inhumanity with different rationales, three main characters, Jerry Cruncher, Monsieur the

The great Chinese philosopher, Confucius, once stated, “Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.” In the French Revolution, there was major tension between the peasants of France and the affluent monarchy, which oppressed the peasants to the point of starvation. Forced to fight for their lives, the peasants revolted, and became the leaders of France. This change is seen with characters with Madame Defarge and Sydney Carton as they adapt to these changes in their society. The concept of foolishness happened to the peasants in Paris because the aristocrats did not believe that the peasants were worth their respect. This can be seen when Marquis St. Evrémonde is not anxious when he kills the son of Gaspard he believes that his gift of one gold coin will suffice and he will forgive him. This was not the case and this is what led to his demise. This was additionally the idea that was seen when Madame Defarge was the only one who was willing to kill Lucie and her daughter. Despite the fact they are the family of Dr. Manette, a friend of the revolution, because they were related with the St. Evrémonde. This scene showed her real intentions. Moreover, the idea of good intentions are apparent when Carton was smart enough to realize that his opportunity to show Lucie he would do anything for her happiness. He knew that he would have to die, but that did not deter his thought process. Everyone has good intentions, but sometimes their intentions are

As previously discussed, the French people’s new community was extremely disorganized, cruel and unstable, which only further perpetuated the growing dominance of unconscious thought. Also, in order to fit into this new France, one was forced to support the revolution by being violent and overthrowing the oppressive aristocracy. This illustrates the theme that people’s basic needs are met by savagery because one could only survive in France by letting unconscious, savage thoughts dominate in order to fit in with the rest of the crowd (Friedman). One of the most prominent examples of the expression of the unconscious mind is conveyed through Madame Defarge, in both a feminist perspective and a perspective of revenge. Madame Defarge’s family was killed by aristocrats, obviously bringing instability to her life, which explains why her true feelings are only composed of hatred towards the old French society. This illustrates that instability brings savagery because Madame Defarge’s conscious mind has been filled with her true unconscious desires since the murder of her family, turning her savage. Also, through a feminist perspective, Madame Defarge clearly represents the unconscious desires of women during the 1800s. During this period of time, women were expected to marry, bear children, and represent the characteristics of weak and dependent on the husband (Anonymous). Madame Defarge epitomized the ideal power wielding woman because she did the exact opposite; her husband was obedient to her and though she did knit, she did so to hide the fact that she was keeping a record of people to kill during the revolution. The main purpose of introducing such a character into the novel was to portray that true desires of revenge are blind to gender and to prove that everyone, regardless of sex resorts to

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.

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

One of the fundamental characters, Madame Theresa Defrage, is a noteworthy rival who looks for requital. She is an exceptionally tense and unforgiving lady who looks for vengeance on the Evermonde family. All through the story, she weave covers for the expected casualties of the unrest. Charles Darnay, one of whom Mrs. Defarge is looking for vengeance, is always being put on the stand and needs no some portion of his own genealogy. He is slow hero and tends to get captured and should be safeguarded a few times amid the story. Dr. Alexander Manette, a veteran detainee of the Bastille and direct hero, can 't get away from the memory of being kept and here and there tumble down to cobbling shoes, he has extremely noteworthy influence in the story. His little girl, Lucie Manette, a positive hero,

Madame Defarge appears to be a minor character in the beginning, but turns spiteful and deceiving in the end. Always knitting, Madame Defarge seemed to be a watchful woman: “Madame Defarge, his wife, sat in the shop behind the counter as he came in. Madame Defarge was a stout woman of about his own age, with a watchful eye that seldom seemed to look at anything, a large hand heavily ringed, a steady face, strong features, and great composure of manner” (Dickens 21). Of this description, one would not assume anything of the character. In the end, it is realized that the two that were killed by Charles’ uncle and father were her siblings, leaving her the remaining sibling to carry the rage and hurt left by the wrong-doings of Marquis Evremonde and his brother. She is a strong advocate for the French Revolution, as she has been knitting the names of those whom the rebels, under the name “Jacques”, planned to kill. Once it became apparent Charles was the descendant left to take the repercussions for his family, Madame Defarge plans to attack Lucie and her child due to the fact that they were associated with Charles and his family. Her plan of murder ultimately fails, and in turn, she ends up dying herself at the hand of her own bullet.