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Sacrifice In Charles Dickens A Tale Of Two Cities

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Literary Analysis: A Tale of Two Cities By Charles Dickens
The world has undergone wars, it is scared and stained with the blood of the people before us, everywhere, there is no place safe from the vengeance of its inhabitants. Revolutions and World Wars. Threats turn into countries torn to pieces and cities completely obliterated. The French Revolution occurred from 1789, with the storming of the Bastille in central Paris to 1799 (Alleyn). For ten years, France was thrown into a war against Monarchy. A Tale of Two Cities written by Charles Dickens encapsulates the feelings of people from different classes and even different countries during the time of the French Revolution through various literary devices. From the Manettes and Charles …show more content…

The necessity of sacrifice in A Tale of Two Cities is expressed when Sydney Carton sacrifices himself for Charles Darney, in Chapter 13, in book three, by tricking Darnay to switch clothes with him, drugs him and orders Barsad to carry him to the carriage that is waiting outside. None of the guards are able to tell the difference between Carton and Darney, because they resemble each other so closely. The only one who notices is a falsely accused seamstress who asks him, “Are you dying for him?” and he replies, “And his wife and child…” (419) With the sacrifice of his life, he is honoring the love he has for Lucie and the promise he made her even before she was married. The possibility of resurrection in A Tale of Two Cities expresses Dickens’ personal beliefs of resurrection both on a personal and a societal scale (INSERT EXPLANATION). Dickens uses Carton’s death as a way to give Lucie and Charles Darnay a new life. Dickens also uses it to make Carton an almost Christ-like figure, when he dies to save the lives of others. In the end of the novel, it is suggested that Carton will live on in the hearts of those he sacrificed himself to save “they said of him, about the city that night, that it was the peacefullest man’s face ever beheld there. Many added that he looked sublime and prophetic” (442). The theme is continued with Doctor Manette. In the start of the story, Lorry has an imaginary conversation with Doctor Manette where he states, he has been recalled to life (19). Doctor Manette’s imprisonment acts as a death, and through Lucie’s love, Doctor Manette is brought back to life and to the world (“Themes, Motifs and

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