Sacrifice for Love: 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.

In the beginning of the novel the audience sees him as a man who left prison a couple days ago, and has been traumatized by living in his symbolic grave for eighteen years. The first description of him that the audience reads is Dickens describing him having a “faint voice that was pitiable and dreadful” (Dickens 29). Although as the novel progresses the doctor transforms away from this part of himself, and becomes a well-respected doctor again. After being let out of prison his daughter Lucie comes to bring him home, and this represents the first time he is recalled to life. Later in the novel Doctor Manette is recalled to life again in Book III when he has to testify for his son in law, Charles Darnay, in Paris. Doctor Manette’s testimony for Darnay resurrects his position of respect in Paris as the "Bastille survivor" instead of a prominent physician. This alteration is indicated when Dickens declaims, “His streaming white hair, his remarkable face, and the impetuous confidence of his manner, as he put the weapons aside like water” (Dickens 203). In this scene Doctor Manette enters the revolutionary obsessed France as a hero to all their soldiers, which makes them put down their weapons because they are in awe of him. He comes to them as a friend because he saved one of their own before, and they reward

Listing his name and profession would also help because Dr. Manette is a reputable doctor in France and has a high reputation there. Dr. Manette was sacrificing his name to try to save Darnay and get him released by persuading the people that Darnay is not in the wrong. Since Lucie had helped her father so much and helped him grow throughout his life, Dr. Manette thought he would try to repay her by getting her husband released from prison to ensure Lucie’s happiness.

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

Miss Pross sacrifices her own life and happiness for Lucie Manette. After asking Miss Pross about Lucie, Jarvis Lorry then understands how much Lucie means to Miss Pross. “Mr. Lorry knew Miss Pross to be very jealous, but he also knew her by this time to be, beneath the surface of her eccentricity, one of those unselfish creatures-found only among women-who will, for pure love and admiration, bind themselves willing slaves, to youth when they have lost it, to beauty that they never had, to accomplishments that they were never fortunate enough to gain, to bright hopes that never shone upon their own somber lives.” This quote is important because it shows Miss Pross’ personality and character. It expresses that Miss Pross cares for Lucie Manette. She wants Lucie to have a happily fulfilled life. Miss Pross was never given these chances to be successful so she wants to make sure that Lucie has a better life than

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is a story of great sacrifices being made for the sake of principle. There are many examples of this throughout the book made by many of the characters but some or more evident than others. In Book The First, entitled “Recalled to Life,” the most obvious sacrifice for the sake of principle was made by Dr. Manette. He is imprisoned for eighteen years in the Bastille, for no apparent reason. Another noticeable sacrifice made for the sake of principle was made in Book The Second, entitled “The Golden Thread,” also by Dr. Manette. Charles Darnay reveals the truth about himself and about his family history. He tells Dr. Manette his real identity and that he is heir to the Marquis

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.

Manette sacrifices his sanity by allowing Charles Darnay to marry Lucie and by giving up the comfort of his shoemaker’s bench. On the wedding day of Lucie and Darnay, Darnay keeps his promise and tells Dr. Manette about his past and family. Although Darnay is the nephew of the Marquis St. Evermonde, who threw Dr. Manette in jail for eighteen years, Dr. Manette still allows him to marry Lucie. Dr. Manette does this because Lucie loves Darnay and Dr. Manette loves her. After the wedding is over and Lucie and Charles have left for their honeymoon, Mr. Lorry, Miss Pross, and Dr. Manette are sitting in the shade and “Mr. Lorry [observes] a great change to have come over the Doctor; as if the golden arm uplifted there, had struck him a poisoned blow” (149). The change in demeanor is a physical foreshadowing of how Dr. Manette sacrifices his sanity for the happiness of Lucie Manette. He does not want to show Lucie how much the marriage affects him; however, once she is gone he lets the façade drop. When Miss Pross, Mr. Lorry, and Dr. Manette get back to the Manette household, Dr. Manette has a relapse of his past habits from jail of shoemaking, not talking and going insane. After nine days, he returns to normal and has a conversation with Mr. Lorry when the shoemaker’s bench comes up. As Mr. Lorry attempts to coax Dr. Manette into ridding himself of it, Dr. Manette talks about how “it is such an old companion” and a comfort, that he is afraid of getting rid of it (157). Mr. Lorry urges “him to sacrifice it…for his daughter’s sake” (158). Upon hearing this, Dr. Manette realizes that the “old companion” must go so that he can focus on his relationship with Lucie and her upcoming family (157). He allows the removal of the shoemaker’s bench, but asks for the disposal to be when he is not around. The sacrifice that Dr. Manette makes here ultimately sets him up for another relapse later on in the book; however he

The tale of two cities written by Charles Dickens is at the time period of the French revolution. But it is not understood if Charles likes the French revolution or if he’s against it? Charles Dickens sees the poverty in all the peasants, he sees that peasants are becoming solemn and deadly the people are. Charles sees that the rich treat the poor like garbage. The French revolution made France more disorganized then before. Charles agrees that something must be done, but does not agree with the violence of the French revolution.

Charles Dickens utilizes doubles and contrasts to enhance the plot of Dickens uses parallels in characters, social classes, and events that compliment each other to strengthen the plot. Its themes of violence in revolutionaries, resurrection, and sacrifice also help support the story.

A Tale of Two Cities, written by Charles Dickens, takes place during the French Revolution. The book centers on the heroic attempts of Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay. Sydney Carton puts on the façade of being insolent and indifferent, but his true nature is expressed in the book when he puts others first, defends Charles, and dies for the ones he loves. Charles Darnay is a once wealthy aristocrat whose attempts at heroism include going back to France, his financial sacrifice, and the noble way in which he was willing to face his death.

Although the “rebirth” does not take place right then Lucie’s love for her father is never doubted for even a second. In chapter six, when she sees her father for the very first time Lucie says to him, “…that your agony is over...I have come here to take you from it...” (49), this marks the beginning of the doctor’s rebirth. Through this statement Dickens has Lucie promising that she will do anything for her father out of pure love. As the Manette’s travel back to England, in time it becomes clear that Lucie’s love towards her father is beginning to have an impact on his behavior. In chapter five, of the second book Dr. Manette is able to carry on a complete conversation, which shows the readers that he is regaining his sanity. Later on in chapter seven of the third book, Dickens reminds his readers again of how far Dr.Manette has come since that first day in the Defarge’s attic, “No garret, no shoemaking, no One Hundred and Five, North Tower, now! He had accomplished the task he had set himself…" (285-6). It is at this moment that the reader knows he has been resorted back to his old self before he was in prison. Throughout all the hardship and pain the doctor has to endure, his daughter Lucie never leaves his side.

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.

The French Revolution began in 1789 and ended in the late 1790s with the ascent of Napoleon Bonaparte. The King of France, Louis XVI was overthrown in a popular rebellion but France, was stricken by financial problems for over a century along with Great Britain. Charles Dickens showed comparison with the French Revolution in The Tale of Two Cities. This can be seen through the start of the French Revolution, life during the Revolution, how Louis XVI affected France, and crime and punishment throughout the novel along with the actual events in history during the time era.