Two Contrasting Places In A Tale Of Two Cities

The saying “recalled to life” in Tale of Two Cities (1859) signifies bringing people back from death, but it also reveals the transformation of characters as they face their obstacles.

In the novel, A Tale of Two Cities Charles Dickens opens with an anaphora, about how the world is throughout the novel. A reoccurring theme throughout this story is the battle between good and evil. Most of the novel is about the struggles each force has and how most of the time good triumphs over evil. In A Tale of Two Cities, the triumph of love, the death of the Marquis, and the contrast between Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay shows how good triumphed over evil.

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens deals with many coincidences that impact the plot and

Charles Dickens, author of A Tale of Two Cities, utilizes the literary devices of syntax, diction, and simile to produce a foreboding and sinister mood and foreshadow the nature of the French Revolution.

Charles Dickens expertly utilizes the stylistic element of juxtaposition in the first chapter of A Tale of Two Cities to add more depth of meaning and enunciate gaps between the

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.

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.

In a Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens juxtapositions suspense and humor in an intricate tale of love and loyalty.

His inspiration for the novel was brought about by a play he starred in, wherein a man sacrifices his own life so that his rival may have the woman they both love. This was the basis for the love triangle relationships between Charles Darnay, Lucie Manette, and Sydney Carton in the novel. Moreover, Dickens appreciated the play for its treatment of redemption and rebirth, love and violence. The novel is seen to transpose these themes onto the French Revolution, which seemed like an event that embodied these same issues on a historical level. The theme of rebirth and redemption is constantly seen in the novel, especially since it took place during such a turbulent time of much change and the countless “rebirths” of France’s government.

His father and twin brother were responsible for a young peasant woman’s rape, and her brother’s death, which they then tried to cover up by wrongfully imprisoning Doctor Manette. Darnay goes back to France to see his uncle and tries to convince him that “‘they have done wrong, and are reaping the fruits of wrong,’” but to no use, since the Marquis dies for his sins that night anyway (Dickens 124) Once he is old enough, Darnay decides to reject his ties to the Evremonde family, and start a new, virtuous life in England. He tries to convince his uncle to face the consequences of the crimes that he has committed in his dark past. But driven by his thirst for his futile wealth, the Marquis ignores his advice, which becomes one of the reasons for his death later in the novel. By sacrificing his wealth, Darnay managed to lead a happy and fulfilling life with Lucie, his wife, and their daughter. A sacrifice for someone else's happiness is also shown by Doctor

Contrast is a prevalent component of many influential pieces of literature, however in no work is it more present than in A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. From the opening lines: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” (Dickens 1) juxtaposition presents itself as the primary literary device throughout the entirety of the work. A Tale of Two Cities consists of three books, with the first titled; “Recalled to Life”. The idea of being metaphorically “recalled to life”(Dickens 14) or resurrected is revealed to be the crux of the novel.

Charles Dickens wrote A Tale of Two Cities based off of the tumultuous French Revolution. In order to communicate just how harsh this time was, Dickens uses several themes, symbols, and metaphors that relate to the emotions and the impact that it had on both the revolutionaries and the aristocrats. In A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens’s use of thematic symbolism, such as storm and footstep imagery and the themes rich vs. poor, oppressed vs. oppressors, and sacrifice, can be used to draw a parallel to the themes and symbols used by Christopher Nolan in The Dark Knight Rises. Both Nolan and Dickens draw the reader or audience in with underlying themes and use imagery to effectively illustrate the events and impacts of The French Revolution and The League of Shadows.

In A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, it uses duality throughout the story. Duality often refers to having two parts and is usually used with opposite meanings. Charles Dickens wanted us to know about duality by the very first paragraph of his novel. One of the dualities has to deal with the two cities of the title, London, England and Paris, France. Also, some of the dualities show us opposite parallels dealing with two or more people. The two emotions love and hate also have something to do with the theme. I think the use of the doubles is significant

Oliver travels through many places throughout the book. He goes through many cities and also the countryside. Charles Dickens describes both the locations in a very different way. He has a total opposite opinion on both the places. He explains the city as a place where the criminals, unsafe and disgusting. The countryside, however, is described as splendid, safe, and place where the rich people live.

    Many events that take place in A Tale of Two Cities, written by Charles Dickens, foreshadow upcoming obstacles and give insight into the hardships of the townspeople. Symbolic events occur which describe the vengefulness of the peasants towards the aristocrats. The novel contains many events, which have symbolic value. Many of the symbols have to do with the inevitable clash between the aristocrats and peasants. These events foreshadow the war that is soon to become reality.