Winning critical acclaim, A Tale of Two Cities occupies a central place in the cannon of Charles Dickens’ work. A Tale of Two Cities, published in serial form starting on April 30, 1859, is a historical fiction novel. A dominant theme in this historical novel is the duality found in many of Dickens’ characters. Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities is somewhat autobiographical; emphasizes the key elements of theme, plot, and character; and has received extensive criticism.
A Tale of Two Cities is told in three parts and takes place in England and France before and during the French Revolution. The novel starts with the well known opening, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” The action begins with Mr. Jarvis Lorry, and elderly manager at Tellson’s Bank, meeting a lady named Lucie Manette, and together they find Dr. Alexandre Manette, Ms. Manette’s father, who has lost his memory and spends his time making shoes. Five years later in a courtroom there is a French nobleman named Charles Darnay who has been accused of being a spy, Sydney Carton, and English barrister points out how similar he and Darnay are in appearance, proving that a case could be made for mistaken identity. Later in the story, Darnay and Carton both fall in love with Lucie, who chooses Darnay. Revolution breaks out in France, and Darnay leaves his wife and daughter to try to save his captured steward, Gabelle. In the end, Darnay is caught and arrested twice as a foreigner and later for the crimes of his noble family, the cruel Evremondes. Fortunately for Darnay, Carton heroically saves him by disguising himself as Darnay in prison, ultimately dying by the guillotine, all for his love of Lucie (Dickens 1-528).
Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 181...
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Zabel, Morton. "The Revolutionary Fate: A Tale of Two Cities." EXPLORING Novels: n. pag. Gale Group Database. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. .
Charles Dickens writes this book explaining the French Revolution, in which the social and economic systems in France had huge changes and the French monarchy collapsed. This caused high taxes, unfair laws, and the poor being mistreated. Charles Dickens shows that cruelty of other people will lead to a revolution and in addition to the revolution more cruelty will happen. He explores the idea of justice and violence through the use of characters that are ambiguous, meaning that they have to different sides to them; for example, Charles Darnay, Sydney Carton, and Dr. Manette. Throughout the story of A Tale of Two Cities, Charles dickens shows the ambiguous characters through the power of true sacrifice.
"Since before the ancient Greeks, mankind has striven to discern and define truth, a noble if somewhat arduous task"( Swisher 118). Even modern society, despite losing so many of the old, "prudish" morals of preceding generations, still holds truth as one of the greatest virtues and to find truth in life, one of the greatest accomplishments. Authors such as Charles Dickens reflect this great desire to seek and find truth, using many varying mediums to express their opinions or discoveries. From the opening lines of the book, Dickens uses the method of thematic opposition to illustrate pure truth and evil lies. In A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens consistently opposes characters, settings, and even his theme of revolution, presenting juxtaposed viewpoints and actions that demonstrate deeper truths about life.
The French Revolution, which occurred in the late 1700’s was a period in history marked by violence and cruelty among classes. In the novel, A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens powerfully depicts the cruelty of French society during this time of struggle. Throughout the novel, Dickens illustrates the theme of cruelty and inhumanity of men to their fellow countryman in France. This theme grows with each chapter and each brutal event in the novel. Dickens effectively develops the theme of man’s inhumanity toward his fellow man in A Tale of Two Cities by showing various acts of cruelty including, the horrific murder of Old Foulon by the villagers, the extremes that the Revolutionaries take in killing innocent nobles, and the noble Evrémonde family’s careless and harmful treatment of a peasant family.
“There is no such thing as accident; it is fate misnamed. “ – Napoleon Bonaparte. The idea that we control our own destinies has existed since the 16th century. Charles Dickens’ novel, A Tale of Two Cities, written in 1859, depicts a story of loss and love during the French Revolution of 1789. Throughout the novel, Dickens uses many symbols and characters to develop the theme of fate and destiny. Many symbols used in Tale of Two Cities revealed the fates of many characters and foreshadowed conflicts. A character analysis of Sydney Carton also reveals that fate guided his path to make the ultimate Christ-like sacrifice to save the Manette family. The fate of the major characters such as Darnay, Carton, and Dr. Manette were all like through
A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens, occurs in two cities, Paris and London, during the commencement of the French Revolution. Revolution is a major theme in this novel, which makes it one of his most gloomy stories. Dickens’ portrayal of the French Revolution proves the inhumanity of humans towards one another. Although the theme of revolution carries a dark tone, Dickens uses his expertise to include happy moments that lighten the story. A Tale of Two Cities incorporates the theme of inhumanity through many metaphors, such as “the great blue flies,” knitting, and the sea.
Kalil, Marie. Cliffs notes on Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. Cliff Notes Inc, June 2000
Charles Dickens’s voice varies from being sympathetic with the revolutionaries, to a feeling of discord with their method of revolting. A Tale of Two Cities revolves around the French revolution and the tension in England. Dickens gives the tale of a family caught in the conflict between the French aristocracy and radicals. In the course of the book, the family handles extreme difficulty and obscurity. Dickens’s neutrality, though sometimes wavering from side to side, is apparent throughout each book in the novel.
Of the extraordinary amount of literary devices available to authors, Charles Dickens uses quite a few in his novel A Tale of Two Cities, which is set during the French Revolution. One of his more distinctive devices is character foils. The five sets of foils are Carton and Darnay, Carton and Stryver, Darnay and the Marquis de Evremonde, Madame Defarge, and Mr. Lorry and Jerry Cruncher. Dickens uses foil characters to highlight the virtues of several major characters in order to show the theme of personal, loving relationships having the ability to prevail over heartless violence and self-consuming vengeance.
“A Tale of Two Cities” written by Charles Dickens is well known as a cautionary tale, that portends us to take heed to oppression leading to anarchy, or how a struggle for justice can turn into an insatiable thirst for revenge, and even the most innocent of things can be turned wicked.
In society today, all people determine their lifestyle, personality and overall character by both positive and negative traits that they hold. Sydney Carton in Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities was a drunken lawyer who had an extremely low self-esteem. He possessed many negative characteristics which he used in a positive way. Carton drastically changed his life and became a new man. Sydney is not the man he first appeared to be.
Dickens begins A Tale of Two Cities with this famous sentence. It describes the spirit of the era in which this novel takes place. This era is the latter part of the 1700s - a time when relations between Britain and France were strained, America declared its independence, and the peasants of France began one of the bloodiest revolutions in history. In short, it was a time of liberation and a time of terrible violence. Dickens describes the two cities at the center of the novel: Paris, a city of extravagance, aristocratic abuses, and other evils that lead to revolution and London, a city rife with crime, capital punishment, and disorder. In both cities, the capabilities of an angry mob were a dangerous thing, to be feared by all.
Dickens is often held to be among the greatest writers of the Victorian Age. Nonetheless, why are his works still relevant nearly two centuries later? One reason for this is clearly shown in Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. In the novel, he uses imagery to sway the readers’ sympathies. He may kindle empathy for the revolutionary peasants one moment and inspire feeling for the imprisoned aristocrats the next, making the book a more multi-sided work. Dickens uses imagery throughout the novel to manipulate the reader’s compassion in the peasants’ favor, in the nobles defense, and even for the book’s main villainess, Madame Defarge.
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is a classic novel written in the 1850’s by Charles Dickens. The novel is set in London and France during the French Revolution. The novel features an amazing use of themes as well as sensational development of characters. Charles Dickens and his feature style of the poor character who does something great is very evident in Sydney Carton, a drunken lawyer who becomes the hero of the book.
A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens, is a story set in the year 1775 and through the turbulent time of the French Revolution. It is of people living in love and betrayal, murder and joy, peril and safety, hate and fondness, misery and happiness, gentle actions and ferocious crowds. The novel surrounds a drunken man, Sydney Carton, who performs a heroic deed for his beloved, Lucie Manette, while Monsieur and Madame Defarge, ruthless revolutionaries, seek revenge against the nobles of France. Research suggests that through Dickens’ portrayal of the revolutionaries and nobles of the war, he gives accurate insight to the era of the Revolution.
History has not only been important in our lives today, but it has also impacted the classic literature that we read. Charles Dickens has used history as an element of success in many of his works. This has been one of the keys to achievement in his career. Even though it may seem like it, Phillip Allingham lets us know that A Tale of Two Cities is not a history of the French Revolution. This is because no actual people from the time appear in the book (Allingham). Dickens has many different reasons for using the component of history in his novel. John Forster, a historian, tells us that one of these reasons is to advance the plot and to strengthen our understanding of the novel (27). Charles Dickens understood these strategies and could use them to his advantage.