Tale Of Two Cities Tone Analysis

The Power of Tone Right from the famous first sentence, A Tale of Two Cities is a book of parallels; even the novel’s title suggests a concept of duality. A careful reader can find parallelism on nearly every page of the book, with subjects ranging from characters to the general tone of the novel. The clearest example of parallel characters is Doctor Manette and Sydney Carton. Carton’s self-created mental imprisonment parallels Doctor Manette’s literal imprisonment. In addition to parallel characters, there is a set of two physical settings - Paris and London - that give the book its name. In these two settings, Dickens carefully crafts individual tones that help define the events that occur in each of them. These tones parallel each other, with some aspects of each being similar and others forming clear contrast. Even within these settings, variations in tone can emphasise the importance of certain events and concepts. In his novel A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens creates and uses well-established tones to highlight the importance of events and themes. Early in the novel, Dickens focuses much of his efforts on establishing a defined tone for the country of England. This tone is created largely through the use of highly descriptive imagery. For instance, Dickens creates a wordy description of the weather by describing

This tone is generally very serious, but it shifts to become very unserious at a few points in the story. These shifts in tone allow Dickens to emphasise certain events and feelings. Using this technique, Dickens is able to show why the French people push for the revolution. Through the use of his tone, Dickens is able to show his feelings on the justification of the French Revolution. These feelings also help Dickens to analyze his own society which still clearly contains some of the same issues that sparked the French