It is human nature to carry a beast deep down within oneself. Whether one chooses to control the beast or be controlled by it is an individual choice. He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man. Most repress their inner rage, but some let it loose and lose that which makes them a human being. In the novel A tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, Sydney Carton is not the man he initially appears to be. Sydney’s love for Lucie changed him greatly, and allowed him to become a better person. Sydney Carton’s final act of supreme courage in Paris is not an inspired emotional response, but a deliberate, carefully reasoned act. In the novel A Tale of Two Cities Sydney Carton drastically changes his life around and becomes a new man, which allows him to die with a clear conscience.
Sydney Carton is not the man he initially appears to be. Sydney is first described at Darnay’s trial as slouching and not paying attention to the proceedings of the court. He is portrayed as drunk, and even admits this to Darney at dinner. “’A last word, Mr. Darney: you think I am drunk? I think you have been drinking, Mr. Carton. Think? You know I have been drinking. Since I must say so, I know it. Then you shall likewise know why I am a disappointed drudge sir.’” (Dickens 91) Sydney feels that there is no hope for him, and that his life will never improve. Carton has much more potential, and could be so much more in life, yet he remains in the shadow of others happy to do the work of others. “ Sydney had been working double tides that night, and the night before, and the night before that, and a good many nights in succession, making a grand clearance among Stryvers papers before the setting in of the long vacation. (Dickens 140) Carton has many repressed feelings and memories, which he keeps hidden deep down within himself. He is a lonely man because of these repressed emotions and memories, which make Sydney turn toward drink.
The more Carton attempts to confront his problems, the more he resorts to recklessness and drinking. Sydney feels that no one cares for him, so he cannot care for another. “’I care for no man on earth and no man on earth cares for me.’” (Dickens 91) Carton’s memories of growing up without care eat away at him, and turn him away from other people, into solitude. Ca...
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...ried away on the tumbrils to La Guillotine, he thinks philosophically about the future and even quotes a few scriptures. Before Carton is beheaded his mind becomes clear. He looks at his life and knows he is going to a far better place. “`It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known.`” (Dickens 367) Carton’s carefully reasoned act of saving Charles Darnay was a truly heroic deed. Even though it was partly self-sacrifice, Carton still had a promise to uphold to Lucie and he wasn’t going to back out on it.
Sydney Carton picks up the pieces of his broken life and becomes a new man, which allows him to die with a clear conscience at La Guillotine. Carton is not the man he is first portrayed to be. His love for Lucie allowed him to change greatly. Carton’s final act of supreme courage for Darnay and Lucie in Paris was not an inspired emotional response, but a deliberate, carefully reasoned act. Sydney Carton managed to drastically change his life. His Love for Lucie let him experience feelings that he had long suppressed. He became a compassionate individual, and died with a clear conscience.
This quote shows that Carton wishes he had been a better person, and knows that he could have been as successful as Darnay if only he had applied himself to his job or found love. Sydney Carton is a man deep in self-doubt and self-hatred. He is an alcoholic who is often moody and depressed (Moss and Wilson). Carton has an extremely low opinion of himself, and has no happiness or love in his life. Carton’s sacrifice ultimately purifies him, and saves him from his own self-loathing. Though Carton’s strength comes from his love for Lucie, his apathy for his life does as well; “he is a brooding individual, socially outcast, and both driven and tormented by an impossible love.” (Gonzalez-Posse 346) This quote shows Carton’s unattainable need to
When the reader first encounters Sydney Carton, Sydney is a self-deprecating, poor unfortunate soul that has nothing to live for. This contrasts with the persona of Charles Darnay, as he marries Lucie, with whom Carton is in love. Carton even comments to Darnay, “I am a disappointed drudge, sir. I care for no man on Earth, and no man on Earth cares for me” (70, Dickens). This quote further affirms Carton’s depressed disposition. Carton, in contrast to Darnay is also described as “careless and slovenly, if not debouched” (72, Dickens). Carton, a seemi...
Sydney Carton is a character in the novel, A Tale of Two Cities, written by Charles Dickens. In Book the First, Chapter 5, “The Wine-Shop”, Sydney Carton says, “I am a disappointing drudge, sir. I care for no man on earth, and no man on earth cares for me.” The childhood life of Sydney Carton has not been mentioned in the book and his childhood life is left up to the imagination. Sydney Carton’s childhood can be assumed to have been bad based on his drinking habits, the way he treats others, and his need to be a part of a family.
Sydney Carton is also shown in the novel to be somewhat immature in his actions
He is known as the drunken person who does not have his life together and he is lazy and does not care about anything. What makes him ambiguous is the fact that even though he is this careless man he also has a side to him that has a kind heart. After he meet Lucie is when he began to realize how people see him and his love for her transformed him into a good person. This transformation leads him to saving Charles Darnay’s life by poisoning and switching clothes with him and dying in place of Charles to show his abundant love for Lucie Manette. In the end, after Sydney is killed. Charles Dickens writes, “it is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done: it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known” (Dickens 382) to summarize what he thinks Sydney Carton would have said before he died. To show that Sydney has done something he feels pride in and that there was a purpose to his
In Chapter 13, Book 2, Carton stops at the Manette's house determined to expose his inner deep love for Lucie since he had nothing more to lose, at this point in his life. At the point of the conversation when Carton had little, if anything to live for, Lucie says "Can I not recall you...to a better course? Can I in no way repay your confidence?" (Book 2 Chapter 13). Dickens creates this scene of redemption through the use of tone to make it known that Lucie will be the one to give Carton a second chance through her patience and deep concern for him. Through Lucie’s redeeming love for her friend, Carton realizes how much of his life he has wasted and the hope he has now for his future. Concerning Sydney Carton’s rebirth, the narrator states: "[Carton] was so unlike what he had ever shown himself to be, and it was so sad to think how much he had thrown away..." (Book 2 Chapter 18). In this chapter, Dickens introduces a new tone that is demonstrated by Carton through his elevated view of himself rather than his past hopelessness. As in earlier chapters, Chapter 1 Book 4, Charles Darnay comments to Carton, "I think you have been drinking, Mr. Carton." To this, Carton responds, "Think? You know I have been drinking. I am a disappointed drudge, sir. I care for no man on earth and no man on earth cares for me." Dickens shows
He lets Dr. Manette know his true identity and that he is the nephew to the Marquis St. Evremonde. In Book The Third, Sydney Carton makes an astonishing sacrifice for the sake of principle when he fulfills his promise to Lucie Manette, his true love, that he will one day sacrifice himself for the person whom Lucie loves. All of the above sacrifices were made with the intention of keeping morals and principles high in human life. Whether it is your life or your feelings towards someone, we have learned that it is always better to give for the greater cause. Works Cited Dickens, Charles.
		Sydney Carton has been presented as the worthless human being. He was always drunk. He did not acquire any high social position. He was always alone and lonely. Nobody loved him and nobody respected him. "I care for no man on earth, and no man on earth cares for me" said Carton (page 99). However, Sydney Carton did never cause any harm to anybody, but actually helped the people around him. Sydney Carton was physically identical to Charles Darnay. When Darnay was being prosecuted for treason against the English government, Carton allowed Mr. Stryver (the lawyer Carton worked for) to reveal him "Look well upon that gentleman, my learned friend there, and then look well upon the prisoner. How say you? Are they very like each other?" said Stryver (page 86). "My lord inquired of Mr. Stryver, whether they were next to try Mr. Carton for treason? But Mr. Stryver replied no" (Page 86). The court then released Darnay. This was one of the ways Sydney Carton presented assistance to others, and that shows that he is a good person who does not mind helping other people. After the trial Carton and Darnay met with each other, and they had a talk. Mr. Carton had told Darnay that he hated him because Lucy loved him. Couple of months after this incident, Mr. Carton asked to meet with Mr. Darnay. Carton asked Darnay to forgive him for the previous incident and also asked him to be his friend. "Mr. Darnay, I wish we might be friends" said Carton (page 251) "On the drunken occasion in...
In similar fashion Sydney Carton laid down his life to save the life of others, of Charles Darnay and in turn, better lives for both Lucie and Little Lucie, keeping his promise. The sacrifice Sydney Carton made for Lucie and her family is similar to the sacrifice of Joan of Arc, both were very commendable and
...he will do anything for her, even die for someone she loves. Lucie recalls Sydney by opening him up to doing something with his life. He later uses this new mindset to save Charles’s life. After Sydney is inspired to make something of his life he vows to do something good. To do this, he dies for Charles Darnay to show his love for Lucie. This is how Sydney Carton is recalled to life.
At the beginning of the novel, Sydney Carton presents himself as a drunken attorney. When Carton converses with Charles Darnay, Dickens presents Carton as a drunk, "Carton, who smelt of port wine, and did not appear to be quite sober" (89). Carton appears constantly drunk at the beginning of the novel. Also, Carton has no sense of self-worth. When Carton drinks at the Bar with Mr. Stryver, Stryver describes him as, "[Y]our way is, and always was, a lame way. You summon no energy and purpose" (95). Dickens, also describes Carton as, "Sydney Carton, idlest and most unpromising of men" (92). As most people believe, Carton feels that he himself has no purpose. He agrees with the way other people feel about him and takes no initiative.
Darney. Barbara Hardy describes this first trial and how Carton comes about saving Charles in her essay "The Change of Heart in Dicken's Novels." She writes
both positive and negative traits that they hold. Sydney Carton in Charles Dickens’ A Tale
Carton changes Charles Darnay’s fate twice in this novel. The first time is when he saves Charles from his death sentence in Charles’ very first trial of the book. The second time is when he takes Charles’ place at the Guillotine. Carton is able to prove to both the jury and the witness at Darnay’s first trial that the man they believed to be Charles Darnay could have easily been a man that simply looked like Charles, much like Carton does: “’Look upon that gentleman, my learned friend over there,’ pointing to him who had tossed the paper over, ‘and then look well upon the prisoner. How say you? Are they very like each other?’ Allowing for my learned friend’s appearance being careless and slovenly debauched, they were sufficiently like each other…” (Dickens 55). Later on, Carton takes Darnay’s place at the Guillotine, giving him the ability to return to his life and be happy with his family. After Carton switches places with Charles, and as he stands in line to go to the Guillotine, he sees a small seamstress. She recognizes him, at first, as Charles from their time at La Force, but she soon realizes it is not Charles and asks, “’Are you dying for him?’ she whispered. ‘And his wife and child. Hush! Yes,’” (Dickens 276). Carton does this great deed because he knows that Charles’ life was greatly valued by his family and Sydney felt that was more important than his own life. Darnay’s life almost ended but that was changed at the last moment by Carton who came in and changed both Charles’ and his own
Throughout A Tale of Two Cities, Sydney Carton has been portrayed as an insecure, depressed person who thinks he is too far gone to change anything in his life; in other words, Carton is an existentialist. However, towards the end of the novel, Carton chooses to sacrifice himself to save Charles Darnay and ultimately to keep Lucie happy. This selfless act is not at all characteristic of existentialists, and shows that there is meaning to Carton’s life, as he willingly forfeited his life for Lucie and her family. It can be argued that this transition from existentialist to essentialist started earlier in the book and was fueled by Carton’s “Leap of Faith” as well as his authenticity.