Charles Dickens Act Of Communion Essay

What does an act of communion show? To many, one thought immediately pops into the mind; religious communion, as in consuming the body and blood of Christ. But more times than not this not the case, as communion comes in many shapes and sizes; most of the time it is over a meal. Food pops up everywhere in literature, usually it's not just food and it's a symbol for something much greater. An act of communion shows another level of function within a novel, as well as it typically shows characters at peace; Dickens uses communion to demonstrate just this. Early on within the story there is an act of communion, one that also happens to be a symbol. The communion being the wine shop scene, literary communion typically involves a form of meal, and this scene turns into a feast. Dickens paints a vivid picture when he describes this scene, he illustrates what type of society that the townspeople lived in, one stricken with utter poverty. When wine spilt into the streets everyone sought wine “those who had been greedy with the staves of the cask, had acquired a tigerish smear about the mouth.”(Dickens, 1859, p. 29)

Several references are made to explain the impending bloodshed of the aristocracy in order for the commoners to be able to take up their new lives. A wealthy man called Foulon made a statement “if people were starving they should eat grass”(Dickens, 1859, p. 225) this enraged the towns people. Foulon faked his death to escape the hatred but was later found in the country, hung and beheaded, with his head mounted on a pike and his mouth stuffed with grass. This is not a sit down friends meal of communion: it is the polar opposite. it is a failed meal for Foulon and his consequence is death. For the townspeople this is a communion, it is bloodshed of the first aristocrat thus signifying the breaking of bread within the