How Does Dickens Present Sacrifice In A Tale Of Two Cities

1638 Words4 Pages

A Time of Redemption, A Time of Sacrifice


“It was the best of times,It was the worst of times.” (Dickens 1) These words are arguably some of the most famous words in English Literature.They are also the words that open Charles Dickens’ famous novel A Tale of Two Cities. The story follows the lives of Lucie Manette, and two men named Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton, who look oddly alike. When Lucie’s husband, Charles Darnay, becomes a prisoner of the French Revolution and is condemned to death for his French Aristocratic past, Carton makes the ultimate sacrifice in order to save the man that Lucie loves.In this novel, Charles Dickens uses literary elements to portray the theme of redemption through sacrifice in the novel A Tale of Two Cities. …show more content…

Sydney Carton, in his final days is found repeating a Bible verse multiple times towards the end of the book. “ I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die” (Dickens 311) . In the verse, John 11:25, these words are spoken by Jesus before his death at the cross.Through biblical allusion, Dickens redeems Sydney Carton through his sacrifice. In this quote, Dickens compares Carton to a Christ like figure in this novel. Carton saves Darnay from his certain doom, much like Christ Jesus saves the world from their certain doom. For the first part of the novel Carton is self described as a good for nothing drunk. “ I am a disappointed drudge, sir. I care for no man on earth, and no man on earth cares for me” (Dickens 87) To then be compared to Christ shows how Sydney Carton was redeemed through his Sacrifice. The reader also can see Sydney Carton’s redemption in the final line of the book. Seconds before his death by Guillotine, Carton says his final words “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 372 ) Dickens once again uses repetition in order to emphasize how Carton is now a better person that he ever was because of his sacrifice and his death. Therefore, through his sacrifice, his life is redeemed.The novel also makes a point that Carton rarely gets any sleep because of his drunken habits. The ‘better rest’ Carton is describing is not only eternal sleep that is deeper than he has ever experienced, it is also emotional rest, knowing his life actually amounted to something more than the alcoholic ways of his past. Dickens uses biblical allusion and syntax in order

Open Document