Human Nature In Charles Dicken's A Tale Of Two Cities

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Human nature is a difficult subject to define. After all, different people have different natures. Can all men have one single nature that drives them to do all things? In Charles Dicken’s A Tale of Two Cities, a story of love versus hate set in the French revolution, he does not believe so. He introduces characters such as Miss Pross, Madame Defarge, Sydney Carton, and Lucie Manette, who all have with different motives driving them. Some are motivated by love, some by hate, and some by both. Due to this, he asserts that all people have different natures. The only thing that unites all of the character’s motives is the fact that every different nature is flawed. In fact, each specific nature directly causes a person’s flaws. Dickens believes …show more content…

However, her hatred for them is justifiable at first. The nobles treat the peasants horribly and show no remorse for doing so. But since Madame Defarge’s animosity towards the aristocrats continues to grow as the revolution progresses, her intense nature of hatred, once useful and respected, is now too vicious to justify. It mars her virtue and takes away any pity that she ever has. For this reason, her hatred is her character’s flaw. In the beginning of the book, Ernest Defarge and Madame Defarge are given the knowledge that their friend Dr. Manette’s daughter, Lucie Manette, has married a nobleman, Charles Darnay. Though Defarge asks his wife keep Darnay off of her register of people who are to be punished, she refuses. He is not too perturbed by this, as he does not believe the couple will be in France while the revolution goes on, and says of his wife: “ ‘A great woman,’ said he, ‘a strong woman, a grand woman, a frightfully grand woman!’ ”(II.16.188). Though Madame Defarge will not show mercy to Dr. Manette and his family, Defarge respects and admires her. But as the revolution rages on, Madame Defarge’s hatred grows and corrupts her. After the epoch of the revolution, she succeeds in placing Darnay in jail and sentencing him to death. She is still not satisfied. Now her dearest wish is to execute Lucie and her child as well, due to their relation to Darnay. Her husband argues with her: “ ‘And you have observed, my wife,’ said Defarge, in a deprecatory manner, ‘the anguish of his daughter, which must be a dreadful anguish to him!”(III.12.345). He disapproves of her extreme bloodlust and implores her to show pity to Doctor Manette and his family. Repeatedly he asks her to change her mind, to look past her prejudice towards the nobility. It is clear he is in favor of the revolution, as he is one of its leaders, but he

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