This paper is to explain the use of irony of a phrase from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. The story is set during the time of the French Revolution and the phrase was the slogan of the revolutionaries: “The Republic One and the Indivisible of Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, or Death.” Each term of this phrase will be defined and once defined one will be able to see the extreme irony of it.
First, the definition of Republic is: “a state in which the exercise of the sovereign power is lodged in representatives elected by the people.” During this time, France was not even a republic. They were simply working towards it. And in all reality, they did not even have a government at this time. Their country was in the middle of revolution and was in total chaos. The people had not elected any representatives, and there was no one who was actually in control. It was just whoever had the best troops and could kill more of the other. This does not match the definition of Republic.
The second important word is Liberty. Liberty is defined as: “A state of society so far only abridged and restrained, as is necessary and expedient for the safety and interest of the society, state, or nation. The restraints of laws are essential to liberty.” During the French Revolution there were no laws. The people were basically rebelling against each other in a bloody free-for-all. Of course they would not follow laws. They were all fighting to change the laws, and the government that they did not agree with in the first place. If they did not agree with the laws why would they abide by them?
The next word is Equality, defined as: “An agreement of things in dimensions, quantity, or quality; likeness; similarity in regard to two things compared.” During the French Revolution There was equality, but not the kind the people wanted. They had equality in that they were all able to be killed equally, without distinction, whether they had done anything wrong or not. They had equality for death. Obviously that is not the kind of equality one would desire.
“A body of men associated for their common interest or pleasure.
Clearly there never was just one French Revolution, but rather a series of revolutions. These occurred while the French struggled to create a new political and social system – one that would follow principles radically different to that of the ‘ancient’ regime. There were five regimes during the French Revolution between 1787 and 1800. However, despite this fragmented revolution, the same fundamental principles guided most of the revolutionaries involved. These principles included equality under law, centralisation of government, elimination of feudal rights, religious freedom and careers open to talent, not birth.
Power can allow one to make decisions for others than will benefit them, but too much power can cause one to become corrupt. In the novel, A Tale of Two Cities, the author, Charles Dickens, views power as a way in which corruption arises. Throughout the novel, Dickens speaks about three characters who starts to abuse their power as time passes in the novel. Dickens portrays the characters of the Monseigneur, the Marquis of Evermonde, and the revolutionaries as characters who goes through a change as a result of power.
One of the main results of the revolution was the ancient regime was abolished. This started to make France’s people more equal. A document was created that outlined France’s peoples rights, it was called the declaration of the rights of man and the citizen. People were to be born with equal rights (doc 4). Many of the “rights” given in this document were not truly given to the people of France. There was supposed to be freedom of speech, (doc 6) but the papers were monitored and people could not support certain things without fear of imprisonment. People were arrested for having different views from those in power (doc 5).This did not create complete equality in France but it was a start. Also, a republic was set up in France for a very brief time. The republic was in place after the death of Louis XVI, and then after Napoleon was removed from power. The French revolution not only had affects on people in France, but also in many of the surrounding countries. The French revolution had many impacts on the countries outside of France. When Napoleon came to power in 1799 he started a conquest. He was able to conquer much of Italy and germany among the many other countries he was able to take control of. When he took power somewhere he imposed his own political code. Even after the countries were freed from France, some did not immediately get rid of his laws. Some cities like Naples kept is for a while (doc 7). This was just one of the several ways in which the French revolution affected surrounding
John Locke expressed that “All mankind…being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions” Locke’s view, which also was the idea of Enlightenment ideals, enlightened both American people and French people fought for their freedoms from absolute monarchs, and sought ways to firm their equality and natural right to life, liberty, and property during the eighteenth century. American revolution began as a conflict between thirteen colonies in the North America and the British Empire, and ended as the creation of the United State of America. French revolution was unleashed by the risk of France’s old regime and ended in 1799 when Napoleon staged a coup and seized power. Both American Revolution and French Revolution began with the same goals, which was the creation of a new government, but these were achieved in different ways: the American Revolution was a revolt that affirming the independence of the American to against Britain, while the French Revolution was civic wars among the people who turning France into a constitutional monarchy. In this paper, I will argue though the strategy of two revolutions might have been different, the outcome of their successful revolutions led to the creation of their Declarations, which defined the future of their government. A close look of their similarities and differences shows what led to their creation.
The French Revolution was a period of radical social and political turmoil in France from 1789 to 1799 that greatly affected the French and modern history, marking the steady decline of powerful monarchies and the rise of democracy and nationalism. The trigger for the revolution was the autocratic government of the King, Louis XVI. With absolute power over the people, the King could make all laws, appoint government officials, wage war on whomever he pleased, and imprison anyone he wished. As a consequence the majority of the citizens became disgruntled and disillusioned with the state and problems that came about which later played a part in causing the revolution. The French revolution was attributed to a number of factors which are identified and discussed below.
During the late 18th century, the French Revolution took place which completely changed France. French society was in it's worse condition with poverty, unfair systems both socially and politically, and economic declines. The third estate became overwhelmingly unsatisfied of the unfair laws and the privileged classes. With economic failures, the monarch began to tax harshly to the third estate which brought rage among the third estate. From then on powerful and effective actions were taken to rebel against the French government. The French Revolution took place and went through many phases to settle the social, political, and economic problems. The ideals of the French revolution, Liberte, Egalite, and Fraternite were a reflection of the breakdown of the Ancien Regime because of the change and reform of politics, social classes and systems, unfair tax systems, and the economy that occurred during the French Revolution.
According to the Declaration, the Revolutionaries believed that France should have freedom of speech, no social distinctions, no one person with totalitarian power, a system of law that is written by the people and a government that protects the liberty, property and security of the people [C]. These goals were summarised into the phrase “Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité” (Liberty, Equality, Fraternity).
...tter human rights in France. Additionally, due to the Napoleonic Wars, the revolution redefined the borders of Europe.
In 1791, France was made a constitutional monarchy due to the publication of a new constitution. This new constitution made citizens equal, marriage a civil contract and nobility titles to end. This caused conflict to rise between the three different estates and a counter-revolution to form.
Dickens is often held to be among the greatest writers of the Victorian Age. Nonetheless, why are his works still relevant nearly two centuries later? One reason for this is clearly shown in Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. In the novel, he uses imagery to sway the readers’ sympathies. He may kindle empathy for the revolutionary peasants one moment and inspire feeling for the imprisoned aristocrats the next, making the book a more multi-sided work. Dickens uses imagery throughout the novel to manipulate the reader’s compassion in the peasants’ favor, in the nobles defense, and even for the book’s main villainess, Madame Defarge.
Enlightenment, which can be defined as a time when philosophers emphasized the use of reason to understand truth as well as the emergence of the belief that the power of human knowledge and reason can improve human society. Its scholars shared a critical style, a commitment to open-mindedness, and hostility to authority. These ideas influenced the conditions that would result in the French Revolution because they gave people the notion that they should have representation in their government. One enlightenment idea that was incorporated into these events was inalienable rights. This was John Locke’s idea of life, liberty, and property for all people. This idea was included in France’s Declaration of the Rights of Man, which was the declaration that guaranteed protection from arbitrary arrest and the approval of the people to taxation. It endorsed free communication of ideas, but with the provision that this freedom was subject to legal restrictions against abuse. Another enlightenment idea was that people had the right to stand up for what they believed in. In the French Revolution, the French people revolted against their government and over-threw the monarchy because of the special treatment (such as tax exemptions and special privileges) given to the nobility and aristocratic classes. This proves that these idea’s were more than just words or philosophies but had real meaning in how people wanted to be treated, governed, and how they desire to live their lives. People would go so far as to risk their own lives and that of their families to ensure that they and future generations could live free and prosper.
... voted into the new republic. “France was a republic, but one now in the hands of an assembly dominated by conservatives, many of whom were monarchists”7.
Before analysing the nature of the revolution, one must understand the social structure of pre-revolutionary France which is referred to as the Ancien Regime. Society was divided into estates and the king ruled over all of them. The king was an absolute monarch. “The adjective means that he…was not subject to the laws, since he was their originator.” The first estate consisted of the clergy, the second estate housed the aristocracy or the nobles who owned land, and the third estate was everyone else. The third estate was a very broad and diverse category as it consisted of ninety six percent of the population. Within this diverse third estate were the bourgeoisie. Georges Lefebvre divides the bourgeoisie into five groups “the bourgeois proper ‘living nobly and on his property, members of the royal administration, officiers, proprietors of venal offices, some of them ennobled, lawyers- notaries, procureurs, avocats, members of the liberal professions-doctors, scientists, writers, artists, the word of finance and commerce, shipbuilders, wholesale traders, entrepreneurs and the upper gr...
The French Revolution of 1789 changed the meaning of the word “revolution.” Prior to this year, revolution meant restoring a previous form of government that had been taken away. Since then, revolution has meant creating a new institution of government that did not previously exist. This required that a constitution be drafted. After a series of four mini-revolutions from May to July, the “Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen” was released on the twenty-sixth of August, 1789. When the French revolutionaries drew up the Declaration, they wanted to end the traditions surrounding hereditary monarchy and establish new institutions based on the principles of the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment brought the application of scientific laws and formulas to society through the use of observation and reason rather than religion or tradition. The Declaration “brought together two streams of thought: one springing from the Anglo-American tradition of legal and constitutional guarantees of individual liberties, the other from the Enlightenment's belief that reason should guide all human affairs. Reason rather than tradition would be its justification.”1
History has not only been important in our lives today, but it has also impacted the classic literature that we read. Charles Dickens has used history as an element of success in many of his works. This has been one of the keys to achievement in his career. Even though it may seem like it, Phillip Allingham lets us know that A Tale of Two Cities is not a history of the French Revolution. This is because no actual people from the time appear in the book (Allingham). Dickens has many different reasons for using the component of history in his novel. John Forster, a historian, tells us that one of these reasons is to advance the plot and to strengthen our understanding of the novel (27). Charles Dickens understood these strategies and could use them to his advantage.