Recalled To Life In A Tale Of Two Cities

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Charles Dickens uses the theme “recalled to life” in his novel A Tale of Two Cities to show characters getting more than one chance. Dickens makes it seem as though these characters have no more life in them, or they will never be better in life, then they do a heroic act or get a second chance. Three characters that are “recalled to life” are Dr. Manette, Charles Darnay, and Sydney Carton. Dr. Manette is the first character in the novel to be “recalled to life.” He had been imprisoned in the Bastille for eighteen years and most people thought him to be dead. In chapter two, Dickens lays out a scene of a couple of passengers traveling along the Dover road. Then a man named Jerry stops the carriage to give one of the passengers, Mr. Lorry, …show more content…

Manette saves Charles by vouching for him in court, saying that Charles is related to him because he is married to Lucie. The crowd and jury are then on Darnay’s side because Dr. Manette is so highly revered by the rebels for his work as a doctor during part of the Revolution. This is not the most important example of Charles being recalled to life though. At the end of the novel, Charles was taken prisoner again and Dr. Manette was not able to save him. Darnay was sentenced to death by the guillotine for being an aristocrat. Then, Sydney Carton, a man said to look very similar Darnay, decided to put his plan to action. He knew a guard in the prison where Darnay was being held. So he used that guard to sneak in and drug Darnay. He swapped clothes with Darnay and had him write a letter to Lucie for Carton. He saved Charles and gave him another chance by trading places with him in prison and taking the punishment of Darnay’s sentence. “‘Time is short, Evremonde,’ said the spy in a warning voice. ‘I know it well,’ answered Carton. ‘Be careful of my friend, I entreat you, and leave me’” (Dickens 325). This passage from the text shows how Carton had Charles taken away and Carton was left in his cell in place of Charles. This act by Carton is how he himself was

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