Sacrifices

1097 Words3 Pages

Dickens was a great author as demonstrated by the way he employed the literary devices of setting, foreshadowing, and imagery, in A Tale of Two Cities. The reoccurring themes and symbols throughout the novel enhance the reading and keep the reader engaged. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is also a suspenseful novel, tying numerous characters together between London and Paris during the French Revolution. There are many symbols and themes throughout the book, but the theme that made this book most meaningful in my judgment is the theme of sacrifice in the name of love. This theme was represented through symbols, where characters in this novel risked and even took their lives for their loved ones. The theme of sacrificing in the name of love is greatly established throughout the novel by the reoccurring symbols being the golden thread, the fountain, and the shadow.
The golden thread is the name given for Lucie throughout A Tale of Two Cities because of her genuine morals and love for others. Before Lucie goes to claim her father, she states, “…trembling with eagerness to lay the special face upon her warm young breast, and love it back to life and hope” (Dickens 32). Lucie quickly finds out she is going to bring her father home and wants to restore his life, love, and hope. In their emotional reunion, Lucie shows her love immediately, “His cold white head mingled with her radiant hair, which warned and lighted it as though it were the light of Freedom shining on him” (34). In Latin, Lucie means "light" and Lucie literally brings her father to the light of freedom. Lucie begins a whole new life taking care of him and sacrificing everything she has to restore him to full recovery. It will takes years for him to reach fu...

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...rsad, Lorry, Ms. Pross, Dr. Manette, Carton, and others to defend and sacrifice for Lucie.
Dickens uses the symbols of the golden thread, the fountain, and the shadow to illustrate a central theme in this novel: sacrifice in the name of love. The golden thread is Lucie, the Fountain represents life, and the Shadow as Madame Defarge, bring together the theme, characters, and plot of Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. After all the hardships Lucie has endured, she is loved and protected by the end of the novel. All the loving people surrounding her do selfless acts for her and her family. By using all of the literary terms, through theme and symbols, Dickens ties together the plot and all of the characters. The many different ways the characters sacrifice in the name of love, and Dickens' use of powerful symbols combine to make this a very moving and interesting book.

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