Solving Conflict In A Tale Of Two Cities

Tom Crum once said, “the quality of our lives depends not on whether or not we have conflicts, but on how we respond to them”. Often times, the truth is kept hidden during conflicts which does not allow for the conflict to be fixed. Characters and people can either choose to reveal the truth and resolve the conflict, or it can be suppressed which keeps the conflict present. Hosseini and Dickens use the organization and structure of reappearing minor characters to develop the major characters, revealing that conflict only goes away once you face it. In Charles Dickens’ novel A Tale of Two Cities, the organization of the appearance of John Barsad and Roger Cly develops Jerry Cruncher’s importance and shows that conflict can only be resolved

One example of a minor character leaving and then returning is Assef who is seen in the beginning picking a fight with Amir and Hassan and he “raised his fist and came for [Amir]... [Amir] turned and came face to face with Hassan’s slingshot…” which was “pointed directly at Assef’s face” (Hosseini 41-42). Amir does not stand up when Assef picks on him and Hassan and he becomes a coward. By backing down and letting Hassan take the heat, Amir reveals the spineless side to his character which continues throughout the book. This point is key in demonstrating Amir’s character because it is where he starts to lack courage and back down from any conflict that he encounters. Though around this time Assef disappears from the plot and does not seem like a source of conflict anymore, he eventually comes back and is used to develop a new side of Amir. As Amir goes to get Sohrab back, he meets with Assef again and says that his “past was like that, always turning up” but “now it was [his] turn” to fight Assef (Hosseini 281&286). This time around, Amir is still afraid; however, his character is developed and now has gained some courage and is willing to stand up to his past demons. Amir put aside his childish mistakes and

Rahim Khan continually tells Amir that “there is a way to be good again” and like Jerry, Amir realizes that the truth is the way to be good again and resolve the conflict (Hosseini 2). Amir could not control the conflict coming about; however, as soon as it happens, he hides away and keeps the truth to himself. The importance the truth plays in Rahim Khan’s statement is realized by Amir when he learns that Hassan is his half-brother and because he finds out the truth about Baba, he is able to atone for not only his own sins but Baba’s sins as well when he adopts Sohrab. Amir could not control the conflict that Baba was in, but he learned that he could control how he changed his situation and the situation of the people around him by facing the conflict instead of ignoring it. By putting aside his problem with Hassan, Amir is able to be good again and save Sohrab from Assef and the Taliban. Each of these major characters are in some sort of conflict they can not control that was brought about by the minor characters, but they are able to resolve this conflict because old minor characters were able to reveal information that allowed them to develop. Jerry is quintessential in revealing the