Who Is Darnay A Hero

In A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, the author introduces Charles Darnay, a hero, who has worked hard to define himself as a middle-class man by rejecting his wealth, family name, and everything it represents. During the French Revolution, Darnay nobly returns to Paris because he knows that a Gabelle is being treated unjustly and Darnay seeks to find justice for all to redeem the injustice his family has caused. In describing Darnay’s return to Paris, Dickens uses a metaphor of the loadstone to represent that People will always return to where they started. We first see that Darnay is a genuinely nice guy when Lucie describes him in the Old Bailey. She tells the court in her testimony, “ He expressed great gentleness and kindness for

We see that Darnay feels sorrow for Gabelle because of how humble Gabelle has always been. We see this when Dickens says, “Darnay’s mind was roused to vigourous life by this letter. The peril of an old servant and a good one, whose only crime was fidelity to himself and his family”(186-187). Darnay’s thoughts shows us that it bothers him to see good people be treated unjustly, which no aristocrat would ever feel. This shows us that Darnay’s trip to Paris is not an act of fate, but instead a heroic act to help a good man get home to his family. Also, in Darnay’s decision we see the metaphor of the loadstone rock present in his decision, a loadstone rock is a strong magnet that is constantly pulling on the object around it. The loadstone rock in the novel is Paris because no matter how much Darnay goes through to keep his family and himself from the danger that awaits him there, he cannot stop himself from returning. This heroic middle-class, ideology and acts of care, shown by Darnay shows us that Darnay is not defined by his aristocrat name, but instead inherits the caring love of a good