The Tale of two cities

1. TALE OF TWO CITIES
Charles Dickens

2. OUTLINE:
1. SETTING
2. CHARACTERS
3. PLOT
4. NARRATOR POINT OF VIEW
5. THEME
6. Charles’s WRITING STYLE
7. Conflict

3. CHARLES DICKENS
• Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth, England,
on February 7, 1812, to John and Elizabeth Dickens.
• He was second of eight child.
• He starts his career with journalism. But he is
famous for his novels.

4. A TALE OF TWO CITIES
• Dickens published his twelfth novel, A Tale of Two Cities, in
his own literary journal called All the year Round in weekly
installments from April to November of 1859.
• In A Tale of Two Cities Dickens narrates aspects of a major
historical event, the French Revolution.
• He got the germ of idea for the novel from a play by Willkie
Collins called The Frozen Deep, in which he played the
self-sacrificing hero. Dickens decided to transplant the
emotive issue of self-sacrifice onto the time period of the
French Revolution, and he modeled Sydney Carton after
Collins's hero.
• The French Revolution, which raged from 1789 to 1793,
involved an overthrow of the aristocratic ruling order by
the lower classes and was followed by a period of terror.

5. Employ
Reunites the Doctor with Lucie
Married to Former servant of
Unknowingly Denounces
kills
voted Devoted
Marries Dies for
Protects
MR. Lorry
(An elderly Banker who
befriends, and helps the
Manettes.) Jerry Cruncher
(Porter for Tellson’s Bank and
secret grave robber)
Earnest Defarge
(A revolutionary with conscience)
Charles Darnay
(Born Charles St. Evremonde.)
Madame Defarge
(Hardened by her hatred of
Evermonde family.)
Lucie Mantte
(The moral and emotional center
of book.)
Miss Pross
(Devoted her life for caring lucie.)
Doctor Mantte
(Secretly imprisoned for 18
years.)
Sydney Carton
(An Alcoholic lawyer who finds
redemption through his death.)

6. CHARLES DARNEY
• A French aristocrat.
• He renounces his family name of St.
Evermonde and moves to England because he
cannot bear the injustices.
• He is put on the trial during the Revolution, for
the crimes of his family.

7. SYDNEY CARTON
• A London lawyer who looks like Charles Darney and
had great potiential but has fallen into false life.
• His love for Lucie Manette motivate him to sacrifice
his life for Darney.

8. DOCTOR MANETTE
• A doctor from France, who was secretly imprisoned
for 18 years in Bastile.
• He is loving father of Lucie Manette.
• He learned shoe making during his prisonment.

9. LUCIE MANETTE
• Doctor Manette’s daughter, who was born in France
and grew up in England. Her financial affairs are
managed by Tellson’s Bank.
• She is recognized for her kindness and compassion.
She cares for her father and remained devoted to
her.
• She marries to Charles Darney.

10. MONSIEUR ERNEST DEFARGE
• He is owner of wine-shop.
• He is former servant of Manette.
• He is the husband of Madame Defarge.
• He is a leader of the Jacquerie during the French
Revolution.
• Also he helps Mr. Lorry and Lucie remove Dr.
Manette from Paris.

11. MADAME DEFARGE
• Monsieur Defarge’s ruthless wife and the ringleader
of the Saint Antoine female revolutionaries.
• She knits a register of those who deserve to die at
the hands of the revolutionares.

12. JARVIS LORRY
• An elder gentleman who is the clerk at Tellson’s
Bank.
• He accompany Lucie to her journey to France.
• He is old friend of Dr. Manette.
• He is loyal and trusttworthy and he value Dr. Manette
and Lucie as personal friends

13. JERRY CRUNCHER
• A messenger for Tellson’s Bank and the body guard
of Jarvis Lorry.
• An odd-job man for Tellson’s Bank whose side job to
act as “resurrection man”, which involves digging in
dead bodies and selling their parts to scientists.

14. MISS PROSS
• She is a lively and protective servant of Lucie.
• Because she personifies order and loyalty, she
provides the perfect foil to Madame Defarge, who is
the violent chaos of revolution.

15. MARQUIS EVERMONDE
• He is Charles Darney’s uncle.
• A proud and brutal French aristocrat who shows no
regard for human life especially in the lower class.
•

16. JOHN BARSAD, ROGER CLY, GASPARD
1. He is British spy who swears that his only motive is
patriotism.
2. As above….
3. A resident of Saint Atoine who is executed for the
murder of Monseigneur,

17. MRS. CRUNCHER
• Jerry Cruncher’s wife.
• She is a religious woman.

18. SETTING
• LONDON, ENGLAND AND PARIS, FRANCE
• MANETTE’S HOUSE IN SOHO
• INFAMOUSE TELLSON’S BANK
• DEFARGE’S WINE SHOPE

19. SYMBOLS
• THE BROKEN WINE CASK hunger and freedom
• MADAME DEFARGE’S KNITTING revenge, apparently
it looks harmless, but she is knitting the names of people
who condemn to die in future.
• THE MARQIS evil and corrupt social order
• WINE/BLOOD fatal flaws of revolutioners
• GOLDEN THREAD magical power of Lucie
• Morque he shows aristocracy as a class.

20. POINT OF VIEW
• Third person omniscient point of view.

21. CONFLICT
• Man vs. Man
• Man vs. society
• Man vs. himself

22. THREE-ACT PLOT ANALYSIS
Act –I
Dickens makes this easy for us. He divides the novel
into three sections. The first is “Recall to life”. In it Dr.
Mnette is… recall to life. He is released from presion
and is cared for by his daughter.
Act-II
It is known as “Golden Thread”. Its title refers to Lucie,
who unites Carton to Darney, Dr. Manette to Darney
and Mr. Lorry to family in general.

23. CON….
Act-III
“The Track of Strom”. Charles is captured in France.
The family rushes to save him, but in the anarchy of
the new Republic any attempts to seek justice fail.
Doctor Manette briefly rises to importance in the new
regime; his power, however, isn’t enough to save
Charles. Finally, Sydney Carton saves Darney and
sacrifice his life for his love.

24. CONFLICTS
• Man vs. Man
• Man vs. Society
• Man vs. himself

25. THEMES
• Oppression leads to revolution.
• Love is sacrifice.
• To achieve happiness you should sacrifice
everything.
• Time carries out fate.
• Only great men can achieve power.
• Truth shall prevail..