Tale of Two Cities Essay A Tale of Two Cities A Tale Of Two Cities Essay A Tale of Two Cities Tale Of Two Cities

1. Tale of Two Cities Essay
Violence and Cruelty Leading to Harsh Rebellion Throughout the novel A Tale of Two Cities,
Charles Dickens constantly uses examples of violence and cruelty to show why the French peasants
revolted against the aristocracy and to describe the revolt. During the extant of the peasant's lives
before the rebellion they were treated so brutally by the aristocrats. The wealthy people took great
advantage of their power and the poor people. When the peasants rebelled they responded with
violence and brutality from the hatred of their hearts. The suffering the low class people of France
endured during the time of this story was more than unbearable. As Dickens describes "Far and wide,
lay a ruined country, yielding nothing but desolation....show more content...
She was just asking for a gravestone for her husband but the Marquis quickly trotted off in his
valet leaving her far behind. This heartless act left sadness in the woman's heart, but the evil
Marquis Evermonde could care less. He "drove as if he were charging an enemy, and furious
recklessness of the man brought no check into the face, or into the lips of the master."(Dickens
113) When Gaspard killed the Marquis "he was hanged there forty feet high and left hanging,
poisoning the water." The French did not care that the little water the poor had to drink was being
poisoned or that they killed a man. They wanted to warn the peasants that revolting would not be
tolerated; yet it still occurred. Dickens directly warns that, so long as the ruling class refused to
take responsibility for the way that they govern, they are destined to be violently
overthrown."(Galegroup 1). Although the aristocrats were asking for it "Violent oppression breeds
violent rebellion which becomes a new king of oppression"(Bloom C) .The violence of the peasants
was their response to their pain and no prosperity. "Dickens is always reminding the reader that the
revolution, though a frightful moral disorder was born of Unspeakable suffering, intolerable
oppression, and heartless indifference. Society was diseased before the fever broke out."(Gale E)
"Headlong, mad and dangerous footsteps to force their way into anybody's life, footsteps not easily
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2. A Tale of Two Cities
Charles Dickens characterizes the settings in his novel, "A Tale of Two Cities," through indirect
comparison and contrast between Paris and London during the French Revolution, a political and
social upheaval from 1789–1799; "There was a king with a large jaw and a queen with a plain face
on the throne of England; there was a king with a large jaw and a queen with a fair face on the
throne of France. In both countries it was clearer than crystal to the lords of the State preserves of
loaves and fishes, that things in general were settled for ever. (1.1.2)" His distinguished way of
approaching these two cities bolsters the image of the characters he wants to convey through his
novel. When doing so, Dickens creates the environments of a...show more content...
Fortunately, Darnay does get acquitted; however, it was not because justice was served. Dickens's
demonstration of this scene portrays that there isn't much of a difference between the Londoners and
the Parisians, which sets a frightening image for France, considering the situation that is about to
unfold. The courtroom is one of the three major settings Dickens demonstrates for London. The
second setting in London is Manette's house in Soho and the third setting is the Tellson's Bank. On
the other hand, Tellson's is the representative of a British business and culture. Tellson's Banks
seems to be living up to the stereotypical British business corporation Dicken's identifies it to be;
Tellson's Bank by Temple Bar was an old–fashioned place, even in the year one thousand seven
hundred and eighty. It was very small, very dark, very ugly, very incommodious. It was very small,
very dark, very ugly, very incommodious. I was an old–fashioned place, moreover, in the moral
attribute that the partners in the House were proud of its smallness, proud of its darkness, proud of
its ugliness, proud of its incommodiousness. They were even boastful of its eminence in those
particulars, and were fired by an express conviction that, if it were less objectionable, it would be
less respectable. This was no passive belief, but an active weapon which they flashed at more
convenient places of business. Tellson's[...] wanted no elbow–room, Tellson's
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3. A Tale Of Two Cities Essay
Charles Dickens wrote A Tale of Two Cities in order to enlighten the average Briton about the events
of the French Revolution. The novel compares and contrasts cities of London and Paris, which
represent French and British society, through the eyes of Dickens' human characters. The two cities
play such a large part in the novel that they become characters themselves, and the contrasting
societies of the two cities become a conflict. In Charles Dickens' classic, A Tale of Two Cities
, the
individualistic society of London champions the first feudalistic and later socialistic society of Paris.
Dickens writes this novel without bias; he makes that clear in the first chapter, "In England, there
was scarcely an amount of order and protection...show more content...
The elites treat the people with less respect than their dogs.
Doctor Manette's prison account clearly demonstrates the class gap, "The speaker [the Marquis]
seemed to acknowledge that it was inconvenient to have that different order of creature [the
peasant] dying there, and that it would have been better if he died in the usual obscure routine of
his vermin kind" (Dickens 329). Not only is there an extreme difference in lifestyle, but the upper
class also treats the lower class with extreme disdain. The treatment of the people at the hands of
their "betters" and the class gap catalyzes the French Revolution.
The first conflict between the two cities occurs during Dr. Manette's imprisonment. Lucie's secret
escape to London by Mr. Lorry and Charles Darnay's parallel refusal to accept his inheritance in
France represent the victory of London's individualist society over the unjust, feudalistic society of
Paris.
Post–revolutionary Paris should be an entirely different society than pre–revolutionary Paris. In
many ways it is, but the result remains the same: the innocent man is still "proven" guilty. The
common people have the power now, but that power does not result in good reasoning. In the
socialistic society of Paris, there are two ways to rule. In the first way, the people rule themselves
with a mob–like mentality. In the second a ruling elite rises to the top by taking a populist approach
and manipulating the people. A
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4. A Tale of Two Cities
Change can be a good thing. Charles Dickens, a fine author of A Tale of Two Cities uses many
themes throughout his work, but the main theme he focuses on is redemption. The idea of
redemption has to do with someone changing their outlook on life and making a difference from
what they used to be. An alcoholic becoming a hero, a thief becoming a honest man, a crazed man
becoming a leader, and a bystander becoming honorable. The transformation of an ordinary person
to someone who benefits many people is an example of true redemption. Dickens includes a few
specific characters that relate directly to this theme. Dr. Manette, Charles Darnay, Jerry Cruncher,
and Sydney Carton are identified in a couple of instances where it appears that their...show more
content...
A man who gives up everything for a woman shows that love has nothing to do with materials, but
with those around you."I would abandon it" (95) and "Heaven is my witness that I love her!"
(102). Charles Darnay, the husband of Lucie, gave up his entire name "EvГЁrmonde" to be with
his true love! His whole family name, including his inheritance were the things he was giving up
on to achieve happiness. The mayor of Paris, Gabelle, then disrupted the jolly atmosphere after a
few years. He sent a letter to Charles EvГЁrmonde, though Charles gave up that name and was
known as Darnay. Gabelle sent a pleading letter for Darnay to save him in Paris, so Darnay went
because he knew it had to do with his previous name. The redemption of Darnay was unique
because he was willing to go to Paris to reason with the people over there that he given up his title.
He redeemed his family's honor and respect by being the better person and going to stand up for
what his ancestors did to upset the French people. Darnay proved that not all "nobles" are bad to
the lower class people. Criminals have a tendency to stick to their own beliefs. Jerry Cruncher had
his mind set on the activity he was participating in and he would even call himself an "honest
tradesman". Cruncher was a grave robber and once he finished his night time job, he would return
home with "rusty hands under his pillow" (125). His wife Mrs. Cruncher would always pray for him
and "flopping" was
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5. Tale Of Two Cities
A Tale of Two Cities is exactly as the title suggests: a tale of two cities. The two cities that the
novel focuses on are London, England and Paris, France. London is still upset after losing the
Revolutionary War with America, which the French had supported, while Paris is on the brink of its
very own revolution: the French Revolution. While these two cities may seem so far away that the
events could not be connected anyway, a person could not be more wrong. The story mainly follows
two families whose lives become more intertwined as the story moves along. Those two families are
the Manettes and the Defarges. Through the actions and inactions of one Charles Darnay, these two
families will meet unconventionally and for the worst.
A character in this Charles Dickens classic that I would...show more content...
Monsieur would probably have a job working in America's Congress, because of his reluctance for
inducing change. He wants to see a different occur in the world that he lives in, but has no clue if
what he is doing correct or when it should end. In today's congress, the Senators and
Representatives are in constant debate on what changes they would like to employ in American
politics. Both sides, Democratic and Republics have their own vision on the changes that they
would like to see put in place but how to do so usually rests on the hands of other people, people
like Madame Defarge.
Madame Defarge, in today's society, would probably by the leader of some kind of radicalistic
group, probably a women or mothers against group. Madame knows exactly what changes need to
be made in her society and how that change is going to occur. She only wants her way and for
others to do exactly as she wants. Like others that are leaders in radicalistic groups, Madame enjoys
the fact that there are others that appreciate this view and that they will do anything in order to see
her personal vendetta carried
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