Critical Analysis on a Tale of Two Cities
Chelsey Cardwell
Dual Credit English
1/3/12
Mr. Burns
A Literary Analysis of A Tale of Two Cities I. Introduction
Charles Dickens’ twelfth novel, A Tale of Two Cities, was written to show all of the good and evil that was present during the French Revolution. He uses the two main cities, London and Paris, to represent this, and then ties in a love story with many different symbols of good and evil such as Darnay and Carton, Madame Defarge and Miss Pross. In his novel, Dickens also shows both sides of the revolution with the peasants and the aristocracy. He expresses how they are both evil although the peasants are the people who we would be accustomed to feel pity for. An example of this is when the Marquis runs over a peasant boy in the streets and only fears that his horses might have been hurt. Monsieur Defarge runs to Gaspard (the father of the child) and says “Be brave man, my Gaspard! It is better for the poor plaything to die so, than to live. It has died in a moment without pain. Could it have lived an hour as happily” (102)? This is a heart wrenching quote that allows the reader to understand just how atrocious the peasant’s lives were; that is was a relief for a child to die quickly than to live out their life as a peasant being stepped on by the aristocracy. Dickens’ novel, although challenging to some, has a great message of hope and positive change with an enjoyable depiction of true events during the French Revolution. II. Themes
The most obvious theme seen throughout the book is the idea, and need for transformation. The repetition of the words “recalled to life” presents most of the change that occurs. This theme applies to Doctor Manette, who is recalled to life when Mr. Lorry and Lucie bring him home from prison and cure his unhealthy mind, giving him another chance at having a life with his beloved daughter. Carton is also recalled to life, for example he describes himself to Lucie as “self-flung away, wasted, drunken, poor creature of
Dual Credit English
1/3/12
Mr. Burns
A Literary Analysis of A Tale of Two Cities I. Introduction
Charles Dickens’ twelfth novel, A Tale of Two Cities, was written to show all of the good and evil that was present during the French Revolution. He uses the two main cities, London and Paris, to represent this, and then ties in a love story with many different symbols of good and evil such as Darnay and Carton, Madame Defarge and Miss Pross. In his novel, Dickens also shows both sides of the revolution with the peasants and the aristocracy. He expresses how they are both evil although the peasants are the people who we would be accustomed to feel pity for. An example of this is when the Marquis runs over a peasant boy in the streets and only fears that his horses might have been hurt. Monsieur Defarge runs to Gaspard (the father of the child) and says “Be brave man, my Gaspard! It is better for the poor plaything to die so, than to live. It has died in a moment without pain. Could it have lived an hour as happily” (102)? This is a heart wrenching quote that allows the reader to understand just how atrocious the peasant’s lives were; that is was a relief for a child to die quickly than to live out their life as a peasant being stepped on by the aristocracy. Dickens’ novel, although challenging to some, has a great message of hope and positive change with an enjoyable depiction of true events during the French Revolution. II. Themes
The most obvious theme seen throughout the book is the idea, and need for transformation. The repetition of the words “recalled to life” presents most of the change that occurs. This theme applies to Doctor Manette, who is recalled to life when Mr. Lorry and Lucie bring him home from prison and cure his unhealthy mind, giving him another chance at having a life with his beloved daughter. Carton is also recalled to life, for example he describes himself to Lucie as “self-flung away, wasted, drunken, poor creature of
Cited: Atsma, Aaron J. "NEMESIS : Greek Goddess of Retribution & Indignation | Mythology, W/ Pictures." THEOI GREEK MYTHOLOGY, Exploring Mythology & the Greek Gods in Classical Literature & Art. Theoi Project, 13 Oct. 2000. Web. 27 Dec. 2011. <http://www.theoi.com/Daimon/Nemesis.html>. Dickens, Charles. A Tale of Two Cities. 1859. Upper Saddle River, NJ. Prentice Hall, 2005. Print.