Darnay Vs Carton

The famous phrase, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" which begins the Charles Dickens novel, The Tale of Two Cities, reflects the lives of two of the main protagonists in this story. These characters, Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton, have an abundance of struggles throughout their lives. They have great periods of happiness and are faced with many difficulties. Charles Dickens was a master of writing, making his beginning word choices reflect the whole story. Charles Darnay had run ins with the law his whole life. He is on trial for treason in the beginning of the tale and is falsely accused of working against the British government. Charles is still left to fight for his life (Dickens, 83). The first trial is one of
He abuses alcohol and is disliked by most. Sydney does not care about what others think of him until he meets Lucie Manette. Lucie is perfect in his eyes. Many would think finding love is a great part of our life, for Sydney it was the worst time. He believes she could never love a man like him, if she did love him he would never allow it. Charles Darnay has a period of great happiness after his trial. He falls for Lucie Manette. They are deeply in love with each other. Charles and Lucie have three kids, Lucie, Charles, and Sydney (Dickens, 216, 386). The children are filled with love and joy. They are filled with great sadness when their son, Charles dies from a childhood illness, but their love for each other and their child keeps them going. Lucie was Charles best time in his life. Charles and Lucie Darnay's happiness makes Sydney Carton cheerful too. He is close to their family and is loved by their children (Dickens, 217). He protects them from harm and loves them dearly. Sydney, still in love with Lucie, remains close to her. Similar to Charles, her happiness is his
It is discovered that Charles Darnay used to be an aristocrat whose family unjustly in-prisoned Doctor Manette, for many years and mistreated the people of France. This does not help to create his life better.
Charles is sentenced to death because of his poor actions. As Charles Darnay prepares for death, Sydney Carton has a different idea. Sydney decides to take Charles place. Sydney is killed, but at the same time it is one of the best times of his life (Dickens, 385). He is doing this out of love and he knew he was protecting Lucie. What many would believe to be his worst moment was his best. For Charles it the worst part of his life. He was saved but he has to live with the thought that someone died for him. The phrase, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" is set up by the mastermind of The Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens, to create a basis on which he built the whole tale. He incorporated every element of his story to fit this beginning statement, especially the characters. The most prevalent was Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton because they differed so