Preview

A Tale of Two Cities: Sydney Carton

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
516 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
A Tale of Two Cities: Sydney Carton
A Tale of Two Cities: Sydney Carton

In Charles Dickens' novel A Tale Of Two Cities, Sydney Carton is a man of several distinct characteristics. Carton is shown originally to be a frustrated alcoholic, but then turns out to be a very noble and genuine man.
Sydney Carton is also shown in the novel to be somewhat immature in his actions and thoughts. Throughout the book, Sydney Carton does not always act or seem like he is the age that he is. He is depicted in the novel to be middle-age, perhaps in his mid-forties, yet several times he shows some very immature actions and feelings. One example is his feelings for Lucie Manette. Even after Lucie is married to Charles Darnay, whom she loves, Sydney refuses to give up his love for her. For someone in his mid-forties, this is somewhat an immature action.
Had he been more mature, he might have forgotten about Lucie when she was married and found someone else. Another perhaps less important but very noticeable example is his appearance. He didn't seem to care what people really thought about him or the way he was dressed, and remained very calm and relaxed, maybe even carefree, most of the time he was in court. This also gives Sydney
Carton an immature appearance in the novel. At the beginning of the story and a large part of the novel, Sydney
Carton is shown to be a very arrogant, frustrated man with a drinking problem.
Several times in the novel he indulged in his drinking to the point of becoming drunk or close to it. Many times that he is seen, he is drinking wine or has a flask of liquor in his hand. This may keep him calm or help him to remain composed in the court, but it becomes more to the point of being a necessity or habit. Also, his drinking causes him to be loose with his tongue when he is with Charles Darnay after the trial, which makes Charles angry with him. This behavior was very ill-mannered and could have been prevented to give Sydney
Carton a better appearance and

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Ngm Novel Notes

    • 8523 Words
    • 35 Pages

    -when he opened the door he was very shaky, since he is an alcoholic and has not drunken today…

    • 8523 Words
    • 35 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    On their return to Saint Antoine, a policeman tells the Defarges that there is a spy in their neighborhood. He gives them a description of his appearance, as well as his name- John Barsad. Madame Defarge decides to knit his name into the register. When they finally arrive at their home, Madame Defarge counts the money that was made while they were away and Defarge concedes to his fears and doubts about the revolution. Madame Defarge encourages him in her comparison of the revolution to lightning and earthquakes. Lightning storms and earthquakes both take some time to form, but when they are ready, they can destroy anything in their paths. The revolution may take a very long time to begin, but when it does, it would be unstoppable. The next day, Barsad, the spy, comes into the wine-shop looking to glean a little information from the Defarges. As he walks in, however, Madame Defarge recognizes him from the description previously given to her. She picks a up a rose from beside her and casually puts it in her hair. As they notice, customers start to trickle out of the store. Barsad carries the pretense of a friend and advocate to the revolution, comments on the cruelty shown to the peasants, and addresses the “apparent” unrest the area was under following Gaspard’s execution. The Defarges admit to nothing and feign indifference. When he sees no succeeding in his approach, Barsad tells the Defarges the news about Miss Lucie Manette. He tells them she is going to marry a Mr Charles Darnay, a French nobleman who is, in fact, the late Marquis’ nephew and heir. After hearing this news, Madame Defarge knits the name Charles Darnay into the registry.…

    • 534 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    red toolkit monologue

    • 800 Words
    • 5 Pages

    ƒ He also has a daily intake of alcohol and uses Benadryl to help sleep.…

    • 800 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    He was apparently about thirty-five years old. He was well dressed and neat. He was tall; his eyes were large and dark gray with a kindly expression.…

    • 907 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Alcohol can control a person's life and make them irresponsible which affects their relationships. John Purcell showed a lack of judgment by stopping to have a drink before he even got home from work making him late for the scout meeting with his son. His irresponsibility continued when he met another irresponsible drunken father at the meeting. When the stranger offered John a drink, he gladly accepted the offer stating "you're a lifesaver". Due to his drunkenness, John Purcell embarrassed his son even further.…

    • 586 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    from making a tragic mistake like he did and suffering through much more than just a jail…

    • 845 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sanders opens his essay with a very direct fact: “My father drank”. Although this sentence is simple, his story is not. In the next sentence, he uses a simile to describe his father’s transformation with every alcoholic binge. Sanders wrote that his father “ drank as a gut punched boxer gasps for breath, as a starving dog gobbles food compulsively, secretly, in pain and trembling”. He uses this simile to show that his father was not a social drinker, but a man who would drink just to drink. Sanders then uses imaginary to create a typical scene in his house while his father is drunk. He describes his father drinking from bottles of wine, cylinders of whisky, and cans of beer, then his father passes out in his recliner. Later, Sanders’s mother awakens him, which is when the fighting begins. This imaginary creates a sense of sadness and empathy for Sanders, for this was a daily issue for him. Sanders’s purpose for writing “Under the Influence” was to show that people do not act like themselves when consumed by alcohol. When alcohol takes over a person, they are to be feared.…

    • 366 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    give him a mouthful of whiskey to brace him up so he could tell his…

    • 835 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Our narrator is now being described by showing that he does not have an aversion to getting drunk and that he tends toward being happy in how he responds to the alcohol. (words:61)…

    • 1493 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Huck Finn Escape

    • 1276 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Not knowing whether he wants to be an adult or a child, his constant grasp on his childhood whilst heading into his certain adulthood. For example when he’s with Phoebe at the carrousel he wants to join her and revel in his childhood but knows…

    • 1276 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tale of Two Cities

    • 935 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Motivation: Write a paragraph describing how you view yourself, using at least 3 adjectives. Do you think other people view you in the same way? Why or why not? What might cause people to view each other in different ways?…

    • 935 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dickens alludes to the bible in the instance of Sydney Carton through Carton’s sacrifice for Charles Darnay. With this event Carton not only sacrifices himself for Darnay, but also for Lucie’s happiness by allowing the person she loves to live. Dickens is alluding to the the sacrifice of Jesus. In the Bible, Jesus allows himself to be killed in order to save the world from their sin and also giving them life. While Carton begins enacting his plan to save Darnay, Dickens describes his actions as “[Quick], but with hands as true to his purpose as his heart”(Dickens 356). This strengthens the biblical allusion further by creating an even more parallel environment to the Bible. Dickens shows that, like Jesus, Carton’s sacrifice is not for the…

    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Malcolm X

    • 658 Words
    • 3 Pages

    grabbing a hold of a dictionay. After going over it for a couple of days he doesn't even…

    • 658 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    A Tale of Two Cities

    • 504 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Friedrich Nietzsche once said, "that which does not kill us makes us stronger." No matter how much one tends to suffer, the experiences can make the person overcome their suffering and become stronger. By looking at A Tale of Two Cities written by Charles Dickens, the truth behind this quotation will be clear, the way Dr. Manette overcomes his past suffering will prove how things that don't kill us makes us stronger.…

    • 504 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A Trip to Sydney

    • 417 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Along the way from the Sydney airport to my new home here, what I felt is Sydney is really a big city and really similar to my place, Hong Kong. If there is not the English road sign along the highway, it will just make me feel I am still in my city. However, after walking around this city, I have found there are really some big differences though both are prosperous cities in the world. And those differences make me really jealous of everything living here in Sydney.…

    • 417 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays