“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” This is probably one of the most iconic
opening lines of a novel. A Tale of Two Cities
begins by describing parts of both France and England and then entering into
the main plot of the novel by introducing Jarvis Lorry who works for the
Tellsons bank and a girl he is trying to help named miss Manette. After reading the first portion of chapters
it is hard to point out any given themes, but knowing Charles Dickens, he usually
focuses on the differencing between social classes and how the higher class is
detrimental and cruel to the lower class.
In the fifth chapter Dickens writes about a keg in Paris that has
started to spill wine, “The rough irregular stones of the street pointing every
way, and designed, one might have thought, expressly to lame all living
creatures that approached them, had dammed it into little pools; these were
surrounded, each by its own jostling group or crowd.” Dickens appears to be describing Paris and
the people inside of Paris in great detail throughout this first passage. It is possible that given the name of the
novel that Dickens will spend most of his time comparing London and Paris and
the differences and similarities, but it is too early to tell. Another interesting mechanism Dickens implies
is his lack of dialogue compared to his vast amounts of narration. What could be his point or goal in doing
this? It does allow for Dickens to
create a stronger setting, but it is also hard to keep the reader engaged
unless done perfectly. Will Dickens
continue to write about the troubles of the lower class or will he expand on
comparing both London and Paris or will he take an entire different approach to
this novel?
The focus on narration was an interesting choice. I suspect it does have to do with the setting, which Dickens values more than the opportunity to characterize more deeply dialogue can provide. Naturally, this is not true for every situation, but the narrative heavy scenes are scenes where attempting to reveal everything through dialogue would be tedious and contrived. Instead, he is careful to use a narrative voice that goes beyond dry description of what is happening and uses the narrator to voice opinions and ideas. Dickens will, I suspect, focus on a smaller group of characters as a microcosm of the events which will surely play out in the background rather than remain focused on the situation at large. That is not exclusive, of course, to a focus on the imbalance of power.
ReplyDeleteThe main focus of my section was ridiculing London's government.
But indeed, at that time, putting to death was a recipe much in vogue with all trades ... Death is Nature’s remedy for all things, and why not Legislation’s? Accordingly, the forger was put to Death; ... the sounders of three-fourths of the notes in the whole gamut of Crime, were put to Death.
That's an entire paragraph about killing people for minor crimes. Clearly, Dickens has a bone to pick with draconian punishment. It's also an example of one of the major techniques Dickens uses to make his points and develop his ideas- repetition. Death and death and death. Dickens is definitely emphasizing it to make his point.
The less direct, but more telling, example of Dickens' ire toward this government was the trial of Darney. Before it even began, the people watching were expecting to see him gruesomely executed. Innocent until proven guilty wasn't even a concept.
Silence in the court! Charles Darnay had yesterday pleaded Not Guilty to an indictment denouncing him (with infinite jingle and jangle) for that he was a false traitor to our serene, illustrious, excellent, and so forth, prince, our Lord the King, by reason of his having, on divers occasions, and by divers means and ways, assisted Lewis, the French King, in his wars against our said serene, illustrious, excellent, and so forth; that was to say, by coming and going, between the dominions of our said serene, illustrious, excellent, and so forth, and those of the said French.
Here, Dickens uses free indirect discourse to show how the common people are thinking. That is to say, how they aren't. The narration actually tunes out of what the judge is saying every now and then with the 'and so forth'. Clearly that isn't what the judge is saying, but that's what the people hear. The amount of pomp the judge is putting forth is also ridiculous, especially when it's already been hinted that the trial is a sham.
Why is Dickens using an 'honest tradesman' like Mr. Cruncher to show this trial, and not being more objective with it? With the French Revolution on the horizon, do you think Dickens will show that in a positive light? He clearly doesn't approve of London's government.
Dickens uses Mr. Cruncher to show how corrupt the trial is and how the government is using their power to accomplish what they want and not what is necessarily right. Dickens will most likely portray the French Revolution as something that was just and happened because of the pride and corruption of the French Royalty and upper class. He foreshadows the rebellion of the French people by how Monsieur the Marquis treats the common people. He rides his carriage over a child and then proceeds to worry about his horses. A crowd comes around Monsieur the Marquis and calls him out for killing this child and Marquis does nothing but insult the crowd and throw coins to the few people who support him. Marquis then rides on and Dickens uses free indirect speech to encompass what is wrong with the French Royalty, “But, the woman who stood knitting looked up steadily, and looked Marquis in the face. It was not for his dignity to notice it; his contemptuous eyes passed over her, and over all the other rats; and he leaned back in his seat again, and gave the word ‘Go on!’” Marquis is described as looking down on this woman in such a way that she and all the other common people are described as rats. He is described as it not being in his dignity to even notice her or help her. Dickens will most likely explain that the French Revolution was necessary because of the way the French Royalty treated the common people of France. One of Dickens favorite themes is discussing the horrors the underclass must endure and the cruelty with which they are treated. He will use this theme to provide evidence for why he believes the French Revolution should happen. What more themes will Dickens apply and how will the French Revolution lead to a greater meaning in the story?
DeleteI'm still unconvinced that Dickens is a fan of the French Revolution. He definitely is criticizing the aristocracy- no doubt about that, as the Marquis was basically evil rich people personified- but the peasant mob hasn't been lauded as an army of saints, either. In my reading, Madame Defarge has put Darnay on the registry of people the revolutionaries intend to kill. Typically, people with hit lists aren't the good guys. I believe that Dickens' stance on the French Revolution is that it was necessary, but the murderous mob that rampaged through France was most definitely not. I'm inclined to agree with him there. Darnay being on that list is a good indicator of where the Revolution is going to come into play later. He will naturally find himself in France at the wrong time, and some bad things are going to go down. Should I be right, that will also serve as further evidence that Dickens' doesn't appreciate the revolutionaries either.
DeleteIn my reading, Dickens saw fit to grace me with a messy love triangle. Pyramid? Lucie seems to be quite popular, with Darnay, Carton, and Stryver, although Stryver already dropped out of the running and Carton gave up. I thought it was interesting to compare how Dickens portrayed each of their styles of loving her- Stryver wanted a wife worthy of him, Darnay loved her devotedly with all his heart, and Carton considered her his reason for living-
"I wish you to know that you have been the last dream of my soul. In my degradation I have not been so degraded but that the sight of you with your father, and of this home made such a home by you, has stirred old shadows that I thought had died out of me. Since I knew you, I have been troubled by a remorse that I thought would never reproach me again, and have heard whispers from old voices impelling me upward, that I thought were silent for ever. I have had unformed ideas of striving afresh, beginning anew, shaking off sloth and sensuality, and fighting out the abandoned fight."
Carton did accept that she wouldn't marry him, but with a line like this there is no way his feelings are not going to be unimportant later.
How is Carton going to continue to relate to Lucie?
How will Lucie react to her husband being on a hit list, when it comes to that?
During the revolution, will Dickens continue to have the aristocracy be people like the Marquis, or will he show more innocent people getting caught up in it? Are there innocent members of the aristocracy?
That is a good point. Dickens believes the under class is not treated well but he also doesn’t believe that gives them the right to violently overthrow the aristocracy. We are given a clearer sense of what the French revolution was like when Dickens writes, “The men were terrible, in the bloody-minded anger with which they looked from windows, caught up what arms they had, and came pouring down into the streets; but the women were a sight to chill the boldest.” Dickens describes the revolution as violent and in harsh terms which backs up the point that he may not fully support it. He understands why the revolution occurred and believes the reasoning was somewhat justified but he does not condone or support the way they revolt. An interesting technique that Dickens uses is by going back and forth between London and Paris. While the revolution is taking place, Lucie Manette marries Charles Darnay which cripples her father. The contrast between London and Paris is interesting. There is much violence in France while England stays peaceful. The characters in each city show similarities and differences. Mr. Cruncher is an abusive husband who cares only for himself while Mr. Lorry and the Manettes are kind people who are looking out for each other. The Defarges are conspirators and revolutionists in France and are seen leading the revolution over the aristocracy. What is Dicken’s point in moving back and forth between the two cities? Why does he focus on theses characters? The most touching part of the book is the love shared between Lucie Manette and her father. When she marries and is on her honeymoon her father is unable to bare the weight of losing her, “I think not. It may be the character of his mind, to be always in singular need of occupation. That may be in part, natural to it, in part, the result of affliction.” Dickens is describing the bonds that go into family and how when you have to let your children move on or grow up how hard that can be on a parent. Lucie is also her father’s savior who was able to relieve him of his madness and continue being a doctor. This is a beautiful illustration of how much our family relationships mean to us today.
DeleteDickens was aiming to create a contrast between the two cities as he switched between them. Contrast is a core part of Dickens' entire strategy- the settings between the two cities, the events taking place in the cities, and the characters who live in those cities all work together to add impact to Dickens' setting. Were he to have simply wrote about the Revolution without using England as a foil of sorts, the story would be vastly different, and likely not for the better. The story would become too focused on the historical aspects that the personal details would drown in the chaos that the Revolution demands is written into the setting. As it stands, the characters are absolutely being overwhelmed by the French Revolution. The major conflict in the opening of the third book is the imprisonment of Darnay, and the danger he is in.
DeleteThe bonds between characters are important tools Dickens uses to explore the impact of the French Revolution, and Darnay's imprisonment is the direct manifestation of this tactic. Because Darnay went to France to help Gabelle out of his desire to be a force of good, he has been imprisoned. Because Darnay is imprisoned, Lucie, who loves him, goes to Paris after him in the face of extreme danger. To the modern day reader, this is completely expected. Lovers are always torn apart, and are supposed to try and return to one another, successfully or not. The tie in to the historical aspect of the Revolution, which also serves as the main source of conflict, is expressed neatly by Madame Defarge,
“The wives and mothers we have been used to see, since we were as little as this child, and much less, have not been greatly considered? We have known THEIR husbands and fathers laid in prison and kept from them, often enough? All our lives, we have seen our sister-women suffer, in themselves and in their children, poverty, nakedness, hunger, thirst, sickness, misery, oppression and neglect of all kinds?"
“We have seen nothing else,” returned The Vengeance.
“We have borne this a long time,” said Madame Defarge, turning her eyes again upon Lucie. “Judge you! Is it likely that the trouble of one wife and mother would be much to us now?"
The Revolutionaries have become desensitized to suffering. They quite simply do not care about the suffering of the few, because in the eyes of the most ardent revolutionaries like Madame Defarge and The Vengance, this is all revenge. The peasants have been wronged, so they will take that out on anyone who gets in there way, morals and mercy be damned.
Honestly, I think Dickens is almost against the Revolution. He wasn't for the aristocracy either, obviously, but he clearly wishes the Revolution was not carried out like this. How does Darnay's trial in France compare to his trial in England? Speaking of England, while it is calmer, it still has shown previously that mob mentality which Dickens hates. How is Dickens going to progress the comparison between the two cities?
Darnay’s Trial in France is shorter and again heavily influenced. Doctor Manette uses his popularity to provide support in giving Darnay freedom. He goes about this throughout a long period of time and puts forth all of his effort in to attempting to save Darnay. The problem arises that revolutions bring out the worst in people and Darnay is arrested the same day he is set free. He is put on trial for a second time in France. What will the outcome of this trial be? Dickens appears to be critical of both the aristocracy but also of the common people. He clearly is against the Revolution by the way he goes about in describing it. Dickens progresses the use of comparing these two cities to show how violence and not being treated justly can affect people. Lucie and Darnay are perfectly happy in England but once they arrive in France they are unable to find peace and their lives are in Jeopardy. Dickens may be explaining how wrong it is to revolt by using violence and how harshly that affects a city and the people in the city. It brings out the worst in people. Sydney Carton enters France and locates Mr. Barsad. He then with the help of Mr. Cruncher is able to explain that Mr. Barsad is a spy and that Roger Cly is still living. He then wanders off and thinks to himself, “In a city dominated by the axe, alone at night, with natural sorrow rising in him for the sixty three who had been that day put to death, and for tomorrow’s victims then awaiting their doom in the prisons, and still of tomorrow’s and tomorrow’s the chain of association that brought the words home, like a rusty old ship’s anchor from the deep, might have been easily found. He did not seek it but repeated them and went on.” Dickens uses Carton’s insight to further prove that the French Revolution was wrong and horrific. People were judged unfairly and killed primarily for being a part of the aristocracy. This idea further proves that Dickens does not have a high opinion of mankind. He criticizes the aristocracy and the common people. He uses the characters of the Manettes and Mr. Lorry to reveal that there are still people who will do good and live the right way but that the world is moving down the right path. How will the story end? What is the primary overarching theme of the novel?
Delete
DeleteAs I obviously know how the story ended now that I've read it, I'll simply share my prediction. I thought that Dickens was going to have Darnay die and use his death as a another symbol of the madness of the revolutionaries. The twist of Carton's sacrifice was an interesting one. It was fitting, as Carton was only living for Lucie and his death saved her and everyone she cared about. He said earlier that he was happy to have only known her, and he has professed many times the meaning she has to him. Carton's death is where his meaning came from- his name will be remembered, and through him Lucie's family can remain alive. Carton at the end also feels that he has achieved something greater with his life. His sadness no longer troubles him now that he knows he has done one last act of good.
I think the balance that needs to be established with Dickens' opinion of the Revolution boils down to this: He was for the Revolution, hence the hate for the aristocrats, yet against the revolutionaries who went too far and tore France apart. In fact, Dickens does have a closing statement on the matter.
"Crush humanity out of shape once more, under similar hammers, and it will twist itself into the same tortured forms. Sow the same seed of rapacious license and oppression over again, and it will surely yield the same fruit according to its kind."
From Dickens' point of view, the revolution was inevitable. The seeds of hatred sown by the aristocracy blossomed into the nightmarish chaos of the Revolution, and the tyranny of the lead revolutionaries will cause their own downfall in the subsequent waves of the French Revolution. It will be a long time until France is calm once more, but it will be calm in the end. It isn't that Dickens ever favored or hated one side more than the other, but saw the whole thing as a regrettable process peculiar to human nature. That is the main theme in my eyes- that violence leads to violence as long as humans are evil to each other.