“A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens

Due to this quarantine, many of us gave a try to do something different or something more special, and so did I! I decided to read a book which is called “A Tale of Two Cities” and I think this is the ideal opportunity to analyze it for you.

First of all, let’s learn some information about the author. Charles Dickens (1812-1870) is one of the most important English authors. He was born in Landport, on the southern coast of England. He lived in the Victorian era, when several people went to jail because of financial difficulties. His family went to prison, too, so he worked at a factory, even when he was noticeably young, to support his family. That is why he wrote about child labor, jails, and the rough factory conditions. He wrote several stories that were published in magazines and he also worked for a newspaper and as a reporter of the parliament. He married the daughter of the newspaper editor, he had 10 children, even though his marriage was miserable, and they divorced as he was writing “A Tale of Two Cities”. He also wrote the famous stories “A Christmas Carol” and “Oliver Twist”. He wrote a lot of newspaper articles criticizing injustice and socioeconomic conditions because he never forgot his early days when he was poor. “A Tale of Two Cities” – released on 18 April 1859 – differs from many of his other works, which mostly focused on characterization rather than plot. Some reviewers were disappointed at this charge, but Dickens himself called it “the best story I have ever written”.

At this point, in order to explore the plot, we have to meet the characters of the book. Firstly, Charles is the protagonist. He lives in England because he cannot stand the French system’s unfairness. He does not accept the aristocrats’ values. He is very helpful, as he tries to help the imprisoned Marquis’s former servant. Secondly, Sydney Carton is Darnay’s associate. He is obsessed with alcohol and he has not chances in his life. He also loves Lucie and he says that he could do anything for her. Thirdly, Lucie Manette marries Darnay. She is a French woman who grew up in England. She is the personification of kindness. Dr. Manette is the father of Lucie Manette. He is a doctor who passed 17 years in jail, because he literally wanted to report a serious crime. Following, Mr. Jarvis Lorry is a businessman who works for the Tellson’s Bank and opens the story by receiving the letter that reveals that Lucie’s father is alive. At the end, Monsieur Defarge provided a place for Dr. Monette after his release from jail and Madame Defarge is a cruel revolutionary character that usually prefers observing rather than participating in discussions. Her characteristic is knitting.

The plot of the book in fact is really interesting. The story begins in 1775, when Jarvis Lorry gets a letter by a messenger on his way from London, which reveals that Dr. Manette, Lucie’ s father, is alive. When Lucie discovered that, she went to Paris with Lorry and they found her father working at a shoe shop fixing shoes and they all came back to London. Five years later, Darnay is being tried for treason but his lawyer saved him because he claimed that Darnay looks exactly like Sydney Carton, his associate. In Paris, Marquis, Darnay’s uncle, accidentally kills a peasant’s child with his carriage and someone the same night stabs him. A year later, Darnay tells Dr. Manette that he wants to marry his daughter, Lucie, and meanwhile Sydney Carton tells her that he will do everything for her because he loves her. Darnay marries Lucie and they have a daughter, little Lucie and a son who dies young.  In 1792 Darnay goes to Paris because he wants to save Marquis’s former servant, but he is imprisoned. The highlight of the story is when Mr. Defarge discovers a letter that Dr. Manette wrote when he was in jail that says that Marquis raped and killed a peasant woman and, with Darnay’s father, killed the woman’s father and husband as well as her brother, who hid their younger sister before he died. Dr. Manette tried to report the crime but he ended up in jail. Sydney Carton discovered that this young girl is Madame Defarge, so he went with Lucie and little Lucie to Paris in order to be protected. The Jury condemns Darnay to death. Madame Defarge tries to find Lucie and her daughter in order to kill them, but she is killed by Miss Pross, Lucie’s guardian. In Paris, Sydney drugs Darnay, and changes clothes with him. At the end, Sydney Corton is guillotined in Darnay’s place.

Without a doubt, “A Tale of Two Cities” has many themes. First of all, we can spot injustice. In this book, many people were punished roughly either for things that they did not do or for little things. For instance, Dr. Manette went to jail because he just wanted to report a serious crime. Being imprisoned for doing admirable things was common, given that in France the same time the French Revolution was taking place. Love is also a main theme. We see a lot of types of love in this story. First of all, Darnay is in love with Lucie, even if they belong to different social classes. Secondly, we see the love between Lucie and Dr. Manette. Lucie succeeded in changing her father’s mentality – who had an obsession with fixing shoes – and she saved him by taking him back to London. Of course, we cannot forget self-sacrifice. Sydney Carton sacrificed himself for two reasons. Firstly, because he wanted to save his friend’s life and secondly because as he said, he could do anything for the woman he loved, Lucie, who is paradoxically the wife of his friend. We could say he saved a whole family! In addition, an important theme is resurrection. We learn that Dr. Manette is recalled to life. Sydney Carton, by sacrificing himself, gave a point to his sad and pointless life so this sacrifice was in fact a resurrection. Finally, a theme that is worth mentioning is vengeance. Before the French Revolution, every act that was against aristocracy was punished. The French Revolution was a type of a big revenge. In this book we see many such acts of French revolutionaries such as the burning the Marquis’s mansion. In addition, Madame Defarge tried to kill Lucie Manette, because of the crimes that her husband’s father did to her family.

Besides, we can say that this book is full of symbols that make the story more interesting. Firstly, England, even if there are some dangers such as violence, is safer than France thanks to its political stability. So, it symbolizes safety and stability. On the contrary, in France there is a complete chaos because of the French Revolution, so it symbolizes violence, chaos and loss of humanity. Furthermore, we can detect thread and knitting. During the whole story, Madame Defarge knits without talking and just observes. In fact, that symbolizes the accumulation of her anger and her need for revenge. In addition, the guillotine symbolizes death and injustice because it was a type of punishment during the French Revolution. Finally, the Marquis symbolizes immorality and wickedness.

Which are my impressions and thoughts about the book? Well, no words can describe Charles Dickens’ masterpiece. The book is undoubtedly perfect. The thing I liked the most about it is the combination of didactic and dramatic style. I never got bored because there are always major events. I believe it is a little bit confusing in the beginning because of the variety of the characters. I also admired the end of the book because it is not the classic happy ending. Its end is really touching, sad and happy at the same time. I strongly recommend this book. I agree with Charles Dicken’s statement; this is the best book he has ever written.

I would like to conclude with two very inspirational quotes of the book. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way…”

The first one is, obviously, the first sentence of the book. Dickens repeats words and makes opposite pairs to show emphasis. Each pair represents figures of the book; for example, London and Paris or Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay. Nevertheless, I cannot finish this presentation without mentioning the last sentence of the book. The last quote that Sydney Carton said when he was at the guillotine. A phrase that represents sacrifice and resurrection:

“It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest I go to than I have ever known.”

Σπυρίδων Κανταρτζής (Β2), Πρότυπο ΓΕΛ Ευαγγελικής Σχολής Σμύρνης