A Tale of Two Cities Introduction Burkett To what extreme would you go if suddenly you had no money, no food, no gas? Who would you borrow from? What would you sell first? Would you steal?

Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities (1859) It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness… Intro to ATOTC Burkett Fall 2014

Dickens chose to make the plot the centerpiece of this novel.

The Plot The action of A Tale of Two Cities takes place over a period of about eighteen years, beginning in 1775, and ending in 1793. Some of the story takes place earlier, as told in the flashbacks. It centers around the years leading up to French Revolution and culminates in the Jacobin Reign of Terror. It tells the story of two men, Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton, who look very alike but are entirely different in character.

Darnay is a romantic descended from French aristocrats, while Carton is a cynical English barrister. The two are in love with the same woman, Lucie Manette: thus creating and interesting love triangle… Lucie Manette Charles Darnay Sydney Carton

In France after more than seventeen years of unjust imprisonment, Dr In France after more than seventeen years of unjust imprisonment, Dr. Alexandre Manette (Lucie’s father) is released from the infamous Bastille, setting into motion this time spanning story of revenge and resurrection. Upon his release, Manette is sheltered and cared for by an old servant, Ernest Defarge, the wine vendor and his wife Madame Defarge. Madame Defarge

The Setting                                                                   London, England Paris, France

Conflict France’s revolutionary government frightened Europe’s monarchs, who feared that the spread of democratic ideas would bring an end to their power. Storming the Bastille

Harvest failures in 1787-1788 less food higher prices businesses failed unemployment in cities

The Enlightenment Ideas: Progress: The Industrial Revolution Liberty Equality Reason Progress: The Industrial Revolution "A good action is preferable to an argument.” -Voltaire Philosophers: Locke defended private property, limited sovereignty and fair government Voltaire attacked noble privileges and the Church’s authority

Feudal system Estate System outdated posed many difficulties to rising middle class of Third Estate difficult to move upward in society, unless very rich less well-off commoners resented the inequality of the three estates

Peasants’ situation unbearable ‘web of obligations’ unfairly overtaxed Nobles had hunting privileges Land-starved Subsistence farmers

The Third Estate - Peasants were forced to do military service. - Peasants could not hunt or fish on nobles’ estates. - Peasants had to pay taxes to their lord, the king and the Church. - Peasants had to use the lord’s mill, oven and winepress, and pay for them. - Peasants made up 90% of the population.

Marie Antoinette Louis XVI Marie-Antoinette allowed “to dispense patronage amongst friends.” Good intentioned, enlightened, but weak-willed, and indecisive

In sum, the French Revolution: unleashed new forces, destroyed old ideas, offered new promises a triumph of the forces of reason over those of superstition and privilege was the first major social revolution, of far greater dimensions and of deeper purpose than the American Revolution.

Structure of the Novel & Literary Devices Used in A Tale of Two Cities

Originally written as a newspaper serial lots of characters and cliffhangers Length = 367 pages Divided into three books- Book The First: Recalled to Life (6 chapters) Book the Second: The Golden Thread (24 chapters) Book the Third: The Track of a Storm (15 chapters)

Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. A Tale of Two Cities Major theme: The possibility of resurrection and transformation, both on a personal level and on a societal level. Minor themes: the necessity of sacrifice oppression/exploitation ·         honor vs. dishonor violence/greed/hatred ·         corruption         effects of imprisonment ·         mob behavior self-sacrifice ·         love hopelessness

Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes. Doubles ( various characters seemed paired as opposites) Darnay= capable and accomplished Carton= lazy and lacks ambition Shadows & Darkness Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts. The Broken Wine Cask (blood spilling on the streets) Madame Defarge’s Knitting (seemingly harmless, spinning vengeance) The Marquis (ruthless aristocratic cruelty)

Major Characters Charles Darnay -  A French aristocrat by birth, Darnay chooses to live in England because he cannot bear to be associated with the cruel injustices of the French social system. Darnay displays great virtue in his rejection of the snobbish and cruel values of his uncle, the Marquis Evrémonde.

Sydney Carton -  An insolent, indifferent, and alcoholic attorney who works with Stryver. Carton has no real prospects in life and doesn’t seem to be in pursuit of any. He does, however, love Lucie, and his feelings for her eventually transform him into a man of profound merit..

Doctor Manette -  Lucie’s father and a brilliant physician, Doctor Manette spent eighteen years as a prisoner in the Bastille. At the start of the novel, Manette does nothing but make shoes, a hobby that he adopted to distract himself from the tortures of prison. As he overcomes his past as a prisoner, however, he proves to be a kind, loving father who prizes his daughter’s happiness above all things.

Lucie Manette -  A young French woman who grew up in England, Lucie was raised as a ward of Tellson’s Bank because her parents were assumed dead. Dickens depicts Lucie as an archetype of compassion. Her love has the power to bind her family together—the text often refers to her as the “golden thread.” Furthermore, her love has the power to transform those around her.

Monsieur Defarge -  A wine shop owner and revolutionary in the poor Saint Antoine section of Paris, Monsieur Defarge formerly worked as a servant for Doctor Manette. Defarge proves an intelligent and committed revolutionary, a natural leader. Although he remains dedicated to bringing about a better society at any cost, he does demonstrate a kindness toward Manette. His wife, Madame Defarge, views this consideration for Manette as a weakness.

Madame Defarge -  A cruel revolutionary whose hatred of the aristocracy fuels her tireless crusade, Madame Defarge spends a good deal of the novel knitting a register of everyone who must die for the revolutionary cause. Unlike her husband, she proves unrelentingly blood-thirsty, and her lust for vengeance knows no bounds.

Jarvis Lorry - An elderly businessman who works for Tellson’s Bank, Mr Jarvis Lorry -  An elderly businessman who works for Tellson’s Bank, Mr. Lorry is a very business-oriented bachelor with a strong moral sense and a good, honest heart. He proves trustworthy and loyal, and Doctor Manette and Lucie come to value him as a personal friend.

Jerry Cruncher -  An odd-job man for Tellson’s Bank, Cruncher is gruff, short-tempered, superstitious, and uneducated. He supplements his income by working as a “Resurrection-Man,” one who digs up dead bodies and sells them to scientists. Miss Pross -  The servant who raised Lucie, Miss Pross is brusque, tough, and fiercely loyal to her mistress. Because she personifies order and loyalty, she provides the perfect foil to Madame Defarge, who epitomizes the violent chaos of the revolution.

Marquis Evrémonde -  Charles Darnay’s uncle, the Marquis Evrémonde is a French aristocrat who embodies an inhumanly cruel caste system. He shows absolutely no regard for human life and wishes that the peasants of the world would be exterminated. Mr. Stryver -  An ambitious lawyer, Stryver dreams of climbing the social ladder. Unlike his associate, Sydney Carton, Stryver is bombastic, proud, and foolish. John Barsad -  Like Roger Cly, John Barsad is a British spy who swears that patriotism is his only motive. Barsad falsely claims to be a virtuous man of upstanding reputation.

Roger Cly -  Like John Barsad, Roger Cly is a British spy who swears that patriotism alone inspires all of his actions. Cly feigns honesty but in fact constantly participates in conniving schemes. Gabelle -  The man charged with keeping up the Evrémonde estate, Gabelle is imprisoned by the revolutionaries. News of his internment prompts Darnay to travel to France to save him.