Charles Darnay's Decision To Return To France

Personal Response:
How did you feel at the end of the section when Charles decides to leave for France?
At the end of Chapter 24 of Book the Second, I had mixed feelings about Charles Darnay’s decision to return to France. A part of me felt that he was doing such a good deed by making an attempt to save his friend. On page 233, Darnay makes the decision to go to Paris in order to save Gabelle, “an innocent prisoner, in danger of death”. On the other hand, as I continued reading, I wasn’t to thrilled to hear about his departure because the atmosphere in Paris isn’t the most pleasant during these times. The French Revolution is in full effect and the citizens of France are beheading every aristocrat that they come upon. By him leaving England,

What does he do there? In Chapter 21, the French Revolution has begun and one event that takes place is the storming of the Bastille. During this raid, on pages 206-207, Mr. Defarge “laid his strong hand on the breast of… a man with a grey head, who had lighted a torch” and demanded that the guard show him the North Tower (206). Defarge also asks the guard what “the meaning of One Hundred and Five, North Tower” is and the guard replies by saying that what Defarge is in search of is “a cell”(207). Defarge then enjoins the guard to lead him to it.
Having arrived at the cell, accompanied by Jacques Three and the guard, monsieur Defarge instructs the guard to “pass the torch slowly along [the] walls, [so] that [he] may see them” (207). While doing so Jacques Three and Defarge notice the initials of Alexandre Manette, “A. M.”, and an engraved calendar (208). Having found these, Defarge instructs Jacques Three to thoroughly search the bed and its straw contents while he searched the chimney. After finding nothing in any of these places, Defarge and Jacques Three gather all of the debris in the center of the cell. The guard is commanded, and obeys, to set fire to the

Why might the author have skipped over these years? How does the passing of time contribute to the larger effect of the novel?
The passing of time in Chapter 21 and between Chapters 23 and 24 contribute to the greater effect of the novel. The reason as to why Charles Dickens jumped ahead a few years is a technique used to keep his readers still intrigued in the main story. Because nothing mindblowing happened within these skipped years, the incorporation of them in this novel would not only bore the reader, but it would also cause the reader’s mind to stray away from the main story being