Examples Of Inhumanity In A Tale Of Two Cities

The French Revolution was a revolution between the aristocrats and the townspeople in the eighteenth century. Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities takes place during this time and shows examples of how the aristocrats treated the townspeople. The aristocrats treat the townspeople very poorly and looked down upon them. One of the major themes in A Tale of Two Cities is man’s inhumanity to man. Man’s inhumanity to man is not justified through the people at the Guillotine, Monsieur the Marquis, and Madame Defarge. First of all, the crowds that go to the Guillotine and grindstone are inhumane because they go there for entertainment. Everyday, the grindstone workers arrive “glaring with beastly excitement” and “bloodthirsty and eager” (Dickens

While Monsieur is in town, he accidently runs over a child, which causes a lot of backlash from the peasants. However, Monsieur does not listen to what they have to say and instead replies, “It is extraordinary to me that you people cannot take care of yourselves and your children” (84). This is inhumane because he does not take the blame but instead blames them for what happened. Also, the aristocrats look down on the peasants and think that they are far better than them. During the already chaotic scene, he compares them to animals by saying, “You dogs! I would ride over any of you very willingly, and exterminate you from the earth” (85). The peasants are already angered and want revenge on him. By him calling them dogs, it shows how the aristocrats think of and treat the townspeople. In a way this is foreshadowing because Monsieur does not listen to the peasant’s warning, which will eventually lead to his murder. Not only does Monsieur compare the peasants to dogs but, Dickens also describes him comparing them to rats: “Monsieur the Marquis ran his eyes over them all, as if they had been mere rats come out of their holes” (84). The imagery of peasants covered in dirt and sweat that have been working all day is created. Monsieur and the rest of the aristocrats look down on the peasants and do not care about their living condition or their children and think that they are only useful for doing work for