Resurrection is defined as “restoring to life.” In biblical times, we use the term resurrection to define Christ coming to life after death. We view this theme in A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, not only through the “rebirth” of France’s government through the revolution, but explicitly through the characters of Jerry Cruncher, Dr. Manette and Sydney Carton. Jerry Cruncher, is portrayed as the comic relief in a story of tragedy. Jerry is different; he represents both a literal form of resurrection and emotional resurrection. Cruncher is known as the “Resurrection man” for his “honest trade” (Dickens 153) of robbing graves. The Crunchers, being a lower class family have needs and Mrs. Cruncher fills those needs by praying for her husband, despite the punishment of a beating from Jerry when he catches her praying. By the end of the novel, Cruncher gives up his grave robbing to become a gravedigger in order to “un-dig” all the graves he robbed. We also see his emotional resurrection when he stops beating his …show more content…
Manette “was thus steady and confident” (Dickens 255) in the storm of the revolution. Dr. Manette also has, what I believe to be, the most noticeable change in character throughout the novel. Dr. Manette has been a prisoner of the Bastille for eighteen years. When we first meet him at the beginning of the novel, Dickens writes, “the bitter waters of captivity had worn; but, he covered up their tracks with a determination so strong” (Dickens 178). Dr. Manette had fought to stay sane while in prison, only motivated by wanting to protect his daughter, Lucie. By the end of the novel, Manette is associated with peace, love and protection. He is portrayed as a man of conscience who was invested in the recuse of Darnay, who he believed shouldn’t be punished for the crimes of his father. He does this by working as a physician in La Force to guarantee nothing happens to Charles. Though as you already know, we see Sydney Carton as Darnay’s ultimate