Polarity In A Tale Of Two Cities

2. In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens sets up the stage with polarities. Dickens hints at the fact that peace and love, on one aspect, and oppression and hatred, on the other, will surely be equally matched in the plot. Dickens is suggesting that good and evil, as well as light and darkness, will be present in the characters’ struggles. For the characters, such as Darnay, Carton, Lucie Manette, and Dr. Manette, the novel centers on their best of times, including their worst of times. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” is continually quoted today. This is due to the fact that life, indeed, consists of good times and bad times, as well as hope and despair, rendering the passage as relevant for today as it was in the

It comes as a shock to know that Doctor Manette denounced all the descendants of Evremonde, while imprisoned. Doctor Manette made such a declaration due to his distaste and revulsion of the Evremonde brothers. Years prior, the brothers enlisted Doctor Manette’s medical assistance for a woman, whom one of the brothers had raped, and her brother, whom the same brother had stabbed to death. Since the brothers were afraid that Manette could expose them, they had him arrested and sent to prison for years. I believe that Doctor Manette was, indeed, in his right mind and that he was aware of the wrongful misdeeds that the Evremonde brothers committed. He plead his sanity out of determination that his accusations be held reliable. I believe that in the end, despite Doctor Manette’s camaraderie with Darnay, he is uneasy about the marriage between Darnay and

Monsieur Defarge betrayed Doctor Manette and endangered his family by reading a letter he discovered in Manette’s old jail cell in the Bastille. In doing so, Defarge revealed that Darnay is an Evremonde, convincing the jury to sentence Darnay to death. Defarge’s motive behind this betrayal is to seek vengeance for his wife, Madame Defarge, who happens to be the sibling of the man and woman murdered by the Evremonde brothers. The relationship between Madame and Monsieur can be described as a one-sided beneficial relationship, driven by the chaos of the French Revolution and Madame Defarge’s vengeful spirit.

8. Sydney Carton failed to make much use of his life in the past and believes that he is irredeemable. In the beginning of the novel, it is clear that Carton believes that his existence is worthless and holds very little meaning. This view of himself changes slightly, as he develops feelings for Lucie Manette. He believes that with her, he can achieve a more valuable existence and begins to have faith that he can be redeemed. In the end, when he is sent to death in place of Charles Darnay, he dies knowing that he has finally instilled his life with