Rhetorical Devices In A Tale Of Two Cities

Dickens expresses an attitude of pity towards the peasantry of France, and is derisive towards the aristocracy. He conveys his feelings through repetition, tone, and syntax in the passage. These devices are used to foreshadow the animosity and anger of the oncoming revolution.
Firstly, Dickens uses repetition to emphasize the living state of the common people in France. The words “poor” and “tax” are repeatedly used to accentuate the desolate state that the community is living in. When describing the village the Marquis is passing through, he states that “the village had its one poor street, with its poor brewery, poor tannery, poor tavern...the tax for the state, the tax for the church, the tax for the lord, tax local and tax general...” (Dickens

When talking about the Marquis’ carriage, a small, yet noticeable comment appears. He says, “Monsieur the Marquis in his travelling carriage (which might have been lighter)...” (Dickens 10-12). The sarcastic remark refers to how the Marquis’ carriage is filled with unnecessary items due to his wealth--this shows Dicken’s contempt towards the pampered patricians of France. Later in the passage, the Marquis is speaking to the road-mender of his village-, “‘Truly, you did well,’ said the Marquis, felicitously sensible that such vermin were not to ruffle him…” (Dickens 125-126). Dickens mocks the sense of superiority that the nobles held over the common people, as he writes out what the Marquis is thinking in a small, offensive imitation. As a result, his contempt against the lords of France, along with their purposeful disregard for the peasants’ plight, is underlined. In the beginning of the passage, Dickens says, “On inanimate nature, as on the men and women who cultivated it, a prevalent tendency towards an appearance of vegetating unwillingly—a dejected disposition to give up, and wither away.” This sentence creates sympathy for the French people, as Dickens shows how the people are as dead and broken as their starved crops are. Thus, Dickens uses tone to show his attitude towards the conditions of