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Sydney Carton As The Anti-Hero In A Tale Of Two Cities

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Sydney Carton is the anti-hero of A Tale of Two Cities as he is introduced as a worthless man without purpose, but through his death shows a transformation and provides the gift of the novel. “Sadly, sadly the sun rose; and it rose upon no sadder sight than the man of good abilities and good emotions, incapable of their direct exercise; incapable of his own help and his own happiness, sensible of the blight on him, and resigning himself to let it eat him away” (95) This proves that Carton is the anti-hero of the novel as in the beginning he is described as pathetic and without any purpose that even the sun was sad to rise over him. This makes him the anti-hero rather than the hero as he is introduced as a drab, worthless character and not the ideal, …show more content…

“It is a far better that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go than I have ever known” (374) This shows that Carton is the anti-hero as he is able to transform from his past, purposeless self as he now feel that through his death, his life has purpose because this is the best thing he has ever done as he provides this gift for his friends, which makes him complete. “I see the lives for which I lay down my life, peaceful, useful, prosperous and happy… I see that I hold a sanctuary in their hearts and in the hearts of their descendents” (379) This shows that Carton is the anti-hero because his death creates a gift for the other characters in the novel as it is a sacrifice for Darnay’s life so he can live on and make Lucie, Carton’s love and motivation, happy and was previously seen as a pathetic drunk but through this gift he is the anti-hero of the

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