Tale Of Two Cities Essay

The ‘Tale of Two Cities’ take place in London and Paris during a time of reformation for both cities. The French, during the time of ‘A Tale of Two Cities’, are preparing for a time that is filled with blood and an extreme lust for vengeance. Right across the water the city of London is also going through a time of change. During the early 1780s unjust punishments and public hangings were very popular along with multiple uprisings against the Catholic church. In the Novel, there are examples of both cities and their struggles. The Character Alex Manette, representing the fear and fight for a rebirth can be drawn to parallel one of the titled cities that is 1780 Paris, France. The French revolution began in 1789 and lasted until the late 1790s. France was in a time of great debt, to help with this debt there king issued many unpopular taxation schemes. Not only was taxation unfair but the country was also going through a bad harvest. The tax on bread was high making

Manette to parallel the situation happening in Paris. For example, on the 14 of July, 1789 the revolutionaries stormed the bastille in search for the ammunition inside. Dr. Manette, congeneric to France, also had something powerful that he was protecting in the Bastille. In aspiration of finding the letter that Dr. Manette wrote when imprisoned there earlier in the book, Madame Defarge storms the Bastille with revolutionaries in search for the ammunition necessary to bring down Darnay. In the book, Dickens paints the setting for chaotic France, describing the sound of women screaming and cannons booming. The city is in a state of panic, however this was foretold by Dr.Manette in chapter six. In this chapter, Darnay tells his future father in law about how a prisoner in the Tower of London hid a letter in his cell, however, later burning it before it could be read. Immediately Dr. Manette, much the same as France, went into a intense