Literary Device #3 — Symbolism Symbolism: “The frequent use of words, places, characters, or objects that mean something beyond what they are on a literal level.” Example: “For, the time was to come, when the scarecrows...should [heed] the idea of...hauling up men, to flare upon the darkness of their condition. But, the time was not come yet; and every wind that blew...shook the rags of the scarecrows in vain, for the birds, fine of song and feather, took no warning” (35). Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities Context: In A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, a barrel of wine has just been spilled in the streets of Saint Antoine, which a crowd scavenges before celebrating their good fortune. But as soon as they finish, the mood evaporates, and they fall back into want and hunger. They return to their work, where “nothing [is] represented in a flourishing condition, save tools and weapons” (35). Dickens goes on to explain why this has come to be, as well …show more content…
Despite being infuriated at the nobility and even daring to fantasize about strangling them “to flare upon the darkness of their condition,” they do not act upon their desires, because “the time was not come yet; and every wind that blew...shook the rags of the scarecrows in vain, for the birds...took no warning” (35). The fact that Dickens uses scarecrows to represent the peasants proves the severity of the situation, as scarecrows are used solely to drive crows away from crops, yet are proven to be utterly useless against the nobility. In the same way that birds are free, the aristocrats are free to do as they please, continuing to eat fine food and live in their own sky as they disregard the effects of their actions upon others. By relating the upper class to free-flying birds and the lower class to grounded scarecrows, Dickens highlights the helplessness of the