Violence And Violence In A Tale Of Two Cities

Oppression has always been prevalent throughout history, and as a response to this, the exploited often revolt, in turn, causing inciteful change. However, when the revolution only seeks revenge, it fosters more violence and creates a more oppressed society. The French Revolution while successful in the sense that it overthrew the government, has one dangerous aspect in common with oppression: violence. This revolution is depicted in A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens, where the persecuted peasants of France start a rebellion to try and achieve revenge government. However, by using violence as the primary method to abolish the government and boasting about the dominance of the revolution through the Carmagnole, the revolutionaries discredit themselves. Inciting fear into the population and by attempting to fight their distraught state with violence, they are gradually turning from the oppressed to the oppressor. The people of the French revolution while fighting against an oppressive government do so in an unjust manner, in turn, delegitimizing the revolution revealing how violence is never the answer.
The revolutionaries dance the Carmagnole to advertise the dominance and authority of the revolution; however, this demonstrates their aspiration to be dominant over society. The dancers in the Carmagnole are “dancing like five thousand demons” exemplifying the goal of the dance to incite fear into its enemies (288). By describing the dancers as a “demon”, there is an immediate