Tale Of Two Cities Literary Analysis

Often times, people treat others the way they are treated. Good or bad, people tend to treat those who are kind to them kindly, and those who are cruel to them cruelly. In the book, A Tale of Two Cities, written by Charles Dickens, the novel takes place during a time of turmoil in France. The aristocracy mistreat and take advantage of the poor. The events of mistreatment of the poor leads to a rebellion called the French Revolution. During this revolution, the roles of the people switch and the poor become the ones who mistreat the aristocracy. In the book, the major theme is shown through the oppression of both the rich and the poor that often times, oppression is like a cycle that brings justice to the oppressors. First, the aristocracy

As an example, during the revolution, the peasants “delivered over any good and innocent person to any bad and guilty one; prisons gorged with people who had committed no offence and could obtain no hearing” (283). When the peasants had power over the aristocracy, they too used their power to oppress the rich. Even if the nobles were innocent and had committed no crime, the poor people would throw them in jail. The peasants treated the aristocracy with cruelty. The prisons in France are described to be gorged with people. The word gorge is used to describe the massive amount of people who filled the prisons. Many of these people who were thrown in jail were innocent. The peasants showed no mercy and oppressed the nobles the same way the nobles had oppressed them. Not only that, out of anger and revenge, Madame Defarge saw no wrong in “that an innocent man was to die for the sins of his forefathers; she saw, not [Darnay], but [the Evremonde brothers]” (376). Madame Defarge tries to condemn Charles Darnay for the sins of his fathers. Even though Darnay did nothing wrong and was not like his ancestors, Madame Defarge throws him in jail and successfully condemns him to die the next day. Charles Darnay tried to live a life apart from his ancestors, but he ends up having to pay for the wrongs that they have done. Madame Defarge is abusing her power to oppress

For instance, when the wine on the ground in Saint Antoine is spilled all over the streets, Dickens writes, “The time was to come, when that wine too would be spilled on the street-stones, and when the stain of it would be red upon many there” (32). Dickens foreshadows the death of many people in Saint Antoine in France. This turns out to be true to both the aristocracy and poor. In the beginning of the book, the aristocracy oppress and leave the poor with little food to eat hence starving them to death. Many of them die because of starvation and by the ill treatment of the rich. However, near the end of the book, the poor people get the revenge and oppress the aristocracy. The peasants kill many of the rich through the guillotine and by imprisoning them. This shows the cycle of oppression and how it brings justice to the oppressors. In the beginning, the aristocracy oppresses the poor, but then near the end, the poor bring justice to the aristocracy by oppressing them. In the same way, Dickens again emphasizes this major theme by writing, “Sow the same seed of rapacious licence and oppression ever again, and it will surely yield the same fruit according to its kind” (385). Dickens is referring to the conflicts between the aristocracy and the poor. The aristocracy oppressed