Violence In A Tale Of Two Cities

A Tale Of Two Cities Theme Essay
Violence was a constant occurrence for the people of France during the time of The French Revolution. Charles Dickens displays this as a constant occurrence in his novel A Tale Of Two Cities. During The French Revolution the people of France worshipped the “national razor” or the guillotine, “ it was the sign of the regeneration of the human race. It superseded the cross”( 265). The guillotine was a new sign of hope for the french people during a time where they began to lose hope in their country.

When the guillotine came along everything changed the laws were basically rewritten the new law known to the common people as “ the law of the suspected, which struck away all security for liberty or life, and delivered over any good or innocent person to any bad and guilty one, prisons gorged with people who had committed no offence” (265). The natural rights of people were being revoked from that any sense of security was taken away from them. Every week innocent people were being

“Above all, one hideous figure grew as familiar as if it had been before the general gaze from the foundations of the world - the figure of the sharp female called La Guillotine(265.)” The guillotine became a common part of the citizens lives they grew accustomed to the violence everyday that was happening on the streets of France. Dickens describes the guillotine and its effect as “It sheared off heads so many, that it, and the ground it most polluted, were a rotten red. It was taken to pieces, like a toy-puzzle for a young Devil, and was put together again when the occasion wanted it. (265)”. The streets of France were red with the blood of the people, citizens walking in the streets would basically be walking on the roads stained red from the blood of friends and family members or even people they