Wine Cask Symbolism

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The symbol of the wine cask which represents bloodshed, in Charles Dicken’s A Tale of Two Cities, establishes an extensive effect on the story. As a result of the wine cask that plummeted to the ground, all the people within reach run and drink the wine. A key feature to note, is the people are extremely hungry and in such poverty that they would drink wine off the floor. They begin to look like savages as the red wine stains their faces, feet, and hands, the narrator then continues with, “Those who had been greedy with the staves of the cask, had acquired a tigerish smear about the mouth” (37). As said above, they were becoming “greedy”, thus meaning they would soon want more “wine” to be shed. This is very important to the book because it