A Tale of Two Cities Analysis Paper Example

A Tale of Two Cities is an historical adventure fantasy book that describes the journey of Mr. Lorry, a lawyer who works at Tellson Bank, Lucie Manette who is a young lady who is plagued by the history behind her missing father and his whereabouts, and also Mr Manette who is a prisoner that has lost his sense of identity due to excess trauma given to him by his sentences in prison. The book follows each character during an 18 year old period in which there are new characters introduced such as Miss. Pross who is Lucie’s childhood caretaker and closest friend, Mrs and Mr Defarge who are business owners for a local winery and also Sydney Carton, a alcoholic lawyer who’s idea of life is heavily saturated with misfortune and misguided choices. Essentially these characters are interconnected with each other in more ways than one, and as the characters question more about their purpose and identities there is a consistent tie that will forever unite them. Personally I would recommend this book because of its thought provoking ideologies, it’s connection between the multiple identities a person can have and how time is the most influential aspect of life.

The significance of the title is that the story describes the two contrasting cities, London which is a city where rules are more stabilized and a place in which there is more order. Then there is Paris which is in the act of creating/being a revolution, and although during this revolution there was an expanding amount of beliefs concerning what should or should not be followed there was an extreme lack of order and togetherness. The title brings light to these opposing cities with their unique characteristics giving life to what is otherwise known as a mere city with no significant variable to it, also by using the word “tale” it brings a more fantastical and fairy-tale like mood to the story which is also complimented nicely by the introduction that starts with the comparison of time and people.

 The importance of setting is due to the heavy periodical influences the time has on the characters. Their speech, thoughts and ideas are all a product of their time and are a reflection of a combination between societies and their personal cognition. Another reason is because of the fact that the author, also known as Charles Dickens, is a man of a similar time period as the characters in his book. This allows him to directly use his own personal experiences and knowledge of people, another reason why setting is so vital to the story is because one of the main conflicts of the story is the French Revolution, this event drove a line between characters and also is the contributing factor to why the last one-third of the book even happened at all. Without this setting and time period then the story itself would be deviating from what we know now.

The overarching theme of this story is that people have regrets, they have wants and goals they might never achieve. However for every reason there is an action following it, these goals and wants define us and effect both our actions and could lead to impacts that the world will be shaken from. “‘Monseigneur, hear me! Monseigneur, hear my petition! My husband died of want; so many die of want; so many more will die of want’” (Dickens 109). This was a part of dialogue between a widowed wife and a Marquis in which she was begging for him to give her husband a grave, so he would not be forgotten and so at least his body could be laid to rest even if his ambitions couldn’t. 

Over time this theme evolved into a more bloody thirsty way. Due to selfish nobles and their lack of humanity for their citizens it caused an uproar in the people and led to multiple public manslaughters, for example on page 208 it stated “Down, and up, and head foremost, on the steps of the building; now, on his knees; now, on his feet; now, on his back...for all of Saint Antoine to dance at the sight of” (Dickens 208). In this quote it is described that because of the constant suffering and unfairness the nobles caused to the people they eventually had enough and fought back. “‘... The remorseless sea of turbulently shaving shapes, voices of vengeance. And faces hardened in the furnaces of suffering until the touch of pity would make no mark on them” (Dickens 203/204). Due to the nobles' own actions they single handedly brought their own fate to themselves. 

During Mr Manette’s time in prison he was immensely enveloped by his thoughts and surroundings, so night after night his hope for freedom slowly dwindled but there was still a shining hope. The moon. “I have looked at her, from my prison-window, when I could not bear her light. I have looked at her when it was been such torture to me to think of her shining uopn what I had lost..’” (Dickens 174). The moon symbolized his strength and loss of his freedom, by using the moon as a symbol for the hardships he had to endure and the uncertain future he had to face, it creates a beautiful yet haunting mental image that engraves this specific part of the book into the reader’s mind. The author chose the moon as a symbolic representation of Mr Manettes preservation because it reveals that Mr Manette in his darkest times finds a light-even if it seems almost unthinkable. Adding on to that, during the day the stars are outshined by the sun's rays but when it is dark both the moon and the stars illuminate the sky, just like Mr Manette. 

In the book many of the parisians wear red caps, signifying their methods that have drenched their paths in blood. Dickens used the cap as a symbol of intentional or unintentional murderous feeling, this is supported when just after a deathly revolt Mr Defarge wore a brand new red cap, right after he aided in the murder of another man (Dickens 205). Also when the book notes that many of Mrs/Mr. Defarges followers and allies all wear red caps and all of them are willing to kill or atleast have killed to prove their point. The author chose this to symbolize their violence because a cap is worn on the head, which is also the very same thing that gets chopped off when put under the guillotine. By wearing their red caps they are also signalling that they are aiding the forward movement of the revolution even if they leave a bloody trail of heads behind them.  

One of the aforementioned characters in the story is Sydney Carton, who is an ill-fated lawyer. On page 85 it stated “Sadly, sadly the sun rose; it rose upon no sadder sight than a man of good abilities of his own help and his happiness, sensible of the blight on him, and resigning himself to let it eat him away” (Dickens 85). The sun symbolized the rise of a new day and a new opportunity given to all. Due to the factor that the sun always rises from the beginning of what we know, to this very day. The sun is a ray of light and this statement is often used in this story when a character is in a state of turmoil or in a time of extreme emotions, the sun allows them to think and reflect on who they are and also reminds them that today is another day, one that allows them to change themselves so they can find a life that loves them just as much as they love their own life.

After the announcement of Darnay's second execution and after countless failed attempts of freeing Darney the characters were chased into an endless loop that finally ended to only draw them into a dead end.  However Sydney decided to give the ultimate sacrifice by switching clothing with Darney to take his place in his execution. This ending to me was a well written one however if I were the author I would have added in more resolution since in the original book the aftermath of Sydney's sacrifice were left up to interpretation, which is a bittersweet ending when added to the fact that we don’t know if the sacrifice will even help at all, we don’t know if it was all in vain. A good ending to a story will often leave the reader thinking back and put them into a daze, which this book did do but it was so unclear in the ending that it gave me a sense of confusion due to the lack of resolution rather than a fulfilled one.