A Tale of Two Cities Essay Sample

First and foremost, it is evident in A Tale of Two Cities that before the French Revolution, most of the aristocracy are cruel and merciless towards the less fortunate, and that their actions lead to the death and deterioration of society, which aligns well with Paine’s argument and criticism of the aristocracy in Rights of Man. Paine argues that the “aristocracy has a tendency to deteriorate the human species” (Paine, Rights of Man). He classifies the actions of the aristocracy toward the lower classes as the roots of all the problems in society and the need for them to be stopped. He considers them to be evil and blames them for ruining French society. The readers can see examples of Paine’s argument proving to be true in different parts of Dickens’ novel, especially when Monsieur the Marquis, a very wealthy man of the Evermonde family, is involved. Firstly, when Monsieur’s château is being described, the narrator points out that the Monseigneur takes many people with different areas of expertise under his wing to do what they wanted and answer only to him. For example, Monsieur fills up the château with “doctors who made great fortunes out of dainty remedies for imaginary disorders that never existed, smiled upon their courtly patients in the ante-chambers of Monseigneur” (Dickens, 93). Those doctors, as well as other people like them, only care about being a part of the upper wealthy society and do not truly care about the rest of the French people who ultimately suffer from their greed. The doctors invent fake medicine for illnesses that do not exist and market it to the poor as miracle cures to make money off of them. The peasants do not have much money to begin with, and many are dying quickly, so they become desperate for any help. The doctors and other people of the aristocracy take advantage of the poor to make money, and then enjoy their wealth regardless of whether the people they took advantage of are doing all right. Furthermore, the use of animalistic characterization of the aristocracy further represents their cruelty and fearsome presence in society. After a rather upsetting conversation for Monsieur the Marquis, he walks “to and fro in his loose chamber-robe, to prepare himself gently for sleep, that hot still night.” (Dickens, 110) It is reasonable for the Marquis to have a reaction to his conversation. Still, it is the description of him looking like a “refined tiger:—looked like some enchanted marquis of the impenitently wicked sort, in story, whose periodical change into tiger form was either just going off, or just coming on” (Dickens, 110) that is more concerning. A tiger is not a gentle or loving animal; it is an aggressive animal that is feared by many due to its gruesomeness and brutality towards its prey. A lot like the Marquis, tigers use their violence and aggression to install fear in their prey, and they are completely unpredictable, so one cannot know what might provoke them and anger them. It seems obvious to associate the Marquis with an animal such as a tiger because the two have many similar characteristics, and thus, tigers are a good symbol of the savagery of the aristocracy. On top of that, characterizing the Marquis as an animal, in this case, a tiger, also points out his inhumanity, which is very prominent throughout the story. He doesn’t see the peasants as people, he sees them as prey, and treats them as such. The Marquis, much like many of the aristocrats, is incapable of showing compassion or mercy towards the peasants; they are evil and vicious, much like the animals that they are characterized as. Additionally, Charles Darnay, the nephew of the Marquis, desires to renounce the family name as he refuses to be a part of a family that hurts other people mindlessly. Darnay himself believes that his family and the aristocracy are ruining society and that what they are doing cannot continue. When Darnay returns to France after living in England, he has a conversation with the Marquis where he says that “to the eye it is fair enough, here; but seen in its integrity, under the sky, and by the daylight, it is a crumbling tower of waste, mismanagement, extortion, debt, mortgage, oppression, hunger, nakedness, and suffering.” (Dickens, 109) Darnay expresses his disagreement with the way things are going in France under the aristocracy. He also sympathizes with the poor and declares his opposition to continuing to mistreat or cause them harm. He explains to the Marquis that he is ruining the economy, and is simply sitting by as many people suffer and even die. Darney discloses that even though things might look perfect when seen through the eyes of someone in the château, when seen through the eyes of someone less privileged, they are actually getting worse by the day. It is expected for the people of the aristocracy to see life through rose-colored glasses, after all, they are living the good life. They have money, status, and privilege, and many of them might not even earn or deserve those things. Many of them are born into wealth or are handed it for one reason or another, and yet, they still consider themselves to be more deserving than the peasants; so of course they believe that everything is ok, why wouldn’t they? They do not have to face the hardships that the peasants deal with. They do not have to work day and night just to make ends meet; they do not have to go to sleep hungry, wondering when the next meal would come; they are not suffering or being treated as if they don’t matter. The wealthy can do whatever they want, and act however they want, and there is no one to stop them. On the other hand, when the peasants look at how things are going, all they see is disaster and misery. When looked at through the eyes of the peasants, or as Darney says, “seen in its integrity, under the sky, and by the day light,” (Dickens, 109) the world does not seem so perfect anymore. All of a sudden, the world becomes hungry, oppressive, and cruel. The peasants are the ones that suffer most through shortages and any economic problems, not the aristocracy. For the lower classes, life is like a “crumbling tower of waste,”(Dickens, 109) since they do not have enough money for food or housing, they are the ones who cannot properly take care of their families while the aristocracy is living their lives in mansions; the aristocracy is off spending money on things they will never use that can feed an entire village. Those people who come from wealth do not appreciate or value what they have; they see money as something they deserve, and cannot comprehend the fact that many people do not have that money, and in fact, have barely enough money to live. Darnay points out all the hardships the lower-class people have to deal with, such as debt, mortgage, oppression, hunger, suffering, and so on, and in his conversation with the Marquis, he presents the reasons why the aristocracy is at fault. He argues that the aristocracy is turning a blind eye to whatever is going on outside of their bubble of wealth, and that it is not right. Darnay blames the aristocracy for the suffering of the society as well, and wishes to help, so he decides to renounce his family name and live as a commoner. He wants to ensure that the next generation suffers less, and wants to put the power he would inherit in the hands of someone capable of creating change. Unfortunately, he does not think he qualifies, and suspects that there is a curse that was put on the land of France, likely by the aristocracy, that he cannot lift. The curse that was put on France by the aristocracy is too great for any singular person to defeat, and Darney knows that, but so does society. The lower-class people of France are aware of that fact, and thus they conclude that a revolution is the only solution.