A Tale of Two Cities - Broad

 

• How does Dickens glorify selfless love in ‘A Tale of Two Cities’? [NU. 2013, 2017]

/How is self-love portrayed in Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities?

/Trace the character of Sydney Carton.

In A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens has glorified selfless love through the character of Sydney Carton who is an assistant of the ambitious lawyer Mr. Stryver. He wastes his life by drinking and doing nothing. His love for Lucie is the only bright spot in his life. He is a man of word and courage. He fulfills his promise by sacrificing his life for Darnay's.

Sydney Carton falls in love with Lucie but cannot expose it openly. He enters the Manette house one August day and speaks to Lucie when she is alone. He laments his wasted life and tells her that he can never improve his current condition. Lucie assures him that he has enough possibilities to change his life. Though Lucie pities him, she is not able to love him because she is in love with Charles. Knowing this, Carton declares that he wants her to be happy. He promises to Lucie that he is always ready for any kind of sacrifice for Lucie. He says-

“I embrace any sacrifices for you and for those dear to you would”

Lucie’s husband, Darney, is rearrested in France due to the charge of Ernest Defarge and his revengeful wife. In court, they have been able to prove Charles Darnay as an ancestor of Evremonde. After getting the real identity of Darney, the members of the jury board condemn him and sentence him to death within the next twenty-four hours. Hearing this, Carton enters Charles' cell with the help of Barsad. He makes Charles senseless by putting a handkerchief soaked in chloroform, near his nose. Carton tells Barsad to take unconscious Darnay out of prison. Barsad follows his orders. Carton then takes shelter in Darney’s cell. At two o'clock guards take Carton from Darnay's cell, believing him to be Darnay. Meanwhile, Barsad delivers the real Darnay to the Manette family. Thus, Carton saves Charles and embraces death for the happiness of his beloved Lucie.

Sacrifice for love brings mental and spiritual satisfaction. Carton imagines that if he sacrifices his life to save Darnay’s life, Lucie and Darney will get an opportunity to live a happy and peaceful life with their child. They will always remember his name with deep love. He imagines that his sacrifice for love will take place in the hearts of the new generation. All these imaginations bring him emotional and spiritual satisfaction. Thus, the novelist has glorified selfless love in this novel.

Charles Darney’s sacrifice for the servant is another example of selfless love. When Gabelle writes a letter to Darney to save him from prison. Darney, taking the risk of his life, goes to France to free his servant from prison. Thus, his own life falls at risk of death, which is another sign of selfless love.

After scanning the whole novel,  Selfless love inspires people to sacrifice, personal growth and moral improvement. Sydney Carton’s Christ-like sacrifice for love and humanity is an utmost paradigm\example of selfless love. The novelist has vividly glorified selfless love in the novel “A Tale of Two Cities”. 

• Examine the theme of resurrection as depicted in ‘A Tale of Two Cities’. [NU. 2018]

/Bring out the underlying theme of A Tale of Two Cities. [NU. 2018]

/How does Dickens deal with the theme of death and rebirth/resurrection in A Tale of Two Cities?

The term resurrection means the action of regeneration or being resurrected. The novel “A Tale of Two Cities” (1859) composed by the well-known novelist Charles Dickens (1812-1870) expresses the major theme of Resurrection through a selfless love story. Dickens has praised the theme of resurrection from various points of view.

Dickens has expressed the major theme of resurrection through some characters such as Dr. Manette, Sydney Carton, Charles Darnay, and Jerry Cruncher. Dr. Manette is resurrected physically and mentally after his release from his long eighteen years of imprisonment. Mr. Lorry’s message “Recalled to life” refers to Dr. Manette's release from imprisonment after eighteen years. His eighteen-year imprisonment has constituted a sort of death for him. After deep love and affectionate care from Lucie, Dr. Manette has settled in England and resurrected his life as a physician.

The novel “A Tale of Two Cities” represents the supreme resurrection of Sydney Carton. His noble and generous sacrifice of life for Lucie and humanity is really praiseworthy. Sydney Carton sacrifices his life to save Darnay’s life. By the execution of Sydney, the novelist mentions the horror and meaninglessness of the revolution. The aristocracy has displayed the seed of violence and oppression and the cruelty of revolutionism is the fruit of their seed. Being spiritually resurrected, Carton decides to sacrifice his life. He is reborn through death. He thinks that after his execution, he will live in the mind of Lucie and all humanity. He sees Lucie and Darnay with a child named after himself. He is a Christ-like figure because Christ was crucified to save humanity. Thus, Sydney Carton dies for others to achieve resurrection by dreaming of a better world for mankind and for himself.

Another resurrected character is Jerry Cruncher. He is an odd-job man, who supplements his income by digging up dead bodies and selling them to scientists. He also rebukes his wife for her constant praying to God. But later, seeing the violence and hatred of the Revolution, he rectifies /repents himself of all he did. He then vows to give up grave-robbing. Thus, he is resurrected witnessing the violence and evil of the Revolution.

Charles Darnay is also resurrected physically in the novel. He is rescued when he is charged with treason against England. His second resurrection takes place when he is released after the imprisonment of fifteen months in La Force due to the influence of Dr. Manette. His third rebirth occurs when Carton saves his life at the cost of his own life.

Beside the resurrection of characters, there is a social and political resurrection. Before his death, Sydney Carton realizes that, someday, Paris will recover from the horrors and become beautiful. This resurrection of France is possible, not through Revolution, but through love and sacrifice for humanity. The establishment of modern society shows rebirth, resurrection or reborn.

In conclusion, we can say that the novel ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ is fulfilled with the theme of resurrection and transformation. Through these resurrections, Dickens has represented the futility of revolution.

• Would you call Dickens' “A Tale of Two Cities” a historical novel? Give reasons for your answer. [NU. 2013, 2017, 2019]

/Show how Dickens integrates private drama with a great historical event in A Tale of Two Cities.

/Is A Tale of Two Cities a historical novel? Discuss. [NU. 2015]

/Evaluate Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities as a historical novel. [NU. 2017]

/Discuss A Tale of Two Cities as a historical novel.

A historical novel deals with historical events. A Tale of Two Cities is a historical novel in the sense that it focuses on the period before and during the French Revolution. In the novel, Dickens gives the picture of England and of France during the 1780s.

In A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens derives the theme from the French Revolution. The setting of the novel also revolves around historical importance. The novel takes place in England and France in 1775 and shows the causes of the French Revolution. If we evaluate the history of France, we can get a clear conception of the French Revolution. The history of the French Revolution has been extracted from the history of France. From this point of view, it is proved that “A Tale of Two Cities” is a historical novel.

Dickens’ main concern was to show that extreme injustice leads to violence, and violence then leads to inhuman cruelty as shown by the Reign of Terror in France. In both countries, the poor were exploited by the rich. Dickens sympathizes with the poor and downtrodden people. While there was light and hope for the aristocracy, there was darkness and despair for the poor. It was the best of time for the rich while the worst of time for the poor.

The infamous Evremonde family shows their cruelty in France. The Marquis, one of the members of the family, imposes heavy taxes on the poor villagers and so the poor suffer a lot to pay their taxes. He has no pity for the poor. As a cruel man, Marquis shows his cruelty by killing a child on the street at Saint Antoine. He pays a gold coin to the father of the child, Gaspard, for his dead child and looks at him with disgust. But later Gaspard took his revenge by killing Marquis. Thus Marquis is portrayed in the novel as a representative of the French aristocracy and a direct cause of the revolution.

The fall of the Bastille is one of the historical events in the novel. The poor were oppressed by the aristocrats. People who raised a voice against the monarchy of France were imprisoned in the Bastille. So under the leadership of Madame Defarge and her husband, twenty five thousand people attacked the Bastille at first on 14 July 1789. The crowd seized the governor of the Bastille and brought him to the Defarges. Madame Defarge shows her extreme violence. She put her foot on the neck of the governor and cut off his head with her knife. They released seven prisoners and beheaded seven guards. Another aspect of the Revolution is found in the burning of the chateau, the home of the Marquis.

In A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens depicts the furiousness prevailing in France at the time of the revolution. He portrays the picture of blood thirsty revolutionaries and sends a message to the world that oppression is not a way to seek peace and happiness. The French revolution is an example of it. Thus, A Tale of Two Cities becomes so famous in the world for its historical touch.

[ The Conception of the Guillotine: The guillotine is a historical instrument used for beheading people condemned to death. The machine is named after Joseph Guillotine, who was a physician. The revolutionaries have been sentenced to death by the French aristocracy by this machine. ]

• What is Dickens' attitude towards ‘French Revolution’ in “A Tale of Two Cities”? [NU. 2014, 2016, 2020]

/Discuss Dickens' attitude towards the French Revolution as depicted in A Tale of Two Cities.

/Discuss Dickens' assessment of the expectations and consequences of the French Revolution in his novel, A Tale of Two Cities.

Charles Dickens was an author who lived during the mid-19th century, when the French Revolution had already taken place. Therefore, he did not witness this historic event. Despite this fact, it is evident from his literary works that he had an active interest in this subject matter.

The French Revolution was an influential period of social and political upheaval in France that lasted from 1789 until 1799. The famous slogan of the French Revolution was "liberty, equality, fraternity". Dickens uses the French Revolution as the background to his novel, A Tale of Two Cities. The novel is set in England and France in 1775. The age is marked by competing and contradictory attitudes. 

In the novel, Dickens points out the causes of the Revolution through the character of the Marquis who is very cruel. He imposes heavy taxes on the poor villagers who don't have the money to buy food because they're sending all of their money to the Marquis. He has no pity for the poor. While returning from Monseigneur's party, his carriage runs over a small child at Saint Antoine. He pays a gold coin to the father of the child, Gaspard, for his dead child and looks at him with disgust. Thus Marquis is portrayed in the novel as a representative of the French aristocracy and a direct cause of the revolution.

Dickens's attitude towards the French Revolution is somewhat ambiguous. On the one hand, his portrayal of the French aristocracy is far from flattering. He laments the great poverty, injustice, and exploitation that existed in France during the ancient régime. He understands why it was that so many people wanted to get rid of the old system. Despite this, Dickens was profoundly opposed to the violence and social upheaval caused by the French Revolution. This is explicitly shown throughout A Tale of Two Cities. Dickens does not support revolution. In the novel, he has pointed out the violence of the revolution through the fall of the Bastille, and the killing of the governor. 

At the end of the novel, after the execution of Carton, Dickens comments on the horror and meaninglessness of the Revolution. He states that revolution is bound to happen whenever man is oppressed and exploited by the rich. The aristocrats sow the seeds of violence by oppressing the poor. Being oppressed by the aristocrats, the poor return evil for evil. Through the picture of the French Revolution, Dickens seems to be warning England that poverty and suffering in England can also lead to a Revolution like the one in France.