Blog Post 5: Carton's Love

The trial turns out well and Darnay is declared free to leave. Everyone prepares to celebrate, but later that night Darnay is retaken by the revolutionaries. Darnay is to have another trial the next day. The next day, the court states that Darnay had been arrested because of evidence written by Dr. Manette. This evidence was Dr. Manette's journal from his imprisonment. In this letter, Dr. Manette told of how he had angered a powerful noble family by telling someone of their secret. In attempts to keep their secret, the family had killed an entire family of peasants except one daughter at the time the journal was written. In the end, Manette curses this noble family by name, Evrémonde; Charles Darnay's family.

This was the only evidence needed for the jury to condemn Darnay to death. The entire family was devastated. They were going to stay in France until Darnay had died, but Carton (who had arrived a few days earlier) told them to prepare to leave because they were in danger of being arrested as well. He also told them to wait to leave until he had arrived. The day of Darnay's execution, Sydney switches places with Darnay. Darnay escapes while Sydney is killed by the guillotine.

This book has an extremely complex element of foreshadowing that the reader cannot discern until finishing the book. There were numerous sections in which Carton prepares for his death that many would not pick up on. When Mr. Lorry and Carton were speaking in this example,  Mr. Lorry was talking about Darnay's death, while Carton was talking about his own. "'I heard the fall of the axe in that sound...' (Mr Lorry) '...don't grieve. I encouraged Doctor Manette in this idea because I felt that it might one day be consolatory to her. Otherwise, she might think 'his life was wantonly thrown away or wasted,' and that might trouble her,'(Carton)" (Dickens 234). In that quote, you can see that Carton is talking about his own death while hiding it from the others so that they will not stop him.

This sacrifice for Lucie brings up one question, who loves Lucie more, Darnay or Carton? Darnay was willing to let Lucie stay with her father and has married her and had two children with her. On the other hand, Carton was willing to die for Lucie and her family and gave her up to Darnay so that Lucie could have a happy life.

Carton's sacrifice rises him up to a Christ like figure at the end of the book and shows that redemption is possible from one's past. Like Christ, Carton died so that others could live.

Blog Post 4: Glogster

This section has finally gotten into the heart of the French Revolution. The people have finally risen up to overthrow their king. The Defarges have become leaders of the revolution and both were in charge when they attacked the Bastille. Since then, they have led the revolutionaries and have captured one of Darnay's loyal servants in France. Darnay decides to go back to save his servant even though the journey poses danger to himself. Before leaving, he writes a letter to Lucie (who now has a daughter, Lucie) and her father letting them know where he has gone.

Once in France, Darnay is arrested for being an emigrant and taken to prison. Lucie and her father soon grow worried and travel to France themselves. They do not encounter any trouble because Dr. Manette was held in the Bastille for many years. Once they arrive Dr. Manette visits Darnay and works to free him. The section ends when Dr. Manette announces to Lucie that Darnay will have his trial the next day.

I find the change in the Defarges to be interesting. In other sections before the Revolution they seemed to have more personality. Mr. Defarge had friends with whom he would often joke around and drink. After the Revolution they were described as "curiously reserved and mechanical" (Dickens 188). This reminds me of how Mr. Lorry acted before he befriended the Manettes. Of course, Mr Lorry was less sinister than Mr. or Mrs. Defarge, but his mannerisms seemed similar. In a way, Mr Lorry was as tightly bound to Telson's Bank as the Defarges are to the Revolution. Mr. and Mrs. Defarge are even more so bound to the Revolution because they are the leaders and will go down with the revolution if it fails. In this way, almost every character besides Lucie have been or are imprisoned because of their past decisions of allegiances.

Blog Post 3: Love and the Causes of Revolution

In France, a noble is found racing through the streets in his carriage. These carriages stop for nothing and have no regard for the peasants who have little time to get out of the way. One child did not move in time and was killed by the cart. While the father lamented the death of his child, the noble showed no compassion for either of them. “It is extraordinary to me ... that you people cannot take care of yourselves and your children. ... How do I know what injury you have done to my horses,” (Dickens 83). This scene in particular shows the legitimacy the people have in their hatred for the nobles and the way that the nobles regard the peasants.

Later, in the house of the same man, Charles Darnay appears. It is found that Charles is related to this noble and will be the next in line to inherit. Darnay refuses to accept this life style and says that he will help the people in his land when he gains possession of the land. Later, the French peasants who housed Doctor Manette when he was not well find out that Darnay is a noble in France. They put him on a list with others they plan to kill during their planned revolution. The woman of the house, Madame Defarge, knits the list in secret symbols.

After returning to England, Darnay visits Doctor Manette. It is his intention to propose to Lucie. He promises to never take the two of them away from each other if he were to gain the father’s blessing to ask Lucie to marry him. Doctor Manette agrees, and Darnay was about to tell Manette his previous identity in France, but Manette stops Darnay and orders Darnay to tell him on Lucie’s wedding day.

Near the same time, Sydney Carton visits Lucie. He says that he will never be able to make a better life for himself, but professes his love to Lucie. He offers to help her whenever she would need him, and even offers to sacrifice his life for her happiness.

I find this whole plot to be frustrating because Dickens does not seem to spend enough time developing the characters. The imagery in A Tale of Two Cities is extremely well done, but I believe the characters suffer from it. In particular, this love between Darnay and Lucie is frustrating because they do not seem to share any feelings for each other. Maybe it is because the acceptable behavior of the time period was to share less emotion than the present. Nevertheless, I feel that Dickens does not invest enough time in their relationship to make the reader care enough about them.


While this book is about the French Revolution, I have not gotten to the part yet where this has occurred. So far, only planning has begun for the revolution, so I did not want to search anything I could not immediately relate to the book. This is why this video was chosen over one directly explaining the French Revolution. This video directly related to the book in two circumstances.

Censorship was extremely strict in France and many people were stopped from spreading enlightenment ideas. These laws even extended to philosophes, who had their books published in other countries and smuggled over the borders. The only way a person could speak freely was in a court of law. In this way the French people (50% literate) could gain legal information that was not just a publicity stunt. In addition to the novelty of the trial, this may have been why trials were so popular in France. They were one way to get otherwise censored information.

In addition, the video mentioned people called the “Grub Street Hacks” who were philosophes. These people never gained a reputation or as much prestiege, but they played an important role nonetheless. These people spread around information that degraded the view of the monarchy and started popular theories and coined the phrase the “Austtrian Whore.” They were extremely influential among the people at this time.

http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/chap1d.html
This website provided great detail into the motives of the peasants before the French Revolution. It covered all of the major causes such as food shortage, the Estates General, and unequal power. In addition to this, it stressed the fact that all peasants, not just those in cities, were unhappy. In fact, they believed, after the revolts in the cities, that the Nobles would kill them. This could relate to Charles Darnay further in the story because he is now the owner of one such place in France.

Blog Post 2: The Characters and their Purpose

A Tale of Two Cities begins with Lucie Manette and Mr. Lorry who are traveling by carriage from London to Paris.  Mr. Lorry informs Miss Manette that her father, presumed dead for many years, has been found alive and that the two of them are going to take him back to London.  When the two of them finally reach Doctor Manette, he had developed mental problems to help him forget the pain of his imprisonment in the Bastille. “The task of recalling him into which he always sank when he had spoken, was like recalling some very weak person from a swoon, or endeavoring, in the hope of some disclosure, to stay the spirit of a fast-dying man,” (Dickens 36). All three characters return to England as quickly as possible.

Five years later, all three are in attendance at a trial for a Charles Darnay. Doctor Manette has mostly recovered from his stay in the jail because of his daughter’s love and care, but still can feel unwell during moments that remind him of his stay in prison. Once again, Lucie’s kind nature saves another person as her concern for Charles Darnay convinces the jury not to convict him of treason.  This appearance at Darnay’s trial prompts both Darnay and another man to fall in love with Lucie Manette. This other man, Sydney Carton, looks much like Darnay, but resents this other man’s success compared to his own small achievements.

So now that some basic understanding of the book has been reached, I will go into further detail. One of the problems I have with this book so far is that I find Doctor Manette to be a fairly simple and static character. While Doctor Manette, has changed significantly through this reading section, the time span between Book the First and Book the Second made the change seem instantaneous. This abrupt transition from infirm to independent made this concept that love and faith can save people from “death” to be less apparent. A static character is generally meant to show an idea of the time or change a main character’s point of view. I see Doctor Manette performing none of these functions. He also seems to grow less important as the love triangle between Lucie, Charles, and Sydney unfolds. There must be some purpose for Doctor Manette in the future because he seems to play a small role in relation to the time spent written around this character.

Another interesting character is Mr. Lorry. Mr. Lorry is “a man of business,” as so often mentioned by Dickens. What I find most interesting about him is how hard he tries to only stick to business throughout his entire life.  When he told Lucie that they had found her father after so many years he dealt with her reaction to this by saying, “A-a matter of business. You confuse me and how can I transact if I am confused? … If you could kindly mention now, for instance, what nine times ninepiece are … it would be so encouraging,” (Dickens 25). Mr. Lorry is interesting because of his innocent view of the world around him usually seen in children. The effect of Lucie’s love can also be seen in him as he becomes a family friend over time and considers their home to be his home. Charles Dickens could use Mr. Lorry in the future to show his point of view of the French Revolution and the surrounding events.

Blog Post 1: Predictions

Before choosing to read A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, I had done some background research on my choice. A Tale of Two Cities surrounds the love between a young woman, Lucie Manette, and the two men who love her, Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay. This drama plays out in London and Paris, right before and during the French Revolution.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…” (10 Dickens).

This quotation from the beginning of A Tale of Two Cities beautifully summarizes the time period in which this story takes place. The comparisons made in this first sentence show the great divide between the haves and have-nots. During the Age of Enlightenment, while the nobles lived in luxury and the philosophes dreamed of a democratic government, the peasants could be found starving everywhere throughout France. Eventually, riots broke out and there was little the privledged first and second estates could do to stop the third estate from tearing their current society apart. These frightful beginnings lead people to be extremely fearful throughout the entire French. Many were paranoid because of the continuous cry of the peasants for the blood of traitors.

Due to the general information I found on this novel, and the knowledge I have about the French Revolution, I predict that this time period will bring out the true nature of the people portrayed. This time period can help the author share his feelings about human nature and the power of love between people. In the end, I believe that Dickens will show that love can overcome the evil in the world and transform it into a better place despite someone’s surroundings.

Reading Schedule

Blog Post 1 is to follow.

Reading Schedule:
Due Date	Page Numbers
February 4	11 to 78
February 16	78 to 136
March 6	136 to 198
March 21	198 to 259