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.