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.