A Tale of Two Cities

Info:
Charles Dickens
Summary:
The French Revolution mainly took place in the city of Paris during the late
1700s. The Revolution did not only affect the people of France, but also the
citizens of England as well. The French Revolution is known as one of the most
brutal and inhumane periods of history.
The novel's events begin in Paris, roughly fourteen years prior to the French
Revolution. Dr. Alexandre Manette has been released from the Bastille after
having been unjustly imprisoned for eighteen years for trying to bring two
members of the noble St. Evrmonde family to trial for their crimes. His daughter,
Lucie, whom he has not seen since she was a small child, has traveled to Paris
from London with Jarvis Lorry, a family friend, to bring him home. Lucie and
Lorry arrive in Paris at the wine shop of Monsieur and Madame Defarge, who are
both active in the movement to incite a peasant revolution. Dr. Manette, now old,
feeble, and too mentally impaired to recognize his daughter, has been staying in a
room above the shop, where he works at a shoemaker's bench in the belief that he
is a cobbler.
Five years later in London, the Manettes are called to testify in the treason trial of
Charles Darnay, whom they had met during their return from France. Darnay, a
French language tutor who is the nephew of the Marquis St. Evrmonde, has been
accused of spying for the French. Darnay is acquitted when his attorney, C. J.
Stryver, confuses a witness by presenting his law partner, Sydney Carton, who so
closely resembles Darnay that the witness is unable to make a positive
identification. Carton, who has a brilliant legal mind but suffers from alcoholism,
becomes attracted to Lucie and through his feelings for her finds new direction in
his life. Darnay, Carton, and Stryver, all of whom seek Lucie's hand in marriage,
become frequent visitors at the Manette household, which is governed by Miss
Pross. In the interim, the situation in France worsens as its citizens grow more
angry and dissatisfied with the French aristocracy. Though Darnay has taken his
mother's maiden name in an effort to shed his connection with his noble family,

he feels compelled to return to France when his uncle runs down a peasant child
with his carriage. Darnay pleads with his uncle to make amends for the past deeds
committed by the family, but the Marquis refuses. Later that night, the Marquis is
killed in his sleep by Gaspard, the father of the child he killed.
Darnay returns to England and asks Manette for his daughter's hand in marriage.
He tries to reveal his true name to the old man, but Manette tells him to wait until
the morning of his wedding day. Carton is also in love with Lucie, but she refuses
his proposal of marriage. Carton tells her never to forget that he will do anything
he can to help her and those she loves. Six years later, the Bastille is stormed and
the French Revolution begins. Darnay again returns to France, this time in an
effort to save a loyal family servant from the revolutionaries. When his true
identity is discovered, Darnay is arrested and put on trial. Lucie and Dr. Manette
come to Paris on his behalf, and Manette's sympathetic testimony at Darnay's trial
succeeds; Darnay is released, but under condition that he remain in France.
Shortly thereafter, Darnay is arrested again, accused of crimes against the people
by Defarge and an unknown party. In an effort to help, Carton, Miss Pross, and
Jerry Cruncher, an employee of Lorry's, arrive in Paris, where they encounter
Miss Pross's long-lost brother, Solomon, whom Cruncher recognizes as John
Barsad, the man who accused Darnay of being a spy almost fourteen years before.
At Darnay's trial, Defarge testifies against him, claiming that Dr. Manette is the
second accuser, presenting papers he recovered from Manette's cell in the Bastille
in which Manette chronicled the various crimes of the St. Evrmonde family and
showed how they were responsible for his imprisonment. Darnay is found guilty
and sentenced to death. Carton blackmails Barsad, a prison turnkey, and gains
access to Darnay's cell. He then drugs Darnay and has him taken away so that he
may pose as the Frenchman and take his place. While attempting to prevent the
Manettes from leaving Paris, Madame Defarge is shot and killed during a struggle
with Miss Pross. Lucie and Darnay escape to England, and Carton sacrifices
himself, taking Darnay's place at the guillotine.
Reaction:
I thought the reading in A Tale of Two Cities was difficult in the beginning
because of the long descriptions and lack of dialogue between characters. Also in
the beginning I became confused about the mail delivery and how it was related to
the characters that were involved. The first book for me was the most frustrating

because it made me think that it would be a terrible read and that I would not
understand the plot. Fortunately, I kept reading and started to get more out of the
book and I could understand what was happening and what had happened in the
first few chapters. I loved the automatic bond that formed between Lucie and Dr.
Manette because it was interesting to see how it changed and grew throughout the
story. In the first book, I was unable to find as many motifs or significant themes
that continued to show up but as I went through each book I found an increase in
motifs such as the jackal and lion discussion with Sydney Carton on page 87 and
all of the knitting that occurred in the last few chapters. I had trouble
understanding the full meaning of all the knitting but I hope we talk about it in
class so I can understand it better. The last book was my favorite out of the three
because of all the action that took place. The way that the book was separated
made it an easier reading experience to have three different books with time jump
in between the first and second.
I enjoyed reading the book in general because of the commentary Dickens had on
the reality during that time period. He showed how rough it was for the poverty
stricken families in France and how they compared and dealt with the wealthy
people and the aristocracy and all of the violence that took place between the
classes. While portraying this he also created a love story and love triangle
between Charles Darnay, Lucie Manette and Sydney Carton that helped me to
become more interested in the book.
One thing I loved about the book is how Dickens portrayed sacrifice. Sacrifice is
a major element of the novel. Miss Pross sacrifices her own happiness to give
Lucie every chance in life. For example, Dickens stresses the extent of her
selflessness, and Carton makes the ultimate sacrifice that he voluntarily gives his
life by impersonating the condemned Darnay and being executed in his place and
that his motivation is to make Darnay's wife Lucie, whom he loves, happy.