My Commons on a Tale of Two Cities
As we all know, Charles Dickens' novel A Tale of Two Cities is a novel
based on the French Revolution in the late 1800s. In that terrible time, every
moment was full of great fear. Before that great revolution, the common people,
especially the peasants, were poor, hungry and unhappy. The king and the
noble men maltreated the poor in many ways but they had never felt a little
ashamed, on the contrary they thought they could do bad things in the nature
of things.
As an outstanding writer, in Dickens's work, the language skill is essential.
Each kind of rhetoric technique, like the analogy, the exaggeration, the
contrast, the humorous, and the taunt are handled skillfully and the artistry of
the work is also delivered the peak. A tale of two cities has its difference with
the general historical novel, its character and the main plot are all fictionalizes.
With the broad real background of the French Revolution, the author take the
fictional character Doctor Nanette’s experience as the main clue, interweaves
the unjust charge, love and revenge three independences but also incident
cross-correlation stories together, and the clue is complex. The author use
insert narrates, foreshadowing, upholstery and so many techniques, causes
the structure integrity and strictness, the plot winding anxious and rich of
theatrical nature, it displayed the remarkable artistic skill. The style A tale of
two cities is solemnity and melancholy, fills indignation, but lacks the humor of
the early works.
Besides, this novel criticizes the violence and oppression in the society. In
this novel, the author not only expresses his humanitarianism on the love
between human beings, but also expresses his view according to his critics to
the violence and oppression in that society. The author expresses his opinion
on two parts. First, he criticizes the aristocrats, esp. the representative Marquis
of Evremonde. Second, he also criticizes the revolutionaries in the French
Revolution. However, when we see from the description of the couple, the
author does not think high of the revolution. When the revolutionaries begin
their revenge, the author describes that everyone is terrible, the man is terrible,
the woman crazy, and there is not a human creature at that time. We can see
although the author does not show his agreement to the aristocrats’ cruelty, he
does not like the bloody revolution, either.
What is more, this novel advocates the Christian love and self-sacrifice.
Charles Dickens' novel A Tale of Two Cities is essentially a tale of love,
sacrifice, and, most importantly, resurrection. Dr. Manette, Charles Darnay,
and Sydney Carton, all desperate men leading catastrophic lives, make great sacrifices in order to attain true physical, spiritual, and societal resurrection for
themselves and the ones they love. In this novel, the author portrays some
typical characters that embody the author’s view. First, he portrays some kind,
upright and humane persons, such as Dr. Manette, Lucie Manette, Mr. Lorry,
etc. But at the same time, he also portrays some cruel and ferocious persons,
such as the Marquis of Evremonde Brothers, Mr. and Mrs. Defarge. He uses
these characters to make a contrast, which clearly expresses his view. In short,
what he was trying to express is that everyone can love each other and
sacrifice for others. So Sydney Carton is the supreme embodiment of Charles
Dickens’ humanitarianism.
Ultimately, A Tale of Two Cities is essentially a tale of love, sacrifice, and
most importantly, resurrection. Through personal sacrifices or sacrifices for
those who they loved, it shows the human’s virtue and integrity. By struggling
for, hunting for, and sacrificing for a better life, all of the main characters are
forever resurrected in the hearts of those they love forever.
Overall, Charles Dickens is a humanitarian. And according to the analysis
of the characters in A Tales of Two Cities, we can see that the author
advocates the universal love and equality between human beings. And this is
the basic element in a peaceful and harmonious society. Everyone should love
people and only the humanitarianism can improve this situation. And A Tale of
Two Cities is the best work, which embodies his humanitarianism. So that we
can see that Charles Dickens is an outstanding humanitarian of the capitalistic
reformism in the 19th century.
