Hana Weinstein 12/18/2002 A Tale of Two Cities A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens, is a gruesome tale of the French Revolution. There are multiple layers and topics to this intricate story. There is vengeance, resurrection, sacrifice, death, passion, and the value of life. One of the ways that ial to explaining the themes, understanding the complex thoughts and characters is through the symbolism. Symbolism is when an author uses an act or an object to represent something larger then that entity. Dickens takes very simple objects, and gives them a meaning that makes the themes come to life.
One of the most reoccurring symbols is the wine. It resembles blood, and when a book is about war, it tends to be a crucial part of the story. The first place that it is seen is on page 24. It states “A large cask of wine had been dropped and broken, in the street. The accident had happened in getting it out of a cart: the cask had tumbled out with a run, the hoops burst, and it lay on the stones just outside the door of the wine-shop, shattered like a walnut-shell.
All the people within reach had suspended their business, or their idleness, to rub to the spot and drink the wine.” Since the wine represents blood, it is a horrible image. It is as though blood was spilt all over the streets. This shows that the people were very blood thirsty. They were so craving for blood, for the right to kill, that they were licking it up off of the ground. When I read this, it made the revolution come a live. It seems to me as though it’s feeding its people, its army.
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Sickle cell anemia is a hereditary disorder that mostly affects people of African ancestry, but also occurs in other ethnic groups, including people who are of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern descent. More than 70, 000 Americans have sickle cell anemia. And about 2 million Americans - and one in 12 African Americans - have sickle cell trait (this means they carry one gene for the disease, but do ...
In order to prepare and army, it is necessary to train them to kill. By the barrel being spilt, and the people jumping towards this chance, it seems that the revolution is training its’ people to want blood, to lust after it… It says when describing the memorable storm in London, “sweep of water… crash, fire and rain.” This quote can be used to explain the symbol of water and storms on two different levels. It can be said to help understand Darny, or it can be used to support the pre figuration or representation of the revolution. When discussing it on a personal level, it brings about the thoughts of cold hearted, hard to reach or communicate to.
The idea of not really being able to understand a person comes into your mind. The images of being locked in eternal frost-never to discover appear. Darny was a man who had a second identity. He was frozen in life that he had to hold this back. Rather, when looking at it as symbolizing the revolution it shows that the revolution is dreadful, appalling and scary. It brings such havoc as natural disasters.
Madame Defarge is not your typical woman. Even though it seems on the surface that she is a good housewife since she is always knitting, her knitting is really her anger and plot for revenge. When a person thinks of knitting, they usually think of warmth and kindness, the products of something knitted such as a blanket. As Madame Defarges’ name comes up, it brings about a feeling of harshness, brutality, and a certain chill. This is because Madame Defarge is knitting a death list. She is sewing in all the names of the people to whom she wishes to kill.
The knitting is symbolizing her brutality and the harshness of women. It helped me understand the story better by showing me that not all women sat at home in the kitchen. Even if her intentions were not marvelous, it gave me a better feeling of women at the time and their role in everyday life and the revolution. Rather then the last few symbols that have been fairly general, the next are more personal. They are in little scenes that give us some insight on the characters.
This is impertinent to the story since Dickens only describes the characters as one dimensional. A good example of this is when the wax is dripping or running down the candle. Melting wax that runs down a candle is called a winding sheet. Before body bags were invented, the dead were wrapped in a length of cloth called a winding sheet. The winding sheet of a candle is used to represent death. It drips down on Carton while he is sleeping.
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He did not steal into my room like a common thief, though that was his nature. He was sitting there as if he was always there, taking little heed to his surroundings. His presence in the room was an assault to my sense of security, yet his smile never portrayed this intention. Like a child he did not really comprehend the repercussions of his actions. His physical features, clothing, even his ...
It is as though a body bag is being placed onto him. There is this symbolism of death and tragedy. The imagery of someone being wrapped in a body bag while they are still alive is horrifying, yet it is also a great example of foreshadowing for Carton’s death. Sydney Carton dies as in place of Darny. Carton dies so that others may live. In his death he atones for the sins and is forgiven.
He can be symbolized upon as a Christ figure in this sense. He is dieing for a greater cause and some of his last words were, “I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.” (351) He is declaring that he will be resurrected just as Jesus had said. Those may not even be his words, but rather Christ’s words. Even in his name it self there is possible reference to religion.
The name Sydney is derived from the Saint Denis, who was a patron saint of Paris and was a martyr who died by decapitation, foreshadowing Carton’s death. This also creates a connection to him and the church. ger the point that symbolism helps us understand the characters; I will show how you can get that he was an alcoholic. Saint Denis is derivative of Dionysus. Dionysus, also known as Bacchus, was the ancient Greek god of wine, a symbol of Carton’s alcoholism. Another character which we are given some insight on through symbolism is Jerry Cruncher.
Jerry has a tendency to dig up graves for scientists. He is often referred to as a resurrection man. He refers to his body snatching business as fishing. He is fishing the ground for dead bodies. When Bars ad engages Madame Defarge in a seemingly casual conversation about Gaspar d, he is really fishing for information.
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Everyone has their own opinions and beliefs and can interpret information as they see fit. Both Bertrand Russell and Richard Swinburne have expressed their views on the topics of the mind soul and the after life. These are very complex areas of science and have their own ideas of what the mind and soul are and what there purposes are. Russell discussed the finality of Death. He argues that there ...
The symbolism of the fishing helps us see that these two characters are a foil of each other. It would have been hard to notice without this hint of play on words. One last use is in the court case. Dickens, as you know, is very lengthy on details.
When he is describing the court room, he uses the word “buzz.” Literally it means that the people were excited and anxious. It also creates the image of flies searching for a body to feast upon. This is again a symbol that the people are blood thirsty and are craving for a revolution. This sage of love and death uses symbolism and imagery to enhance the quality of the story. It takes the story to a different level, and helps explain many of the simpler ideas. Need a Lot of work.
