Charles Dickens' Use of Sacrifice in A Tale of Two Cities Essay

Doctor Alexandre Manette is a character in Charles Dickens' novel, A Tale of Two Cities. He is Lucie's father, a brilliant physician, and spent eighteen years as a prisoner in the Bastille prior to the French Revolution. Throughout the novel, Doctor Manette changes drastically.

The novel, A Tale of Two Cities, was written by Charles Dickens and was published in 1859. A Tale of Two Cities is a historical fiction based during the French Revolution. As two groups of people who both live in London and Paris find themselves in a situation that affects all of them, which ends with some deaths and suffering. Charles Dickens purpose for writing A Tale of Two Cities was to inform and amplify the readers mind on human nature. Throughout the book Charles Dickens uses many themes and characteristics, that bring out human nature in all his characters, to broaden the view of the readers.

Charles Dickens novel A Tale of Two Cites had multiple themes, motifs, symbols, and allusions built around one or more characters, including the theme of no sacrifice, no victory. Sacrifices were used all throughout the book whether it was to help a revolutionary mob overthrow the king and queen or to say the husband of the person you love. Either way, they helped moved the plot along in a unique way the only Charles Dickens was able to master.

In the story A Tale of Two Cities andaccording to the definition I do see Dr. Manette as being the hero of this story because he is a big role in his daughter's life. Also the fact that through out the story he makes many sacrifices for his daughter. He even goes out of his way to help set free his daughter's husband, Charles Darney. Even though if he gets caught doing such things he could be put into the jail. As I continued to read this story I figured out that Charles' Father and Uncle were responsible for Manette being thrown into the Basille, surpsingly to me Manette still goes through helping try and get Charles out of jail dispite the fact that his relatives were the reason of his inprisonment.

Twelve months later Dr. Manette asked for Lucie’s hand in marriage. If Lucie accepts, Darnay will give his true identity to the Manettes. Sydney is also falling in love with Lucie but he knows that she is much to good for him and she will never be his. Lucies’s beauty is so magnificent to Carton that by knowing here, she has made his life worth living. Her presence gives Sydney a reason to get up in the morning. Sydney would do any thing for her "…O Miss Manette, when the little

Dickens uses the melodramatic technique, sensational and extravagant emotional appeal to engage the readers and drive them burst into tears. This is demonstrated in the sensationalism of A Tale of Two Cities. Sacrifice, for instance, is exemplified when Charles sacrifices his family wealth and heritage in order to live a life free of guilt for his family's awful crimes, “He knew very well, that in his horror of the deed which had culminated the bad deeds and bad reputation of the old family house, in his resentful suspicions of his uncle, and in the aversion with which his conscience regarded the crumbling fabric that he was supposed to uphold, he had acted imperfectly.” Another example is the ultimate sacrifice made by Sydney Carton to keep

As a young man, Dr. Manette had a successful life. Wrongfully convicted, Dr. Manette was thrown in prison for eighteen years. Within the walls of the Bastille, Dr. Manette began shoemaking to keep his sanity. Locked inside the prison, Manette was isolated from the rest of the world. When released from prison, Manette was on the dawn of a great odyssey. Helping out his son-in-law Charles Darnay, Manette was able to bring comfort to him throughout his imprisonment. He assisted with helping Darnay and Lucie remain in touch. “The calm in the storm.” Manette remains calm in all the calamity in Paris.

Although the “rebirth” does not take place right then Lucie’s love for her father is never doubted for even a second. In chapter six, when she sees her father for the very first time Lucie says to him, “…that your agony is over...I have come here to take you from it...” (49), this marks the beginning of the doctor’s rebirth. Through this statement Dickens has Lucie promising that she will do anything for her father out of pure love. As the Manette’s travel back to England, in time it becomes clear that Lucie’s love towards her father is beginning to have an impact on his behavior. In chapter five, of the second book Dr. Manette is able to carry on a complete conversation, which shows the readers that he is regaining his sanity. Later on in chapter seven of the third book, Dickens reminds his readers again of how far Dr.Manette has come since that first day in the Defarge’s attic, “No garret, no shoemaking, no One Hundred and Five, North Tower, now! He had accomplished the task he had set himself…" (285-6). It is at this moment that the reader knows he has been resorted back to his old self before he was in prison. Throughout all the hardship and pain the doctor has to endure, his daughter Lucie never leaves his side.

Madame Defarge starts off the book with an innocent connotation, however it eventually changes. Her main activity, that seems to be innocent is knitting, but the truth is that she is knitting a register of all who needs to be killed during the Revolution. As the book progresses, Madame Defarge seems to become more and more savage; the first example of this is when she kills a man. Outside of the Bastille on the day of the storming, “She put her foot upon his neck, and with her cruel knife- long ready- hewed off his head” (169). Madame Defarge has killed the governor out of extreme anger and hatred towards nobility. Madame wishes to repay him for all the cruelty the peasants have suffered through. This is the first time Madame Defarge is shown as someone other than the seemingly innocent knitting woman. Madame Defarge is now exposed in her strong involvement as a Revolutionary. Slowly, it is introduced that Madame Defarge wishes to kill Charles Darnay. He has been knitted into her register, and she wants to get revenge on him for what his dead father did to her sister and brother. Madame Defarge wants to avenge the deaths of her siblings, and she stands firm in her decisions. Not only does she wish to kill Darnay, she wishes to end the whole race. Dickens describes her wish in the conversation as follows, “’Well, well,’ reasoned Defarge, ‘ but one must stop somewhere. After

Charles Dickens focuses on the revenge that put the bloody French Revolution in motion in his suspenseful story A Tale of Two Cities. The French Revolution was a revolt instigated by the peasants, who attacked the nobles with vengeful hearts starting in the year 1789, and going on until the year 1799. The settings of the book took place in both London and England, two parallels in novel, two cities where the plotting of the Revolution went into affect. Although the reasons behind the different examples of revenge are exposed, the actions taken with revenge in mind are inexcusable and not justifiable. Dickens portrays the theme of revenge successfully through the joker Gaspard, the brave younger brother who sacrificed himself to protect his

Because of the social and political ways of the aristocracy, tensions rose throughout France. This hostility between the peasants and the aristocrats started the French Revolution in 1789. Sixty years later, Charles Dickens wrote his novel, A Tale of Two Cities, in pieces. Dickens wonderfully portrays this war with his flawless imagery and reoccurring themes. One of his many themes throughout his novel is the theme of revenge. Dickens beautifully supports the theme of revenge through his clever symbols such as the candles during the burning of the château, birds of fine song and feather, and knitting.

In “The Golden Thread,” Dr. Manette makes another great sacrifice when he disregards the fact that the man who is to marry his daughter is the same man who family is responsible for those eighteen years of pain and suffering in the French Bastille. He does not know of this until later in the story but still even before finding out proclaims his desire of keeping her daughter happy. “ ‘I give the promise,’ said the Doctor, ‘without any condition. I believe your object to be, purely and truthfully, as you have stated it. I believe your intention is to perpetuate, and not to weaken, the ties between me and my other and far dearer self. If she should ever tell me that you are essential to her perfect happiness, I will give her to you. If there were-Charles Darnay, if there were-.’" (124) Despite his sense of revenge towards the people who imprisoned him he sacrifices his own feelings for the

The literature that came out of the French Revolution often shares common themes of death, rebirth, and destruction. Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is much the same way. Throughout the novel, Dickens clearly supports the revolution but also depicts the brutality of the revolutionaries. Dickens uses powerful metaphors of a sea to symbolize the revolutionaries destroying old France and the belittling name of “Jacques” to depict the narcissistic views of the French aristocracy to show his support for the revolution.

In 1792, while the French Revolution was in full swing, Darnay decided to go to France to save a family servant, Gabelle. Upon his arrival, he was immediately jailed. Lucie and Dr. Manette soon showed up in Paris at the doorstep of Tellson's French office, where Lorry already was present. Dr. Manette managed to get Darnay released after a year, yet he was re-jailed the same day by Madame Defarge because his family, the Evremondes, had previously killed off her family. Darnay was tried the next day and sentenced to death.

Charles Darnay, Evremonde as we know him, is a rich leader of France. On the other hand, a lawyer, whose name is Sydney Carton, seems to not care about anyone but himself. However, when he met Lucie Manette, his life was changed a little bit and added her in his circle of obligation. Both of these guys, in our case Charles Darnay