The Hero

Dear Deagles:

Although Carton plays the role of the hero at the end of the story, he is not the classic hero we often see in literature.

The classic hero usually has these attributes:

-He is the chosen one--designated from an early age, via tribal custom or religious beliefs, to be a leader/hero (think about Superman). In other words, he is considered special from an early age/maybe even birth (think Lion King).

-He may be strong or very smart.

-He is noble/brave

-He undergoes a journey that starts with him pursuing one thing.

-He fails in attaining that one thing.

-He realizes he needs to pursue something else more valuable/worthy.

-He overcomes many hardships while pursuing this secondary goal.

-He attains that secondary goal, or achieves some kind of understanding in the pursuit of that secondary goal.


Carton is certainly not considered special at the beginning of this story.


He comes closer to being an anti-hero. An anti-hero is someone who does not come across as the chosen one, who is not strong or exceptionally wise. He can be very common.

The anti-hero may even appear as bad to many people (think Batman: the Dark Knight).

Since Carton is lazy, drinks too much at beginning of story he could be close to an anti-hero. Still, he doesn't quite fit that bill. He really doesn't undergo a journey of any sort.

He is more of a Byronic romantic hero. He does things because of his love for Lucie, coming from his position as somewhat of an outsider, and because he wants redemption for his wasted life.

Go and look on the Internet for the concept of the Byronic hero, classic hero, and anti-hero to see if Carton fits the bill of either of these literary types.

Tis a Far, Far Better Thing...

Dear Deagles:

In my opinion, the end of A Tale of Two Cities is one of the greatest endings, if not the best ending, of any book I've ever read. Sydney Carton's heroism is so noble, so selfless. It is really touching.

I really liked the way he comforted the innocent seamstress who was unjustly condemned to be executed just because she worked for an aristocrat. (To be truthful, I had seen this scene in the movie version of A Tale of Two Cities and I was really touched at that time as well) His act really embodies the redemption he was seeking. One can see this in biblical allusion terms--Carton acts nobly like Jesus who comforts the thieves who were also executed with him via Crucifixion.

Those last words.."Tis a far, far better thing I do"...is one of the greatest lines in the history of English literature.

They don't make heroes like that anymore!

I have put a YouTube link (right hand margin) to a 1930's version of the novel. Carton is played by the dashing Ronald Coleman, one of Hollywood's most famous leading men. Take a look. Its an interesting scene.

Happy Bastille Day

Dear Deagles:

Happy Bastille Day!

Vive le France!!

Dear Deagles:

I like this photo I found while goofing off on the internet. It is titled "Maria Antoinette looking at the Guillotine."

I thought it very apropos to this blog site, especially on the eve of Bastille Day.

essential questions part II

Dear Deagles (combination of the words Decathlete and Eagle):

Here is a list of essential questions you should be able to answer upon finishing the book:

1. Who kills Madame Defarge?

2. How many times in the book is Charles Darnay imprisoned in the book?

3. Why was Dr. Manette imprisoned in the Bastille for 18 years?

4. What serves as evidence that Dr. Manette goes mad again at the end of the story?

5. Who does Carton blackmail to gain access to Charles Darnay?

6. How does Jerry Cruncher help Sydney Carton/Darnay near the end of the story?

Le Marsellaise; French National Anthem

Dear Decaths:

You can't talk about the French Revolution, or Bastille Day, without talking about Le Marsellaise--France's national anthem.

The song was written during the French Revolution.

It is quite the stirring song!

If you've seen the greatest movie of all time...Casablanca...then you probably remember that great scene where everyone (except the Germans) joins in a rousing version of Le Marseillaise.

Go to the right hand margin of this blog site, under interesting web sites, and see this film clip on YouTube. It is so moving you will probably want to run away from home and join the French Foreign Legion, or at least run to your local supermarket and buy some smelly French cheese and crackers.

Worried

Okay Kiddos:

I am worried that no one has been making any entries on my blog. Here are the top reason why this might be occurring:

1. You are still mourning the death of Michael Jackson.

2. " " of Billy Mays.

3. You went on vacation to a place that has no Internet.

4. " " and your parents left you there.

5. Your family has an age-old grudge against Charles Dickens.

6. You actually liked the Reign of Terror and refuse to read A Tale of Two Cities because it gives mob violence a bad name.

7. You're trying to build dramatic suspense and will start making entries the night before school begins.

8. You thought Mr Boulton said "Procrasti-thon Team.

9. You misinterpreted the meaning of that T.V. commercial that says "What goes in A Tale of Two Cities" stays in A Tale of Two Cities."

10. Devore...Defarge...what the heck! You just don't like any French people!

Coincidences

Okay kiddies:

Here's the problem I have with A Tale of Two Cities. There are so many coincidences!!!!

Think about it. Darnay just happens to be riding in the carriage when Dr Manette is returning from his confinement. And Darnay just happens to be the son of one of the aristocrats who were responsible for the death of Defarge's sister. And Dr. Manette just happens to be the doctor who is summoned to Darnay's father/uncle's house.

Then there's Jerry Cruncher who just happens to have dug up the grave of Roger Cly and is able to counter the claims of Barsad!!

And Carton just happens to look like Darnay!!!

And then Miss Pross just happens to find her long lost brother Solomon in Paris!!!!

I'm surprised Dickens didn't have Mr. Lorry turn out to be Napoleon's illegitimate brother to give the story even MORE drama!!!!

What do you students think? Does the preponderance of coincidences bother you? Or does it make for a great story?

Heroism

Dear Decathletes:


As we near the end of A Tale of Two Cities we see Carton get ready for his heroic act. He will seek to redeem his wasted life (as he sees it) by some action that will require sacrificing his life.

He says two significant things on his way to take the place of his "double" Charles Darnay.

First, on page 318 he recalls the words that had been read at his father's grave..."I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die." These words from the Bible fall in line with one of the themes of the book, that being seeking redemption through sacrifice of life, which will eventually result in a resurrection.

Carton is the individual manifestation of this theme. But Dickens also is writing about the country of France, and how this country is seeking redemption--people will die in order to pursue this redemption--in the hopes that a new France will be resurrected.


Second, on page 341 he says his goodbye to Lucie as she is asleep. He mouths the words "A life you love."

Does anyone want to explain the significance of those words? Are they subject to interpretation?

Carton also symbolically shows us how he is a changed man from the "jackal"described earlier in the book. On page 343 please take note of the fact that "For the first time in many years, he had no strong drink." He has stopped his partying ways! It's time to be a hero.

The noble part of this man is starting to come out. He wants to make something of his life. And he is willing to do it for his love, Lucie, whose window he looks up at on page 351...Note how Dickens writes of that scene.... "He entered the court-yard and remained there for a few moments alone, looking up at the light in her window. Before he went away, he breathed a blessing toward it."

Lucie is symbolized by light in a chapter titled "Darkness."

Another Allusion

Dear Eagles:

In a previous entry, I explained how Dickens uses a Greek allusion to the Three Furies. I forgot to mention one other allusion to Greek Mythology. That is an allusion to the Gorgon's Head. The Gorgon's Head was a vicious monster with sharp fangs. Her power was so strong that anyone who looked at her would turn to stone.

Dickens uses this allusion to describe the Marquis de Evermonde. As mentioned previously, this character is extremely evil. Dickens really went out of his way to come up with an evil character to represent the aristocracy. But he was trying to make a point about the role of the aristocracy and how their irresponsible behavior led the peasants to revolution. And by making him so evil, he makes the nephew, Charles Darnay, husband of Lucie, seem like a really nice guy. Additionally, by making him so evil early in the book, he sets us up for the climax of the story, duirngwhich the marquis' previous evil behavior is revealed.

I hope I am making the case that we have to pick up on Greek and biblical allusions when reading literature.

Bastille Day preparations

Dear Eagles:

Bastille Day will soon be upon us!!! Bastille Day is July 14.

And so I ask the inevitable question....how will you personally celebrate Bastille Day?

Will you wave a French flag?

Will you text in French?

Will you eat a croissant?

Will you write Mr Boulden an email in French?

Will you finish A Tale of Two Cities?

Bastille Day is really big news in France. There is a parade that goes down the Champ Elyse--the famous Paris boulevard. Unlike most other parades it is a military parade, full of French pomp. Considering the fact the French haven't won a war since the days of Napoleon a French military parade is quite remarkable.

Go to the web site that I posted under interesting web sites (right hand column) and take a look at clips from a previous year's parade.

The Novel's Climax/Irony

Dear Decathletes:

Please take some time and closely read Chapter 10, The Substance of the Shadows, 323-338. The climax of A Tale of Two Cities occurs in this chapter. The outcome of Charles Darnay is decided in these pages.

It all goes back to Dr. Manette and his 18 year confinement in the Bastille. Seems he left an incriminating note in his cell- a note that was later retrieved by Monsieur Defarge when the Bastille was stormed. The note incriminates his son-in-law Charles Darnay.

Remember from one of my more recent entries, this event is foreshadowed earlier in the book when Darnay, Dr. Manette and Lucy discuss how they found a note from a former prisoner in the Tower of London.

There is definitely quite a bit of foreshadowing in this book!

Different subject: Isn't it ironic that Gabelle writes to Darnay to help him get out of prison, and when Darnay goes to Paris to help him he himself gets thrown into prison?

How about this irony? Dr. Manette makes shoes in prison, and continues to make them after release, still imprisoned in his mind...and then Dickens uses the motif of footsteps to represent the mobs of the French Revolution? Get it? Shoemaker? Footsteps?

Mas Foreshadowing y Allusions

Eagles:

One more thing about foreshadowing, as well as allusions.

On pages 115 and 117, Dickens makes an allusion to Greek mythology by writing about The Greek Furies (they are depicted in the above painting).

The Greek Furies were the Goddesses of vengeance. They punished criminals, especially murderers. They represented conscience.

On page 115 Dickens uses the Furies to describe how whip of the the Marquis de Evermonde was cracking as rode on his carriage.

On page 117 Dickens refers to gnats as the Furies. Again he is referring to the marquis' carriage.

Reference to the Furies serves as effective foreshadowing for what is come when the Revolution finally gets going--especially the Reign of Terror. When Dickens gets to that part notice how he frequently uses words like fever, cauldron, fire and even fury to describe what is going on.

Also notice how the Greek Furies are women. The Greek Furies allusion works so well in this story because they represent Madame Dafarge and The Vengeance.

By the way, has anybody spotted any other interesting allusions (references to history, mythology, religion, culture, etc)?

Foreshadowing

Dear Decathletes

Before I proceed to discuss the events of the last 100 pages, I want to go over an event from earlier in the book. Go to page 101. On that page Dr. Manette, Lucie, and Charles Darnay talk about the Tower of London (if are talking about twins then we can view the Bastille and the Tower of London as "doubles"--Darnay had spent time in the Tower and Manette in the Bastille). In any event, Darnay explains how the workmen in the Tower had once found the letters D.I.C. written once upon a time on a corner stone, probably by a prisoner. The letters had later been interpreted as to be read as DIG. When the workers dug there they discovered the remains of a letter inside a leather pouch. They couldn't determine what had been written, but they were amazed that a prisoner had written something and hidden it from the guards.

After he tells the story Dr Manette appears very disturbed.

Dickens doesn't reveal in that passage why Dr. Manette gets all excited. But what he is trying to do is express foreshadowing of what will come later.

Once you get to the last part of the book you will understand the significance of that foreshadowing on page 101.

Analysis of a Passage

Dear Decathletes:

Go to page 318 and read this passage, and what comes before and after (to understand the context of the passage):

"Long ago, when he had been famous among his earliest competitors as a youth of great promise, he had followed his father to the grave. His mother had died, years before. These solemn words, which had been read at his father's grave, arose in his mind as he went down the dark streets, among the heavy shadows, with the moon and the clouds sailing on high above him. "I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord: he that believith in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die."

Based on what we have read so far, and what I have pointed out in my previous entries, what is the significance of this passage in terms of understanding the story?

Doubles Motif

Dear Decathletes

In one of my earlier entries I mentioned the "Doubles" motif that is used extensively in A Tale of Two Cities. Let's take this time to review the "Doubles" we have seen so far.

First, of course, are the two cities--Paris and London.

Second, are the two characters, Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay--they look very similar, like twins.

Third, are the two brothers, the Marquis de Evermonde, the uncle of Charles Darnay, and Darnay's own father, first mentioned when Charles speaks to his uncle at the country estate. Beginning on page 324, they operate together in an important scene. Dickens writes from Dr. Mannette's point of view about the two characters...

"I observed they that they were both wrapped in cloaks, and appeared to conceal themselves. As they stood side by side near the carraige door, I also observed that they both looked of about my age, or rather younger, and that they were great alike, in stature, manner, voice, and (as far as I could see) in face too"

Of course, the similarity between Darnay and Carton will play an extremely crucial role at the end of the novel!!!! Dickens spends all the rest of the novel getting us ready for that scene!!!

The Three Jacques

Dear Olympian Eagles:

Did you catch how Dafarge refers to the three guys in his wine shops as the three Jacques? He refers specifically to Jacque number one, two and three.

Just wanted to make sure you understand that the term Jacque refers to French peasants. Calling them all the same name gives them a sense of anonymity--that's how the aristocrats saw them (one peasant looks the same as the other). But once Defarge conspires with the three Jacques, the name Jacque is also used to keep identities secret.

So the use of the name Jacque in A Tale of Two Cities has two purposes.

Shawdows and Darkness

Dear Decathletes:

Shadows and darkness are motifs used throughout A Tale of Two Cities.

We see a reference to "shadows" on page 272.

Dickens writes on this page..."The shadow attendant on Madame Defarge and her party seemed to fall so threatening and dark on the child, that her mother instinctively kneeled on the ground beside her, and held her to her breast. The shadow attendant on Madame Defarge and her party seemed then to fall, threatening and dark, on both the mother and the child.

Chapter 10 of Book the Third is actually titled "The Substance of the Shadow."

Shadows and darkness are naturally associated with prisons, foreboding, and evil.

Can we find other instances of references to "shadows"?

A Pun?

Dear Decathletes:

Go to page 279. Dickens writes "Still, the doctor walked among the terrors with a steady head."

Is this a pun?

The Great Fear

Decathletes:

There is a period of the French Revolution--after the storming of the Bastille but before the Reign of Terror--that is called the Great Fear. During this period, the peasants in the countryside burned down a number of estates owned by the aristocracy. We see this period in A Tale of Two Cities when the estate of the Marquis St Evermonde--the uncle of Charles Darnay--is burned down by a mob. This is a key event in the story because it results in the servant Gabelle writing to Charles Darnay asking for his help. This, in turn, results in Darnay returning to Paris and getting imprisoned.

Emigres, Jacobins, Girodins, and Sansculottes

Decathletes:

Let's talk a little about the French Revolution itself so we can further understand A Tale of Two Cities.

First, when Charles Darnay returns to France in the middle of the French Revolution he is accused of being an "emigre" and put in prison awaiting trial. An emigre in this case was a French aristocrat that had gone into self-exile to avoid being put to death by the revolutionaries--they were allied with the King. Hence, when Darnay comes back to France he is seen as an emigre who sides with the King. They didn't believe his story of him going back to check on the condition of Gabelle, the former servant of his uncle.


Second, the revolutionary forces that led the French Revolution were mainly composed of the Girodins and the Jacobins. The Girodins were the forces of moderation; they wanted to control the anarchy that became rampant during the Revolution. They became ascendant in the early years of the revolution.

The Jacobins, on the other hand, were the extremists. Beginning in 1793, they become ascendant, and take over the leadership of the Revolution. They form the Committe of Public Safety. They and their leader Robespierre begin the Reign of Terror, in which they tried to violently purge anyone suspected of threatening the Revolution.

Both the Jacobins and the Girodins were composed of well-educated, middle and upper middle class people--many of them intellectuals.

One sub-group that supported the Jacobins were the Sans-culottes who were working class/poor and largely uneducated people. (the name "sans-culottes" means without knee breeches--the wearing of knee breeches was associated with the upper and middle classes) The sans-cullottes wore full-length pants or pantaloons. The Sans-Cullotes group enthusiastically supported the Reign of Terror. They wanted revenge against the nobles, and that pent-up demand for vengeance exploded during the Reign of Terror. You can place Mr and Mrs Defarge, the Vengeance and the Wood-Sawyer in the sans-cullotes group.

Charles Darnay

Dear Decathletes:

As we move into the last 100 pages of the book, I want to make sure we all know why Charles Darnay is arrested and placed in Le Force when he enters France during the Reign of Terror. Here are some possible reasons:

1. He punched an obnoxious French mime street performer.
2. He uttered the words "Real men don't eat quiche."
3. He joked about the Guillotine by saying "Yeah, I'm sure it slices and dices, but it ain't no Sham Wow."
4. He joked about Paris by saying, "Yeah, its a nice city, but it ain't no TJ."
5. When he said "I like the King" the mob thought he was referring to the King of France, when in actuality he was referring to the Michael Jackson, the King of Pop.

Redemption and Resurrection Part Deaux

Hey Decathletes:

I hope you are all ready to celebrate the 4th of July! Remember, if there hadn't been a 4th of July there would have never been a French Revolution! We inspired the French to throw off the shackles of tyranny. But we did it in a more peaceful manner.

Let's go back to that theme of Redemption and Resurrection, specifically Resurrection. It pops up throughout A Tale of Two Cities. We see it in Jerry Cruncher's night job. He robs graves of their corpses...thus he is referred to as a "Resurrection Man."

The Guillotine is referred to (on page 278) by such nicknames as the "National Razor which shaved close" and "the sharp female". But Dickens also writes of how it "superceded the Cross" and how it was considered as the sign of the regeneration of the human race." In writing this Dickens wants to emphasize how the Cross had traditionally been seen as regenerative because according to the Bible Jesus had died on the Cross and had then been resurrected from the dead; but now the Guillotine served that same purpose--some people died so that the country of France could be resurrected again.

Regarding the Guillotine, go back and re-read pages 277-279 and pay attention to Dickens' description of the deadly "terrors" that overtook revolutionary France. As he writes the Guillotine "hushed the eloquent, struck down the powerful, abolished the beautiful and the good." It was as if the mobs really thought they could purify their country by putting everyone through this terror. Horribly, other people have tried this very thing in recent history. The Khemer Rouge killed about a million of their fellow Cambodians in the mid-1970 in an attempt to purge their country of Western influence.

Dear Decathletes:

One of my previous entries made indirect reference to it, but I want to address this particular motif once more--the motif of "footsteps."

Chapter 21 (starting on page 216) is titled Echoing Footsteps. Dickens frequently uses "footsteps" as a symbol of the French revolutionary mobs. On page 216 he writes "Headlong, mad, and dangerous footsteps to force their way into anybody's life, footsteps not easily made clean again if once stained red, the footsteps raging in Saint Antoine afar off, as the little circle sat in the dark London window."

He closes out this chapter (about the storming of the Bastille) with the quote I mentioned previously..."Now, Heaven defeat the fancy of Lucie Darnay, and keep these dangerous feet far out of her life! For they are headlong, mad and dangerous."

We will see more references to "footsteps" in the last fifty pages of the book,w hen all the characters and the action moves to Paris. Remember this when we get to that point in the book.