Revenge: An Acceptable Answer?
The French Revolution was a dangerous period in France when the peasants, influenced by the American Revolution, decided to overthrow the monarchy. The plot of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is set around this chaotic time. During this period, many characters take their revenge on others who have wronged them. Through his examples of revenge, Dickens provides insight towards whether or not revenge is acceptable. Revenge is never justified because of the severe consequences that follow, as in the cases of Dr. Manette, the peasants in France, and Madame Defarge.
When Dr. Manette wrote a journal calling for revenge, he did not expect it to condemn someone he loved. In late December of 1757, Dr. Manette …show more content…
According to Dickens, “the darkness of it [Saint Antoine] was heavy—cold, dirt, sickness, ignorance, and want, were the lords in waiting on the saintly presence—nobles of great power all of them; but especially the last” (22). The peasants did not have enough food to eat, live in dirty, cramped conditions, and want a better life. The aristocracy, however, mostly lives a life of luxury and is “totally unfit for their callings, all lying horribly in pretending to belong to them” (80). They pretend to be doctors or military officers but in reality, do nothing. To support their high-class lifestyle, the aristocracy taxed the peasants, who had to work twice as hard to survive. Finally, on July 14, 1789, “the living sea rose, wave on wave, depth on depth, and overflowed the city to that point” (166). “The living sea” refers to the revolutionaries who stormed the Bastille, which was the event that started the French Revolution. The revolutionaries choose the Bastille because it represented the aristocracy’s unjust power, as it is the location of many peasants who were imprisoned without a trial by a member of the aristocracy. Unfortunately, the revolutionaries’ revenge is not justified, as shown by their fate. Sydney Carton, who takes the place of Charles Darnay at the Guillotine, remarks, “I see Barsad, and Cly, Defarge, The Vengeance, The …show more content…
While discussing how to finish off the entire Evrémonde race, she recalls a conversation she had with Defarge, where she told him, “those dead are my dead, and that summons to answer for those things descends to me” (264). The peasants in Dr. Manette’s journal were Madame Defarge’s family. Her brother-in-law was worked to death, her sister was raped, her brother was stabbed, and her father died of a heart attack, leaving her to be the only one who is still alive and able to take revenge on the Evrémonde family. Madame Defarge begins exacting her revenge at the Storming of the Bastille when “she put her foot upon his [the governor’s] neck, and with her cruel knife—long ready—hewed off his head” (169). The governor was to be tried at the Hotel de Ville, but the revolutionaries are so eager extract their revenge, they kill him at the Bastille. Caught up in the moment, Madame Defarge cuts of his head. Using her registry of guilty aristocrats, which Madame Defarge hides in her knitting, the revolutionaries take their revenge, although her main goal is to finish off the Evrémonde race. Even though the Evrémondes ruined her life and left her the sole member of her family, Madame Defarge’s revenge is not justified. Right before Charles Darnay’s execution, Madame Defarge travels to the Manette’s house to catch Lucie grieving, as sympathizing with a
The French Revolution was a dangerous period in France when the peasants, influenced by the American Revolution, decided to overthrow the monarchy. The plot of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is set around this chaotic time. During this period, many characters take their revenge on others who have wronged them. Through his examples of revenge, Dickens provides insight towards whether or not revenge is acceptable. Revenge is never justified because of the severe consequences that follow, as in the cases of Dr. Manette, the peasants in France, and Madame Defarge.
When Dr. Manette wrote a journal calling for revenge, he did not expect it to condemn someone he loved. In late December of 1757, Dr. Manette …show more content…
According to Dickens, “the darkness of it [Saint Antoine] was heavy—cold, dirt, sickness, ignorance, and want, were the lords in waiting on the saintly presence—nobles of great power all of them; but especially the last” (22). The peasants did not have enough food to eat, live in dirty, cramped conditions, and want a better life. The aristocracy, however, mostly lives a life of luxury and is “totally unfit for their callings, all lying horribly in pretending to belong to them” (80). They pretend to be doctors or military officers but in reality, do nothing. To support their high-class lifestyle, the aristocracy taxed the peasants, who had to work twice as hard to survive. Finally, on July 14, 1789, “the living sea rose, wave on wave, depth on depth, and overflowed the city to that point” (166). “The living sea” refers to the revolutionaries who stormed the Bastille, which was the event that started the French Revolution. The revolutionaries choose the Bastille because it represented the aristocracy’s unjust power, as it is the location of many peasants who were imprisoned without a trial by a member of the aristocracy. Unfortunately, the revolutionaries’ revenge is not justified, as shown by their fate. Sydney Carton, who takes the place of Charles Darnay at the Guillotine, remarks, “I see Barsad, and Cly, Defarge, The Vengeance, The …show more content…
While discussing how to finish off the entire Evrémonde race, she recalls a conversation she had with Defarge, where she told him, “those dead are my dead, and that summons to answer for those things descends to me” (264). The peasants in Dr. Manette’s journal were Madame Defarge’s family. Her brother-in-law was worked to death, her sister was raped, her brother was stabbed, and her father died of a heart attack, leaving her to be the only one who is still alive and able to take revenge on the Evrémonde family. Madame Defarge begins exacting her revenge at the Storming of the Bastille when “she put her foot upon his [the governor’s] neck, and with her cruel knife—long ready—hewed off his head” (169). The governor was to be tried at the Hotel de Ville, but the revolutionaries are so eager extract their revenge, they kill him at the Bastille. Caught up in the moment, Madame Defarge cuts of his head. Using her registry of guilty aristocrats, which Madame Defarge hides in her knitting, the revolutionaries take their revenge, although her main goal is to finish off the Evrémonde race. Even though the Evrémondes ruined her life and left her the sole member of her family, Madame Defarge’s revenge is not justified. Right before Charles Darnay’s execution, Madame Defarge travels to the Manette’s house to catch Lucie grieving, as sympathizing with a