“The voice of the submissive man who had spoken, was flat and tame in its extreme submission” (114-115). This line from A Tale of Two Cities is a simple portrayal of how ignorant the rich can be to the poor, no matter the circumstances. In this work of historical fiction, author Charles Dickens’s narration of the many aspects and events of the French Revolution portray violence in a slightly different way. He sees violence from the peasant 's’ point of view: as a last resort to achieve the goals that would in no other way be achieved. Furthermore, the abundance of literary devices allows the author to emphasize the difference in character between the standard rich person and poor person in France, the difference that ultimately caused the
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In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens uses tone, character definition, and the element of duality to convey the idea that each act of ignorance to the suffering of the peasants committed by the nobles contributed to a feeling of necessity to resort to extreme violence by the poor to get the attention of the higher …show more content…
For example, Madame Defarge and Charles Darnay are a very strongly opposed duality, specifically in terms of Lucie Manette. Madame Defarge asks Lucie, “Is it likely that the trouble of one wife and mother would be much to us now?” (279). Darnay cares about Lucy, and Defarge does not care. It is a bit ironic that now she is acting ignorantly and arrogantly towards the aristocracy, just as they had, in turn, done to her and all other revolutionists. She does not care anything for the well being of Lucie for one reason: she is the wife of Charles Darnay. Darnay will do anything to protect her, and tries very hard to escape prison to return to her and make her happy again, even if violence must come into play. Not only do characters come into contrast with each other, but the themes of emotional stability and instability of the aristocracy and the revolutionists, respectively, recur also. Characters such as Mr. Lorry and even Doctor Manette, known to have been extremely emotionally unstable as a prisoner, are able to tell the others, “you will compose yourself now” (271). Once the revolution begins, people like them begin to leave ignorance behind and realize that their lives are in danger, due to the revolutionists taking action through violence. On the other hand, characters such as Monsieur and Madame
In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens uses tone, character definition, and the element of duality to convey the idea that each act of ignorance to the suffering of the peasants committed by the nobles contributed to a feeling of necessity to resort to extreme violence by the poor to get the attention of the higher …show more content…
For example, Madame Defarge and Charles Darnay are a very strongly opposed duality, specifically in terms of Lucie Manette. Madame Defarge asks Lucie, “Is it likely that the trouble of one wife and mother would be much to us now?” (279). Darnay cares about Lucy, and Defarge does not care. It is a bit ironic that now she is acting ignorantly and arrogantly towards the aristocracy, just as they had, in turn, done to her and all other revolutionists. She does not care anything for the well being of Lucie for one reason: she is the wife of Charles Darnay. Darnay will do anything to protect her, and tries very hard to escape prison to return to her and make her happy again, even if violence must come into play. Not only do characters come into contrast with each other, but the themes of emotional stability and instability of the aristocracy and the revolutionists, respectively, recur also. Characters such as Mr. Lorry and even Doctor Manette, known to have been extremely emotionally unstable as a prisoner, are able to tell the others, “you will compose yourself now” (271). Once the revolution begins, people like them begin to leave ignorance behind and realize that their lives are in danger, due to the revolutionists taking action through violence. On the other hand, characters such as Monsieur and Madame