Brutality In Charles Dickens's A Tale Of Two Cities

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Brutality like what is seen in the book A Tale of Two Cities, doesn’t come out of the woodwork. It must be nurtured and fed, groomed. Brutality shown in the novel A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, comes from pure, unadulterated hatred. It comes from years of oppression and social bullying. There are two prisons in the book; La Force and the Bastille. And many punishments for those like the characters Gaspard and Doctor Manette. All of these prisons are places of horrendous mistreatment and pain. Meanwhile, a separate form of brutality is shown in the aristocrats, personified by the Marquis St. Evremonde. The brutality of the Aristocrats is of a bittersweet kind, like The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. The sweet,luscious exterior, …show more content…
Madame Defarge is the most brutal of all, in the novel. She is the peak of violence and hatred.

One of the most prominent examples of Brutality displayed in A Tale of Two Cities is the French system of imprisonment and punishment. A clear form of this is the revolutionary prison known as “La Force”. La Force is the location in which Charles Darnay is held, initially, in secret. After a tribunal is held, Charles Darnay is proclaimed guilty, his crime is that he is an aristocrat, even though he revoked the title long before the revolution began. The amount of brutality and hypocrisy here is enormous. Many prisoners are innocent and/or held in secret. They are all condemned to death, which is possibly more humane than what happened to Dr. Manette, but hypocritical all the same. This brings up the next show of brutality in A Tale of Two Cities, the imprisonment of Dr. Manette in “105 North Tower”. Dr. Manette was held prisoner in 105 North Tower for eighteen years, until he is “recalled to life”. During his time at 105 North Tower, Dr. Manette went nearly insane
…show more content…
Madame Defarge is the embodiment of brutality and hatred, within the novel. During the storming of the Bastille, Madame Defarge herself, beheaded the governor and stuck his head on a pole. She is driven and blinded by her anger, it pushes her to commit heinous atrocities against many people. Towards the end of the novel, Madame Defarge in slain by Miss Pross in an attempt to slaughter the rest of Charles Darnay’s family. In this violent scene, Madame Defarge demands that Miss Pross allow her to see Lucie. When Miss Pross denies her access to the woman, Madame Defarge attacks, eventually drawing a gun. However, Miss Pross pushes the gun away. This causes Madame Defarge to shoot herself, practically dying at her own hand, just to get to

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