Joyful experiences contrast against miserable memories throughout A Tale of Two Cities. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” (Pg.1 Ch.1). This iconic first line immediately establishes the idea of doubling within the book; comparisons like this become redundant as the story progresses. The novel parallels two events, characters, and expressions against one another, which forms the core theme of good versus evil. Characters with personalities polar opposite from one another connect and contrast, two countries are at war because of contradicting beliefs, and Dickens himself employs words that challenge the meaning of one another. The symmetry used clearly portrays the positive and negative aspects of this time period, and
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The book begins and ends with doubling constructions, commencing with, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness”(Pg. 1). By doing this, Dickens establishes the parallelism to come further in the novel. Dickens closes with Sydney Carton proclaiming: “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known” (P. 386) Although, no contrast presents itself, the concluding phrase connects to the idea of doubling word choice. Dickens clarifies importance and meaning by forcing readers to scrutinize words, such as: “It was the,” “It is a far, far,” and “ than I have ever.” As made clear by these two passages, phrases reused and compared against one another emit positive and negative themes. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” this expression parallels a good thing and a bad thing together. Readers can determine whether a significant event is good or bad by examining the sentence structure and grammar that Charles Dickens
The book begins and ends with doubling constructions, commencing with, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness”(Pg. 1). By doing this, Dickens establishes the parallelism to come further in the novel. Dickens closes with Sydney Carton proclaiming: “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known” (P. 386) Although, no contrast presents itself, the concluding phrase connects to the idea of doubling word choice. Dickens clarifies importance and meaning by forcing readers to scrutinize words, such as: “It was the,” “It is a far, far,” and “ than I have ever.” As made clear by these two passages, phrases reused and compared against one another emit positive and negative themes. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” this expression parallels a good thing and a bad thing together. Readers can determine whether a significant event is good or bad by examining the sentence structure and grammar that Charles Dickens