French Revolution Setting Analysis

During the French Revolution, the poor people of France rebelled against the unjust government in which they had little to no representation, resulting in the arrests and executions of over 300,000 Frenchmen (Gaynor & Esler 478). During this time period, much of France’s Third Estate, which made up over 98% of the population, lived in horrible conditions. They had to deal with famine and living in small, one room houses while the rich lived easy lives with little work, not having to pay any taxes and being able to practice deficit spending. Careless use of money drove the nation further into debt, causing the poor to suffer even more. People rebelled after realizing how unfair this system was, leading to the French Revolution. There were significant …show more content…
This was a period of change within France, in which the Third Estate got more fair representation within the government. What started off as the lower class in France peacefully looking for fair representation when within the government, like forming the National Assembly, eventually became a period of constant rebellions and reforms known as the Reign of Terror, which got more and more violent as the Revolution progressed (Gaynor & Esler 469-478). A dynamic setting like this, where the power within the French government was constantly shifting, would provide for an interesting story since everything around the characters is always changing, influencing their decisions and the way they think. This, in turn, could lead to a plethora of ways to develop the characters depending on which events they experience and how these events affect them. The many revolts that took place in France over a fairly short period of time would allow constant change and development within the characters throughout the course of the book. This can help keep the reader interested, as it adds an element of unpredictability to the setting around the characters and to the story …show more content…
This is because it provided for an interesting and dynamic setting in which the characters of the book could develop due to the many changes happening around them. There were also conditions during this time period that Dickens could relate to from when he was a child since he worked in a blacking factory where the workers were mistreated and put to work in places that were dirty with grime and infested with rats. Having a substantial amount of material to work with and being able to relate to his characters from firsthand experience allowed Dickens to write A Tale of Two Cities and have it become a timeless classic that, to this day, is still being read by many people all over the