- presents the idea of self-sacrifice
- Lucie represents an old love of Dickens (Ellen) and possesses characteristics of hers.
- London was a "labyrinth/maze" he made the setting like that to demonstrate the dark side of London.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Dr. Tony Williams' Gresham College lecture on A Tale of Two Cities
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Thursday, February 2, 2012
A Tale of Two Cities: 12 Literary Techniques
1. Apostrophe: In the novel death is directly addressed just like when Lorry is talking to the ghost in his dreams.
2.Antithesis: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." The whole first paragraph of the novel is comparing the points of views that are seen throughout the world. In this case it was a comparison between London and Paris.
3.Setting: With the descriptions of the settings there is a place to set up the conflicts and to bring out the comparison between the two cities.The setting also helps develop the theme.
4. Theme: The theme of re-birth is being perceived through the context of the book considering that all the differences that are shown in a revolution are set aside to try and mend things in the end.
5. Diction: The words that Dickens uses make the story more difficult to understand because he chose a style of writing that is somewhat foreign to me; not at all modern everyday English.
6. Syntax: The sentence structure backs up the time period that is used in the novel, making some of the sentences seem like they were written out of place.
7. Symbolism: The farmer and Woodman are representations of death and fate.
8. Anaphora: "It was.." from the first paragraph in the book, the author was stressing what types of settings were going to be used in the novel. In his introduction the differences between both cities were subtly pointed out.
9. Tone: dark and gloomy. It demonstrated the bad political and spiritual state that the two cities were going through.
10. Genre: Historical Fiction- The French Revolution is being analyzed and seen through eyes that were witness of the chaos in both London and Paris.
11. Dialect: "There ain't" "d'ye mind me?" The characters have specific dialects that make the reading more difficult because of the shortened words they use.
12.Metaphor: The wine casket that breaks represents the war that was going to break out and the wine represented the blood that would be spilled.
2.Antithesis: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." The whole first paragraph of the novel is comparing the points of views that are seen throughout the world. In this case it was a comparison between London and Paris.
3.Setting: With the descriptions of the settings there is a place to set up the conflicts and to bring out the comparison between the two cities.The setting also helps develop the theme.
4. Theme: The theme of re-birth is being perceived through the context of the book considering that all the differences that are shown in a revolution are set aside to try and mend things in the end.
5. Diction: The words that Dickens uses make the story more difficult to understand because he chose a style of writing that is somewhat foreign to me; not at all modern everyday English.
6. Syntax: The sentence structure backs up the time period that is used in the novel, making some of the sentences seem like they were written out of place.
7. Symbolism: The farmer and Woodman are representations of death and fate.
8. Anaphora: "It was.." from the first paragraph in the book, the author was stressing what types of settings were going to be used in the novel. In his introduction the differences between both cities were subtly pointed out.
9. Tone: dark and gloomy. It demonstrated the bad political and spiritual state that the two cities were going through.
10. Genre: Historical Fiction- The French Revolution is being analyzed and seen through eyes that were witness of the chaos in both London and Paris.
11. Dialect: "There ain't" "d'ye mind me?" The characters have specific dialects that make the reading more difficult because of the shortened words they use.
12.Metaphor: The wine casket that breaks represents the war that was going to break out and the wine represented the blood that would be spilled.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Question/Answer: A Tale of Two Cities
1. Which two cities are being compared/contrasted throughout the novel?
2.How is Religion(Christianity) demonstrated as important in the book?
Some of the cruel punishments that were described for not kneeling down to the monks that were fifty or sixty yards away, such as: having his hands cut off, his tongue torn out with pincers, and his body burned alive.
3. Why is the messenger being conflicted during his journey of delivering the message to the Banking-house near the Temple Bar?
He is aware that there may be some money in some of the mail that he carries and he has a desire for it, but at the same time he is confused by the message that was sent to him that talked about death.
4.Why is Mr. Lorry (the passenger) being treated with so much delicacy at the hotel he stayed in?
The workers know that he has traveled a long distance to get a message to an important bank.
5. Who is Miss Manette?
Paris(setting in France) and London(setting in England)
2.How is Religion(Christianity) demonstrated as important in the book?
Some of the cruel punishments that were described for not kneeling down to the monks that were fifty or sixty yards away, such as: having his hands cut off, his tongue torn out with pincers, and his body burned alive.
3. Why is the messenger being conflicted during his journey of delivering the message to the Banking-house near the Temple Bar?
He is aware that there may be some money in some of the mail that he carries and he has a desire for it, but at the same time he is confused by the message that was sent to him that talked about death.
4.Why is Mr. Lorry (the passenger) being treated with so much delicacy at the hotel he stayed in?
The workers know that he has traveled a long distance to get a message to an important bank.
5. Who is Miss Manette?
She was a girl that was taken to England by Mr. Lorry (trustee) after she was left as an orphan when both her parents died.
6. What has Mr. Lorry convinced himself of Miss Manette's situation?
He insists that everything he did, for the child and with his father was because of business.
7. Who was the ghost that Mr. Lorry had been dreaming about?
Mr. Manette, who was found after many years of being pronounced dead.
8. What is Mr. Lorry planning on doing?
He wants to go back to France and take Miss Manette so that he can recognize the body and that she could give some hope of bringing him back to life.
9. Why didn't Mrs. Manette tell her daughter that her father wasn't dead, just not known of?
She didn't want her daughter to suffer at the thought that her dad may be out somewhere still alive and in pain.
10. What was the last detail that Mr Lorry told Miss Manette?
That her father was found but with a different name.
A Tale of Two Cities pp.1-10
In the first chapter, the characters are being introduced but not named. They are being overlooked because this is a section where most of the setting and actions are explained to give a better understanding of what genre this novel took place in. England and France seem to be the two central settings and they are both analyzed to show the similarities and differences between the two. England is filled with poor thieves that are committing dangerous acts of violence in order to gain what they need. Nothing is safe there because there is no order or conduct being enforced. In France the Christian pastors are important to the society therefor, if they are "disrespected" at any point they are cruelly punished. This setting is of prosperous and wealthy standings.
Since the thieves in England have a habit of stealing other people's mail, there is a passenger that is on his way to deliver some sort of mail to someone. Protection for their own sakes is what they most want, and they would never want to displease anyone with the power to get them killed, so they avoid making any stops at all even when the horses are tired.
Since the thieves in England have a habit of stealing other people's mail, there is a passenger that is on his way to deliver some sort of mail to someone. Protection for their own sakes is what they most want, and they would never want to displease anyone with the power to get them killed, so they avoid making any stops at all even when the horses are tired.
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