Journey Through World Classics - A Tale of Two Cities

Author: Charles
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: A Tale of Two Cities (1859) is one of the important works of Dickens' later creative period. It is a historical novel based on some historical facts of the French Revolution (such as the storming of the Bastille and the massacres between 1792 and 1793). It is also his most concise yet thrilling and heart-stirring novel. Although A Tale of Two Cities is relatively short, he conducted extensive research on the French Revolution before writing it. He read Rousseau's works, Mercier's essays describing Paris before the collapse of the feudal, Tableaux de Paris (1781), and other works set against the backdrop of the French Revolution. He visited historians of the French Revolution, imprisoned newspaper editors, and the Scottish thinker and writer Carlyle's works (The French Revolution (1837), The Chartists (1839)), which particularly convinced him. He read The French Revolution many times and quoted some historical facts from it. (Both books point out that the French Revolution of the late 18th century and the British Chartism were inevitable results of the ruling class's brutal exploitation and oppression of the working and peasant masses, and predicted that new revolutions could not be avoided.) "The two cities" refer to London and Paris in the late 18th century, especially Paris during the "Terror" period of the French Revolution. The novel is set against this backdrop, focusing on thecase and experiences of Dr. Manette and Darnay, depicting them in a thrilling manner. At the beginning of the novel, through typical examples, it highly summarizes the social conditions of France and England fifteen years before the French Revolution: on one side, the luxurious ruling class attempted to maintain their autocratic rule through brutal suppression and horrifying torture; on the other side, the vast working and peasant masses lived a miserable life under the unrestrained exploitation and oppression of the feudal aristocracy, profoundly revealing the inevitability of the revolution. With his sharp satire, the author vividly portrays a typical brutal aristocratic figure, the Marquis Evrémonde. His carriage careened recklessly, crushing a peasant girl to death, but he remained indifferent and drove away. What is particularly outrageous is that in his youth, he bullied a peasant woman, forcing her to death along with her entire family, and even used his noble privileges to send the honest Dr. Manette, who dared to expose his crime, to the Bastille. The blood-stained letter written by Dr. Manette in prison is a bitter and bloody appeal against him, and also against the feudal ruling class of France. The author describes the miserable situation of the vast workers and peasants who could no longer endure it in an extremely somber tone, but their eyes burned with anger, their lips clenched white, and they struggled to restrain themselves, waiting for the moment of revenge. On July 14, 1789, the French Revolution broke out, and the long-awaited moment finally arrived. The storming of the Bastille, a symbol of the feudal fortress, and the frenzied scenes of the crowd, as well as the various acts of vengeance they committed after overthrowing the feudal monarchy, fully reflected their long-suppressed pain and anger. In these descriptions, as well as in the portrayal of Dr. Manette and Darnay's experiences, the author expresses his deep sympathy for the victims and his strong condemnation of the atrocities. The author understands and sympathizes with the people, pointing out on multiple occasions that their violence and loss of reason were due to the cruel persecution that twisted their humanity and the evil consequences of the previous era.