A Tale of Two Cities Review

A Tale of Two Cities

Kate Hardy

            A Tale of Two Cities was a tough read. For starters, the beginning of the novel was very boring and hard to follow. I could not tell where Dickens was trying to take his story line. As I got further into the book it became more interesting, but honestly still extremely hard to follow. Though there are numerous Dickens lovers out there, I must admit, I am not one of them. I found the way he said things hard to understand and his story line very jumpy. At one moment he is London and the next is in Paris, and there is not much of a hint that the setting is changing. Though things in the end to interestingly get tied together, for me there were still a lot of loose ends. It may be that since I did not understand the reading very well, that maybe I missed out on some things or did not pick up on important events that ended up being significant, but not everything in the end satisfied me. Personally, being a slow reader and a sort of oblivious reader, I did not end up liking the book very much at all. I did pick up on some old humor though that lightened the novel a bit for me. Overall, I did not like this novel. 

Order of Events

Order of Events in ATTC
1. Twin Evremade brothers hire Dr. Manette
2. Death of older sister of future Madame Defarde
3. Dr Manette arrested and confined in Bastille
4. Manette writes his confessions
5. Manette released from Bastille
6. Darnay tried at old Bailey
7. Marquis receives Darnay at chateau and is found dead next morning
8. Storming of Bastille, recovery of Manette's confession
9. Darnay tells Manette his real name
10. Lucie married Darnay
11. Jerry Cruncher tries fo dig up body of Roger Cly
12. Darnay receives Gabelle's letter and leaves for paris
13. Lucie and Manette join Darnay in Paris
14. Darnay's first trial in Paris
15. Miss Pross discovers her brother in Paris
16. Carton saves Darnay
17. Madame Defarge is killed
18. Lucie remembers Carton saying "A life you Love"

Sidenotes:
event- 1775
^Satire/ age of reason
Lucie is a very static character (dull), perfect Victorian woman! 1859
ATTC is not the average Charles Dickens book, usually deals with more lower class and everyday stuff.
Originally published in 31 weekly publishings.
direct translations of French idioms, literal word for word translations.

Allegory versus archetype

Allegory: a narrative that serves as an extended metaphor. Allegories are written in the form of fables, parables, poems, stories, and almost any other style or genre. The main purpose of an allegory is to tell a story that has characters, a setting, as well as other types of symbols, that have both literal and figurative meanings. The difference between an allegory and a symbol is that an allegory is a complete narrative that conveys abstract ideas to get a point across, while a symbol is a representation of an idea or concept that can have a different meaning throughout a literary work (A Handbook to Literature).

 Archetype: A symbol, usually an image, which recurs often enough in literature to be recognizable as an element of one's literary experience as a whole. Carl Jung used the term "archetype" to refer to the generalized patterns of images that form the world of human representations in recurrent motifs, passing through the history of all culture. http://theliterarylink.com/definitions.html

Class Notes 8/30

Class Notes: 30 August 2012

Homework:

·      Finish character definitions and connections

·      Practice vocab

·      Read historical packet

·      Begin to answer questions

Use words other than "book"

    For example: novel, work, piece

Understanding is key.

Form Theme:

·      Matches

·      Compliments

Take a look at the end of the book for “a life you love”

Plot activity

·      Arrange key plot points in (chronological) order

o   Twin Evrèmode brothers hire Dr. Manette

o   Death of older sister of the future Madame Defarge

o   Dr. Manette arrested confined w/i Bastille

o   Manette released from Bastille

o   Darnay tried at Old Bailey

o   Jerry Cruncher tries to dig up body of Roger Cly

o   Marquis receives Darnay at château and is found dead next morning

o   Storming of Bastille, recovery of Manette’s confession

o   Darney tells Manette his real name

o   Lucie marries Darnay

o   Darnay receices Gabelles’s letter and leaves for Paris

o   Lucie and manette join Darnay in Paris

o   Darnay is first trial in Paris

o   Miss Pross discovers her brother in Paris

o   Carton meets w/ Barsad

o   Carton saves Darnay

o   Lucie remembers Carton saying “A life you love”

o    

Reactions in Wordle

Simi's Review

While The Tale of Two Cities was a difficult read, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  From the humor that Charles Dickens weaves into the story to the bravery of Sydney Carton it was a masterpiece.  It was not, however, a masterpiece that I always appreciated. The eloquent language used was beautiful, but made the book hard to understand. I often missed most of the dialogue and action in a single page and had to go back and read it many times in order to fully understand what had happened. However, as the story progressed and elements of the French Revolution began to show, I found myself much more invested in the story.  I found myself in tears when Sydney Carton offered himself as tribute (if you'll pardon my Hunger Games reference).

As for questions, I have one that has been pressing on my mind: How could Lucie Manette, in all of her goodness and selflessness, have allowed Sydney Carton to sacrifice his life for her happiness?  I understand her love for Charles Darnay helps her justify it, but I disagree her reaction.

Response for ATTC

For those of you who don't have privileges to post on your own yet, you should be able to respond to my original one with "reply."

We will troubleshoot everything tomorrow!

A Tale of Two Opinions

     As I sat down to start my summer reading, A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens, I felt like I would never finish. The first book was difficult to follow, boring plot, and themes that I could barely relate to. However, once I got through the first book of the three, I could not put it down. I began to note motifs and symbols that I had not noticed before. I began to re-trace my steps and marked down everything I could get my brain wrapped around. Mythology, foreshadowing, and symbols galore flooded the margins of my book. I was finally contented.  

     The most compelling component to this piece of literature was the contrast between the extreme extravagance to the devastating poverty. Dickens does not drawn a thin line between these two social classes. There is far from anything in common. However, Dickens is able to capture the difficulty of the times of the French Revolution. In class I hope we address the mythological and biblical aspects that Dickens incorporates carefully into his work. I would like to deepen my knowledge on where he drew other inspiration from. I hope to further understand the message of "the lion and the jackel". I do not believe I fully understood that piece. In addition to that, I hope to understand Madame Defarge's commentary on the dolls and the birds.

A Tale of Two Cities Reaction

Please let me know you thoughts about your reading. Did you make it through? Did you follow it? Did you need to read outside sources to understand? What was hardest/most frustrating to you?

What issues seemed most compelling to you? What do you hope we address in class? What questions do you still have?

Please be honest!

Warm-up Activity ATTC

Choose one of the following and respond to it based on your own experiences as well as how it applies to A Tale of Two Cities:

“People shouldn’t be afraid of their government, the government should be afraid of their people”

"We are told to remember the idea, not the man, because a man can fail. He can be caught, he can be killed and forgotten, but 400 years later, an idea can still change the world. I've witnessed first hand the power of ideas, I've seen people kill in the name of them, and die defending them... but you cannot kiss an idea, cannot touch it, or hold it... ideas do not bleed, they do not feel pain, they do not love... "

"Artists use lies to tell the truth while politicians use lies to cover things up"

- from V for Vendetta

Welcome to English XH!

We will use this for on-going class discussions and warm-up information.