English Class Notes 9/10/12

                                    English Class Notes 9/10/12

Hi Ms. Coffey, we hope you feel better!!

What was Dickens mocking in both England and France?

·      Mocking the fact that both were supposed to be the “best” cities in the world.

o   Both part of great empires

o   Both cities are suppsed to be great- everything is not what it seems

·      Mocking the King and Queen of both countries- first page

·      We are all savages- especially during times of Revolution

·      Countries were only great to aristocrats- lower class probably hated it

·      Historically, France just finished helping the American Revolution

o   They are supposed to have all of this power from helping

o   England is the big power house of the world currently

o   They are all falling apart

o   Not living up to the image that they present themselves in

·      Mocks religion within both cities

o   Uses “Great Lord” when people commit bad actions-irony

·      Mocks absurdity of the circumstances- tries to exaggerate so the reader can understand how terrible the situations were

·      Use of oxymoron in the beginning reflects the many perceptions of the current time

o   Supplement to reoccurring theme of chaos

What was his biggest issue with England?

·      Setting

o   Old Bailey

§  Positive

o   Tellson’s

o   Lucie’s house

·      Slow paced

·      Too controlled?

·      Dickens portrays England as great, but is he biased?

o   England had a lot of crime during the time but he does not depict that in the novel

·      Socialism- larger scale government, no voice of people

·      Court system in England works better

·      English people are biased to people that have connections with France

o   Darnay was almost prosecuted

o   His likeness to Carton, of England, saved him

·      His issue with England is their lack of passion and that they have too much pride. English Exceptionalism. People of England are extremely prententious.

What was his biggest issue with France?

·      Swift, fast paced

·      Chaos

·      No control

o   Ex. Madame Defarge?

·      Too much law

o   Do a bad thing- straight to the guillotine

·      Bureaucracy- smaller scale government, common people control things now, need a larger scale government.

·      French crowd= sea of people, darkness

o   This wave is not permanent- waves have to crash eventually.

o   He belittles the French Revolution by saying this

·      Dickens hates the chaos and turmoil caused by the hunger. Their motives are not reasonable. They think for the here and the now instead of for the future.

·      Chaos- everything leading up to it, everything resulting from it

Homework 9/10/12

·      Write about revolutions that have occurred within the last 10 years. Post on blog.

·      Revolts (these are examples):

o   Arab Spring

o   Tunisia

o   Libya

o   Sudan

o   Iran

o   Egypt

o   Thailand (red shirts)

Bring in Writing Workshop on character Sketch