"A Tale of Two Cities"

Analytical Essay # 51427

English > Analysis
Literature > English

Examines the relationship between past and present in "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens.

722 words () | 1 source | MLA | 2004 United States

Paper Summary:

"A Tale of Two Cities", by Charles Dickens, is a book full of contrasts, one of the most prominent being the contrast between past and present and how they are related. This paper shows that, through symbolic action, "A Tale of Two Cities" focuses on the relation between these two. Dickens explains this relation in an individual life, as well as in society as a whole. The relationship between past and present can clearly be seen through the characters, what they personify, and foreshadowing.

From the Paper:

"He also uses these characters to suggest his idea of the world: "As Dickens sees it, if the human race follows Madame Defarge it will find itself on a treadmill, and the future cannot be anything but a brutal repetition of the past" (Pickrel xi). Madame Defarge cannot let go of her past and she wants to repay violence with violence. Therefore Dickens suggests that violence is always repaid with violence and at the end nobody is going to profit from it."