Abstract This paper examines how the character of Sydney Carton from Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities" is a man who does not even believe in his own life, who drinks to escape reality and lacks any kind of ambition - and succeeds in presenting himself as a suitably plausible hero to the Victorian reader. It looks at how Dickens creates a fascinating but enigmatic character and one whose status as hero is only gradually realised by the reader as Dickens carefully and deliberately constructs Carton's heroic identity.
From the Paper "Superficially, Carton is an unlikely hero, indeed he is often labelled this in criticism of the novel, but one must deconstruct his character to discover that he is merely unexpected, due to the reader (and the other characters in the book) immediately dismissing the possibility that he may become the "hero". In an initial reading of ?A Tale..? one would be forgiven for making the assumption that the "quite self-possessed" (Bk. 2, chap. 2) Charles Darnay is to be the champion of the novel. Indeed, Dickens puts a great deal of effort into encouraging this sentiment in the reader, thus heightening the suspense of the novel's finale - when the predicted hero's death on the guillotine seems inevitable, Dickens has ensured that the reader will have difficulty in guessing who will eventually save him."
Abstract This paper discusses the plot, climax, resolution and theme of Caroline B. Cooney's work "The Face on the Milk Carton", a book about a teenage girl that sees her face on the back of a milk carton. The review breaks down the story by it's main problem, the rising action, the climax, and resolution.
From the Paper "The problem begins one day while Janie is eating lunch in the school cafeteria with her friends. Although she is allergic to milk, she take a small drink of her friend's milk and when she looks down at the milk carton, she recognizes the face of the young girl to be a picture of her taken when she was three years old. It has been fifteen years since the picture was taken, but Janie wanders if she had been kidnapped from a mall parking lot when she was just three years old. She wanders if her parents, who are kind, loving and very nurturing really are her birth parents. She is afraid to ask them questions, so she has her boyfriend help her investigate the truth. She has a lot of problems trusting her friends with what she has discovered because she feels that they will not listen to her or not believe her. The main problem in the story is that Janie does not know who she really is."
Tags: girls, teenagers, kidnapping, parenthood, conflict, resolution, literature
Abstract The following paper contains pieces of textual evidence to support the claims made by Carton in a "Tale of Two Cities". It is a narrative essay depicting Sydney Carton's confession of eternal pain and gratification as seen by the writer.
From the Paper "Today we were in trial here in England in order to try to defend Charles Darnay from charges of treason. I tried to stay quiet and take it all in during the trial, and I noticed many things pertinent to the trial. The first thing I noticed as I saw Charles was that he and I were physically similar, and this unusual fact helped to save him, but I will get to that a little later. I was working on the side of defense with my boss Mr. Stryver, whom I respect greatly. The trial began with the prosecution calling witnesses. The first person they called was John Barsad, who swore in and then tried to make Charles seem like a bad guy. The prosecution next called Roger Cly, a friend of Barsad's who had been a servant of Charles for four years."
Abstract With love and sacrifice as the two main themes of Charles Dickens's novel, "A Tale of Two Cities," an interesting love-related conflict is inevitable. The paper examines the structure of the novel and its narrative style. It examines the conflict involving the love between Lucie, Carton, and Darnay. The paper takes an in-depth look at the three distinctly different sections of the novel and looks at the setting of the novel and its characters, as well as the symbolism involved in the story.
From the Paper "Characters are another very important aspect of the novel as well. Dickens typically used four different types of characters in his story (Long 493). The first type is the innocent child, or Young Jerry Cruncher. Young Jerry Cruncher, Jerry Cruncher's son, resembles his father in appearance and temperament. Young Jerry Cruncher was exposed to the abuse of his father from a very young age. He is often puzzled by the mysteriousness of his father's occupation and the mud on his boots and the rust that is always found on his fingers (Kalil 31). As Moody states in A History of English Literature, the second type is the grotesque foil, a character that is not excited by laughter but by terror (352). Madame Defarge fits this description very well, making her the antagonist of the story."
Abstract This paper studies the four characters who made enormous sacrifices in the novel "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens. With supporting quotes from the text, the author of this paper discusses how Sydney Carton sacrificed his life; Miss Pross sacrificed her hearing; Madame DeFarge sacrificed her integrity and then her life; and Old Doctor Manette sacrificed his health and the time he could have spent healing the sick.
From the Paper "Of course the man with the greatest sacrifice- his life- was Sydney Carton. But, it was such a noble gesture: the fact that the woman he loved, Lucie Manette, loved and was married to another, Charles Darnay. While some people may see Carton's giving his life for his look-alike, Darnay, as a political gesture, I do not believe that Dickens intended it to be anything but the giving up of a life which would turn out to be unhappy without the woman he so desperately loved. "I play my ace, Mr. Barsad, without any scruple, in a very few minutes." (p. 333) Then, having replaced Darnay, he comforts a seamstress to be executed just before his turn. He sees, in his thoughts, "the lives for which I lay down my life, peaceful, useful, prosperous and happy, in that England which I shall see no more. I see her with a child upon her bosom which bears my name...I see that I hold a sanctuary in their hearts, and ion the hearts of their descendants, generations hence.....It is a far, far better thing I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known." (p. 416) These are among the most famous and poignant farewells to life ever written. And while the worst of times took Carton's life, the best of times kept those he loved alive."
Abstract This paper offers an analysis of the logical paradox uttered by Sydney Carton as he faces his death in Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities."
From the Paper "The final words of Sydney Carton in Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities" as he is about to be executed are; "It is afar far better thing that I do than I have ever done, it is a far far better rest that I go to than I have ever known." Like many other expressions in this novel pertaining to English and French history, these lines represent a paradox."
Abstract This paper looks at how Dickens explored and intertwined the contradictory concepts of justice that collided during the French Revolution ? namely a collective social justice versus an individual's rights and liberties. The paper critically examines Dickens? portrayal of lead characters such as Sydney Carton, Charles Darnay and Monsieur and Madame Defarge, whom Dickens issues as archetypes. These individuals are swept up in the events of the French Revolution, and their choices make them representative figures of the various segments of society who were caught up in the Revolution.
From the Paper "A Tale of Two Cities" was written in 1859, during what is widely considered Dickens? second phase of writing. During this time, the last two decades of his life, Dickens novels moved from humor and satire, and increasingly dealt with themes like cynicism and despair.
In other novels written during this period, Dickens wrote of a girl whose childhood is affected by a father's confinement in debtor's prison (Little Dorrit), the decline of Victorian society due to a rising materialism (Our Mutual Friend)."
Abstract This paper is a critical examination of 5 books written by Caroline Cooney, the book's names are: "The Terrorist"," Whatever happened to Janie", "The Face on the Milk Carton", "The Voice on the Radio" and "What Janie Found". The paper shows the insightful study of the books and the author's work in general. It includes a clear and critical stance and discusses the character development, the inter-relationship of characters with the resolution of conflict in the story, the themes and their explication in the books, or other significant elements in the author's works.
Abstract This paper discusses the themes of revolution and rebirth in "A Tale of Two Cities" written by Charles Dickens. The paper examines the theme of dying and coming to life again that is repeated in the narratives of the story's major characters. The paper contends that this theme is mirrored in the larger thematic notion of the French Revolution's circular ideology of death, liberty, freedom and tyranny.
From the Paper "The examples of individuals such as Sydney Carton over the course of the novel show that all human beings can be recalled to life, even if not to physical life under a dictatorship, then to eternal life, through setting an example of Christ-like sacrifice. This is not to say that Dickens had no sympathy for the initial impulses of the revolution-the first person recalled to life is called to life from jail before the revolution. This shows the example of how the ancient, aristocratic regime was bad in France, even though the revolutionary regime also becomes brutalizing-any imprisoning tyranny kills the human spirit, Dickens suggests, whether it is liberal or conservative. "
