What's the Story?

A Tale of Two Cities has a strong sense of duality.  This is a quality that it shares with Great Expectations, according to the lecture in class today.  The key opening lines ("It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...") are some of the most memorable in literature.  From the start, Dickens primes the reader for what is to come.  There are two cities, two time periods (Dickens's present, and the historical time frame of the story), and a multitude of comparisons between these pairs.

So, what does this say about what the story is?  Why did Dickens write it?  There is strong indication that Dickens saw parallels between 1775 and his own time, particularly when it comes to the subject of revolution and "mob rule", as pointed out in the lecture previous to this post.  These contrasting elements serve multiple purposes.  On one level, it allows Dickens to easily relate a historical story to modern readers.  On another, it provides him with a structure through which he can highlight specific aspects of society (the disparity between the wealthy and the poor is a major one).

A particularly striking example is in chapter five, "The Wine-Shop".  The chapter opens with a cask of wine breaking open in the streets.  For a few precious moments, the crowd is overcome in manic joy.  However, once all the wine is lapped up and only mud is left, the citizens retreat back to their dreary, depressing lives.  As far as the core of the plot goes, this adds very little.  Its sole purpose is the establish an environment in which both extreme joy and sadness can exist closely together.

Further support comes in the form of Lucie's relationship to her father.  In many ways, Lucie is a foil for Dr. Manette, at least upon their introduction.  While Lucie is described as an embodiment of youthful beauty, her father is a decrepit shell.  One is full of life, the other drained of it.  And yet, despite their differences, they are brought to an emotional level upon meeting each other -- there is much sobbing and confusion to be had.

A Tale of Two Cities: Lecture Notes

These notes are on this lecture by Dr. Tony Williams.

• Personal significance to Dickens
• The Frozen Deep, amateur production by Dickens and friend
• Dickens returns to themes of self-sacrifice in A Tale of Two Cities
• Lucie a reference to Lucy, a woman he fell in love with
• Dickens's Crisis
• Publications, public readings for profit, tours, etc.
• 1868 separated from his wife
• London
• Both a source of revulsion and inspiration for Dickens
• City of extremes in wealth
• Paris
• Made a huge impression on Dickens
• "The most extraordinary place in the world"
• Awed by the novelty and character
• Not as sprawling or uncontrolled as London
• The Opening
• Dickens emphasizes the similarities between the two cities
• Duality of the introduction
• Sets the reader back in time, but also parallels modern times
• Published 1859, refers to events in 1775
• Revolution
• Dickens feared mob rule, like many people of the age
• Hence, the theme of revolution in A Tale of Two Cities
• Written in installments for publication
• Episodic
• Dickens wrote as he went, and wrote in response to reader reactions
• Cliffhangers
• The Personal Story
• Beginning of Chapter 3 contains an uncharacteristic narration from Dickens
• personal intensity

I didn't finish the last three minutes of the lecture.  The speaker was indicating that he was about to discuss the end, and I heard the word "guillotine" before I closed the tab.  I'm not sure if he was speaking figuratively or not, but I did not stick around to find out.  A Tale of Two Cities may be a well known story, but I still don't know how it ends.  I'd prefer to keep it that way, at least until I get around to finishing the book.

Dickens Map

Reading Schedule

I have about 250 pages left to read of A Tale of Two Cities (yeah, I know; blame AP Gov) so I plan on reading 30-40 pages a night for the rest of this school week, then getting any pages leftover done during the weekend.

AP Questions

The following are five AP Questions that I hope to be able to answer after finishing the book.  They're from Oprah's website, but "developed" by Penguin Books, so I'll accept that as enough validity for me.  The questions seem fairly in depth.

1.  A Tale of Two Cities opens with "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." one of the best-known passages in English literature. What does Dickens mean by setting the stage with such polarities? For whom was it the best and the worst of times? Dickens wrote A Tale of Two Cities in the late 1850s. Why does this passage continue to be quoted today? In what ways does our own present period merit such an assessment?

2.  The novel takes place, as its title suggests, in two cities: London and Paris. What are some of the differences between these two cities? Between their denizens? What about characters who travel—or move residence—from one to another? How are the cities themselves divided in two?

3.  Dickens seems to have great sympathy for the poor, the sick and the powerless, but not all such characters are portrayed sympathetically. What does that say about his sympathies? Where does he intend our sympathies as readers to lie?

4.  Why was Charles Darnay able to see the unfairness of the class structure that benefited him and then able to extricate himself from it? Are there other characters as capable of seeing beyond their own circumstances?

5.  Sydney Carton's background is alluded to, though we never quite learn the source(s) of his disappointment and degeneracy. What might have happened in his past?

Evaluation

I don't see any reason not to test my understanding of the book by simply revisiting these questions.  As far as class evaluation goes, I think a Socratic seminar in which people present their best discussion question (and answers!) would be beneficial.  A post-discussion write up should aptly demonstrate expertise.