Mr_Shank

This is what is believed that Sydney Carton’s final vision (thought) was before being executed:

“I see Barsad, and Cly, Defarge, The Vengeance, the Juryman, the Judge, long ranks of the new oppressors who have risen on the destruction of the old, perishing by this retributive instrument, before it shall cease out of its present use. I see a beautiful city and a brilliant people rising from this abyss, and, in their struggles to be truly free, in their triumphs and defeats, through long years to come, I see the evil of this time and of the previous time of which this is the natural birth, gradually making expiation for itself and wearing out.

“I see 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, who bears my name. I see her father, aged and bent, but otherwise restored, and faithful to all men in his healing office, and at peace. I see the good old man, so long their friend, in ten years’ time enriching them with all he has, and passing tranquilly to his reward.

“I see that I hold a sanctuary in their hearts, and in the hearts of their descendants, generations hence. I see her, an old woman, weeping for me on the anniversary of this day. I see her and her husband, their course done, lying side by side in their last earthly bed, and I know that each was not more honoured and held sacred in the other’s soul, than I was in the souls of both.

“I see that child who lay upon her bosom and who bore my name, a man winning his way up in that path of life which once was mine. I see him winning it so well, that my name is made illustrious there by the light of his. I see the blots I threw upon it, faded away. I see him, fore-most of just judges and honoured men, bringing a boy of my name, with a forehead that I know and golden hair, to this place — then fair to look upon, with not a trace of this day’s disfigurement — and I hear him tell the child my story, with a tender and a faltering voice.

“It is a far, 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.”

—-

The quote was a little difficult to understand, but I’ll start out with the explanation of the title.  I think that the name of the tile is refering to the incident when Lucie thought that she heard in footsteps on the stairs and the French Revolution events going on in Lucie’s home.  I think that the title indicates that Lucie and her family’s troubles are over.  I think that Carton is thinking about the future and what will happen in his friends’ lives (Darnay and Lucie).  He will be in a way “resurrected” through the birth of Lucie’s son, and later on, through her grandson.  Lucie will remember him and cry on the anniversary of his sacrifice and death.  He also tells of how good a man Darnay was and how he and Lucie will grow old together happily.  He will also be forever remembered because people will pass on the story of his sacrifice and he will be remembered in that way.  I think that Carton’s last vision was of his friends Lucie and Darnay and their life.  In this way he lives up to his nickname of “Memory” as well.

Do you have any different ideas of what Sydney Carton’s last quote meant?  Use evidence from the quote.

-Maddie Zinn

“Darkness closed around, and then came ringing of church bells and the distant beating of the military drums of the Royal Guard, as the women sat knitting, knitting.  Darkness encompassed them.  Another darkness was closing in as surely, when the church bells, then ringing pleasantly in many an airy steeple over France, should be melted into thundering cannon; when the military drums should be beating to drown a wretched voice, that night all potent as the voice of Power and Plenty, Freedom and Life.  So much was closing in about the women who sat knitting, knitting, that they their very selves were closing in around a structure yet unbuilt, where they were to sit knitting, knitting, counting dropping heads.”  (Page 143)

I thought that this quote was interesting and also brought up a lot of questions.  In the quote the church bells are most likely referring to the marriage of Lucie and her having to make her choice.  The military refers to the spy, John Barsad.  Thought this parts seem clear there are other parts that are confusing.  In this chapter the only woman is Mrs. Defarges who is knitting but the quote refers to women, plural.  So the question is who are the other women referred to in this quote and why are they important?  

Also in this chapter, Mrs. Defarges is knitting the peoples names that she hears, so what is the point of her actions?  Also, what does Dickson’s mean when he talks about the unbuilt structure?  Overall this quote has more meaning then meets the eye.  So what to you all think?

~Lauren Gress~

“And has left me,” answered the nephew, “bound to a system that is frightful to me, responsible for it, but powerless in it; seeking to execute the last request of my dear mother’s lips, and obey the last look of my dear mother’s eyes, which implored me to have mercy and to redress; and tortured by seeking assistance and power in vain.”

“Seeking them from me, my nephew,” said the Marquis, touching him on the breast with his forefinger-they were now standing by the hearth-”you will for ever seek them in vain, be assured.”

Every fine straight line in the clear whiteness of his face, was cruelly, craftily, and closely compressed, while he stood looking quietly at his nephew, with his snuff-box in his hand. Once again he touched him on the breast, as though his finger were the fine point of a small sword, with which, in delicate finesse, he ran him through the body, and said, “My friend, I will die, perpetuating the system under which I have lived.”

…………………….

“If it ever becomes mine, it shall be put into some hands better qualified to free it slowly (if such a thing is possible) from the weight that drags it down, so that the miserable people who cannot leave it and who have been long wrung to the last point of endurance, may, in another generation, suffer less; but it is not for me. There is a curse on it, and on all this land.”

This passage takes place when Charles Darnay comes to see his Uncle, the Monseigneur Marquis, and they have a long discussion. After the Marquis is dead and Darnay gets his inheritance, he wants to give it up to a better cause to help the family’s name. The Marquis won’t have it though, and argues with Darnay. The two men part without resolving the conflict, and the next morning the Monseigneur is found dead.

This sounds very suspicious to me, especially since Darnay wanted the Marquis’s money and then he suddenly wound up dead. It makes sense that Darnay killed him, because then he could do whatever he wanted with the money without the Marquis standing in the way.

1. Do you think Darnay is guilty, && whyy?

2. Darnay’s innocence has been questioned before, in court in the beginning of the book. Do you think this makes it more likely that he was guilty, that it gives people more of a reason to believe he would do bad things?

-Alyssaaa=)

megan– I would be willing to guess that Darnay did kill him, for the exact same reason that you have already said about his innocence being questioned in the beginning. Although, he did just get married to Lucie and usually when people just get married they’re good.

For my “illumination” I decide to break down Chapter 7: Monseigneur in Town from the second book.  First I would like to talk about the setting.  Up until this point, the action has taken place in England.  Now the focus switches to France.  If you remember, back in the first chapter, Dickens wrote about the different problems that were happening in the two countries.  One of the problems that France was having was rapid inflation. This does not appear to be effecting the upper class.  Monseigneur’s reception is lavish, elegant, and indulgent.  All of the guests are lost in a fantasy world.  This can also connect back to the first chapter. England’s upper class were/are not effected by the crime that is sweeping across the city.  This chapter shows how the French are also not being effected.  They begin to throw coins at each other towards the end of the chapter.  

Another thing I would like to mention is the party guests’ behavior.  As mentioned above, the French upper class members have entered a delusional state.  They have placed themselves at such a high level that Monseigneur goes as far as to even put himself above God.  This can be seen when Monseigneur changes around a quote from the Bible.  The adapted quote reads ” The earth and the fulness thereof are mine, saith Monseigneur.”  By saying this, Monseigneur is believing himself to have more than any other man on Earth. Dickens added further meaning to this quote by placing it within the following context: “The text of his order (altered from the original by only a pronoun, which is not much) ran: ‘The earth…”  Monseigneur is saying in this passage that the Lord is “not much” and that his name could be easily interchanged with the term “God”.

This brings me to my question for the group.  Which upper class is behaving worse after what we have seen so far?  Is it the French or the English?  Keep in mind what we already know about the English upper class and what I just wrote about the French.  Support your answer and give details from the text.

Have fun with that!

Erin B.

        In the first chapter of Tale of Two Cities it is explaining how complex life in England and France is at the time in 1775. The  book refers to this time period as being the best and worst of times meaning that while there are upper class citizens living a life of luxury there are also less fortunate people who are struggling financially. Even though people are resorting to criminal acts of violence in the country the upper class rulers are not letting the disturbances  effect them. They continue to live their lives while the citizens of England have to deal with the fear of the city turning haywire.