Tale of Two Cities- Illuminator- Pd3- Leah Sevco

tale_of_2_cities — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 01:59:53 +0000

”It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way- in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its nosiest authorities insisted on its being recieved, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only” (1).

This section opens the passage. It right away gives an idea of what life is like at the time. The comparisons that this passage makes (the best and worst, wisdom and foolishness, belief and incredulity, light and darkness, and hope and despair) explain that at this period of time the fight between these opposites is almost equal, and that all of these will take place in this story. Also, this passage is a comparison between doubles. Throughout the story, Charles Dickens also writes about similar pairs of doubles, such as Paris and London and Dr. Manette and the man from Lorry’s dream. The contents of this passage prepare us for the many challenges and differences that will come about in this book.

So I am wondering, how else are all of these comparisons related to the book so far? Is there a deeper meaning that Charles Dickens is trying to relate to? Also, could these comparisons be somehow related to the differences between life and death?

-Leah Sevco

Mr_Shank » Illuminator

Tale of Two Cities- Illuminator- Pd3- Leah Sevco