Tale of Two Cities Sydney Carton, fool or hero
Many people want to be remembered as martyrs or heroes; to have proven their devotion to a person or cause, and many people have and do die for this. Some of their deaths may have been in vain; foolish, impetuous sacrifices of themselves that had no true effect, or some of the deaths may have furthered just causes and strengthened beliefs or saved the day. A deeper, case-specific look must be used to judge the true heroes from suicide martyrs caught in a fit of passion. An example of self-sacrifice arises in A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens when Sydney Carton, an alcoholic leading a generally miserable life, sacrifices himself so the husband of the woman he adores (Lucie Manette) can live. He does this by switching places with Charles Darnay, Lucie's husband, just before Darnay's execution. Whether the switch was a heroic deed or a foolish one can be debated, or perhaps Carton can be both a hero and a fool. Carton can easily be seen by the Darnay and
So, Carton is a hero and a fool. He has generally good intentions, but they are inspired by his infatuation with Lucie Manette. Carton ended his miserable life and enriched the lives of a family. A good-willed and logical decision, if those were his reasons. Anyone who dies to save others is hard to think of as too much of a fool; even if their motivation was self-centered or stupid, they saved several lives and definitely will be a hero in the eyes of those saved. Just as well, Carton is a bit of a fool. Saving Darnay's life did not alter history or anything momentous. Carton killed himself for no solid cause. Perhaps Carton died over a boyish infatuation with a beautiful woman he could never have, and he thought the only way to get any admiration from her was in death, rather than for the sake of the lives of Darnay and his children. Manette families as a hero, he made them all happy, not to mention Carton kept his earlier promise to Lucie that he would d
Some common words found in the essay are:
Darnay Manette, Darnay Lucie, , Saving Darnay's, Manette Carton, Lucie Child, Darnay Lucie's, Basically Carton, Sydney Carton, Lucie Manette, miserable life, lives darnay, beginning anew, darnay lucie, probably died, carton hero fool, carton hero, lucie manette, hero fool,
Approximate Word count = 651
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
