tale of two cities

A detailed Summary of tale of two cities

In the 16th century Charles Dickens wrote the unforgettable novel A Tale of Two Cities. In it he created two of the most remarkable fictional characters of all time. One is the bloodthirsty Madame Defarge, and the other is the selfless Sydney Carton. Madame Defarge is a peasant who seeks revenge on all aristocrats who cross her path. In contrast, Sydney Carton is a man who is willing to do anything for the love of his life. While the actions of these two characters clearly delineate their differences, the underlying forces that drive each character are quite similar.

From Madame Defarge's actions, it is clear that she is the evil antagonist in the novel. Even in the manner that she is physically described, she is presented as "dark" and therefore she is seen as evil. She is as evil as she is because when she was younger the D'Evremonde brothers killed her whole family. Now the purpose of her life is to procure revenge on the D'Evremonde family and every other aristocrat. Even when told by her beloved husband she has gone to far, she does not stop. Instead her repartee to him was, "Tell the wind and fire where to stop; not me". In it she evidently expresses how she will never forget what was done to her family and ho

While the actions of these two characters symbolize good versus evil, the driving forces that drive both Madame Defarge and Sydney Carton ironically are very similar. Both Defarge and Carton live their lives passionately. Madame Defarge passionately devotes her live to seeking revenge. She constantly knits a list of those she wishes dead in order to fulfill that wish. She even attempts to ruin the lives of people not on her list in order to ruin the lives of those on her list. Sydney Carton is so passionately in love with Lucie Manette and not willing to give up. He states, "It is a far, far better thing that I do, that I have ever done; it is a Far, far better rest than I have ever known". He is speaking of how is life has resulted to nothing so what he will now do it better than anything he has ever done before. Also, everything he does his for his love, who he loves so passionately. Along with that, in his speech in which he confesses his love for her, he speaks of how his love will continue till the day he dies. He says, "In the hour of my death...that my last avowal of myself was made to you". In addition, both are very strong characters. The stand up for what they believe in and will not give up. An example is Sydney Carton when Lucie marries Charles Darnay. He does not end his love for her, instead, it continues on until the day he dies. An example of Madame Defarge's strength is when she continues to search for another way to ge

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Approximate Word count = 984
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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