inhumanity in a tale of two cities
A revolution is a situation where both sides feel they are right, but can a person in a neutral position decide who is right and who is wrong? In many cases, no. That is the problem presented in Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities. In his novel, he shows us a revolution where no one is right; no one is even being rational. Revolutionaries, like Madame Defarge, are killing innocent people to get revenge, and aristocrats, like the Marquis St. Evremonde, are using their power to hurt the less fortunate. By the end of the revolution and the novel, Dickens clearly expresses that there is no one idea or opinion that is right. The only way to be humane is to recognize the negative aspects and the inhumanity of both sides. Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton had that point of view and are saved because of it. The first characters to show very irrational and inhumane actions were the revolutionaries during the French Revolution. "A large cask of wine had been dropped and broken, in the street."(36) The cask broke in the streets of a poverty stricken town where the people were poor and looking for a way to end their suffering. The people rushed to the wine and began scooping it up with their hands. These ravenous actions are no
Dickens shows that in a revolution, those who have extreme opinions act in extremely inhumane ways. But those who can perform the ultimate, unselfish self-sacrifice are truly humane in an inhumane world. In the face of the very selfish view of the revolutionaries and the aristocracy, Sydney Carton performs the most human act. He is able to see the wrong in both groups and realize that neither is right. Characters like Sydney Carton in A Tale of Two Cities contain a gift of unselfishness and compassion unlike any other on earth. t inhumane, but show the intense poverty of the people of the country of France. The breaking of the cask is also a metaphor for the beginning of the revolution. Dickens shows the reader the passion for blood and revenge that burned within these people. He shows the reader once again of their intense anger when a man, "scrawled upon a wall with his finger dipped in muddy wine-lees -BLOOD." The "blood" on the streets would happen again. The revolution was coming and all would be affected by the bloody engagements. The Marquis shows again his inhumanity when he is riding in his carriage in town. The carriage runs over and kills a small baby. The father is hysterical and cries out, "Dead."(116) The Marquis feels no shame for what he has done. To show this, he throws a coin out the window at the father, as if to say that a coin should make up for his loss. have been forced into that state and cannot escape from it. Darnay sees the pain his uncle has put these people through, and he wants to do whatever he can to separate himself from that image that his uncle has. He shows his immense compassion for all those who suffer. He says to his uncle that if he ever becomes the Marquis, he would change things. He would release the tight leash that was put upon the people who worked for the Marquis. Because of his understanding, he is also able to help Sydney Carton. Darnay is a friend to Carton throughout the no
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Approximate Word count = 1323
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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