A Tale of Two Cities

A detailed Summary of A Tale of Two Cities

In the book, A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens uses a lot of foreshadowing. He uses this device so he can relate a message that later becomes a major point throughout the story. This use of foreshadowing keeps the reader involved in what's going on and when events take place and where they accrue. The key examples when Dickens uses foreshadowing is in the wine spill scene, "recalled to life", and echoing footsteps.

In a street in the Parisian suburb of Saint Antoine, there is a broken case of wine that had spilled into the streets in front of Defarge's Wine shop. A large crowd of scurrying peasants quickly emerged upon the wine spill and began to desperately scoop up the wine anyway possible so they could drink it. For instance the quote: "Others, men and women dipped in the puddles with little mugs of mutilated earth-enware, or even with handkerchiefs from women's heads which were squeezed dry into infants' mouths" describes the hunger and desperateness of everyone. As a result of this event the large crowd of starving peasants, have happiness and begin to celebrate, by joining hands and dancing. Left behind, are the stains of the red wine on the street and the peopl

e's hands, faces, and feet. Dickens purposely uses red wine to represent blood, in which the peasants are covered. This whole situation foreshadows the blood that will be spilled there in later years during the outrage of the French Revolution. Dickens goes as far as to have a Jacque in the crowd dip his finger into the muddy red wine and write the word "Blood" on a wall to make sure the reader realizes the message that is being sent forth. As Dickens predicts future violence, he also hints at how hunger, want, and anger will transform decent, caring human beings into unthinking, bloodthirsty animals. He described some of the wine drinkers as having "a tigerish smear about the mouth", and the residents of Saint Antoine having a "hunted air". These quote play a role in the foreshadowing of Revolution by hinting that something is going to going to happen by this scene of disorganization.

Dickens uses this device of foreshadowing so frequently throughout this book to make the story significantly better to the readers. His device helps build the plot, along with revealing great meaning. For instance, if Dickens did not use "red" wine and have the Jacque write the word "Blood"

Some common words found in the essay are:
Defarge's Wine, Carton Manette's, Madame Defarge, Revolution Dickens, Dr Manette, Saint Antoine, Charles Dickens, Cruncher Lorry's, red wine, dr manette, buried alive, dickens foreshadowing, , word blood wall, message sent, recalled life, people coming, blood wall, write word, buried alive eighteen, write word blood, word blood,

Approximate Word count = 800
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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A Tale of Two Cities

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