A Tale of Two Cities Charles Dickens

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Background

• Dickens' twelfth novel was published in his
  new weekly journal, All the Year Round, without
  illustrations. Simultaneously with the weekly
  parts, the novel was also published in monthly
  parts with illustrations by Hablot Browne. An
  American edition was also published, in slightly
  later weekly parts (May to December 1859),
  inHarper's Weekly. The novel, which begins "It
  was the best of times, it was the worst of
  times", is set against the backdrop of the French
  Revolution and Dickens researched the historical
  background meticulously, using his friend Thomas
  Carlyles History of the French Revolution as a
  reference.

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Major Themes

• Resurrection
• Class Struggle
• Sacrifice

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Major Characters

• Doctor Manette
• Character Traits
• Honest
• Sincere
• Sensitive
• Brave
• Selfless

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Lucie Manette(The doctors daughter)

• Character Traits
• Extremely caring and devoted
• Someone who believed in her inner goodness to the
  extent of penetrating it to anyone else
• Brave enough to face any trouble without
  shattering

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Charles Darnay

• Character Traits
• Loved justice
• Hated oppression
• Hard working
• Sincere

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Sydney Carton

• Character Traits
• Cynical
• Sincere
• Unassuming
• Helpful

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Jarvis Lorry

• Character Trait
• A man of business
• Extremely loyal to everyone he was associated
  with
• Firm with rules

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Miss Pross

• Character Traits
• Emotional
• Loyal
• Strong headed
• Devoted

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Emphasis on religion in novel

• There is a special stress on religion in the
  novel
• All the major characters are more or less
  religious people
• Believe in the hereafter is very much stressed too

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Good versus Evil

• Good
• The perseverance of values against all odds
• Believe in God and the ultimate retribution
• The strength to resist tyranny and stand against
  it

• Evil
• The oppression by the ruling class
• The unflinching desire to take revenge
• The boldness in doing crimes

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Sequence of Events

• Doctor Manettes is imprisoned
• Charles Darnays case in England
• Charles and Lucie get wedded
• Foulon is executed
• The fall of Bastille
• Mr Defarge searches Doctor Manettes cell
• Gabelles arrested

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The Fall of Bastille
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• Charles Darnay arrives in Paris
• Doctor Manettes makes efforts to release Darnay
• Charles is arrested again
• Doctor Manette loses his mind again
• Sydney Cartons arrives in Paris
• Miss Pross encounters John Solomon (her brother)
• Sydney Carton talks to Solomon
• Sydney Carton takes Charles place at the
  guillotine
• Sydney Carton dies
• Charles Darnay reaches England safely!

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The Guillotine
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Faith Vindicates

• It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I
  have ever done it is a far, far better rest that
  I go to than I have ever known