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A Tale of Two Cities

by Charles Dickens

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A Tale of Two Cities

In "A Tale of Two Cities," Charles Dickens employs various literary devices, including foreshadowing, symbolism, and irony. Foreshadowing is evident in the recurrent mentions of the revolution....

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A Tale of Two Cities

Charles Darnay's problem is his association with a cruel aristocratic family. This causes multiple issues, including his arrest for treason, which is resolved by his lawyer Sydney Carton. He also...

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A Tale of Two Cities

This first paragraph of Dickens is a beautiful example of paradoxes, paradoxes to which each reader can relate.  For, no historical period is without its benefits and its deficiencies. ...

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A Tale of Two Cities

Charles Darnay is imprisoned and arrested in A Tale of Two Cities primarily due to his noble lineage as a member of the Evrémonde family, which is despised by the revolutionaries. His return to...

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A Tale of Two Cities

The "Cock-lane ghost" is a reference to a notorious hoax from 18th-century England, symbolizing the era's superstition despite its Enlightenment ideals. The "sister of the shield and trident" refers...

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A Tale of Two Cities

In A Tale of Two Cities, Dr. Manette is wrongfully imprisoned for 18 years in the Bastille after he reports the crimes of Charles Darnay's father and uncle, the Evremonde brothers, who raped a...

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A Tale of Two Cities

The two promises in A Tale of Two Cities are made by Dr. Manette and Charles Darnay. Dr. Manette promises to vouch for Charles if Lucie loves him, while Charles promises Dr. Manette that he will...

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A Tale of Two Cities

John Barsad, whose real name is Solomon Pross, is a spy and opportunist in A Tale of Two Cities. He is first mentioned in Book 2, Chapter 3, during Charles Darnay's trial as a prosecution witness....

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A Tale of Two Cities

The events in A Tale of Two Cities justify the title because the narrative arc is propelled forward by the violence of one city, Paris, and the relative safety of a second city, London.

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A Tale of Two Cities

In A Tale of Two Cities, the mender of roads is a peasant who becomes involved with the revolutionaries. He tells a story about seeing a man, later revealed to be Gaspard, clinging to the underside...

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A Tale of Two Cities

In A Tale of Two Cities, Madame Defarge symbolizes fate and vengeance through her relentless knitting, which records the names of those doomed to die in the revolution. Dickens links her to the Fates...

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A Tale of Two Cities

In A Tale of Two Cities, the Woodman symbolizes the tumbrils, which transport victims to the guillotine, while the Farmer represents Death, who harvests lives for the guillotine. Both figures,...

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A Tale of Two Cities

One notable paradox in A Tale of Two Cities is the opening line: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," which highlights the simultaneous existence of prosperity and suffering....

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A Tale of Two Cities

Lucie Manette and Sydney Carton share a complex relationship in A Tale of Two Cities. Sydney is deeply in love with Lucie, though she does not reciprocate his romantic feelings. Instead, she respects...

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A Tale of Two Cities

In Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, "echoing footsteps" symbolize both personal and societal shifts. Within the domestic sphere, they reflect the passage of time and the changes in Lucie...

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A Tale of Two Cities

The significance of "The Golden Thread" in A Tale of Two Cities lies in its metaphorical representation of Lucie Manette. Lucie’s love and compassion weave through the lives of other characters,...

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A Tale of Two Cities

In A Tale of Two Cities, the exposition describes the social conditions during the French Revolution. The rising action includes Dr. Manette's reunion with Lucie, Darnay's trial and acquittal, his...

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A Tale of Two Cities

Charles Dickens employs irony in A Tale of Two Cities to highlight the contradictions and injustices of the French Revolution. For instance, the revolutionaries fight for equality but often resort to...

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A Tale of Two Cities

In A Tale of Two Cities, Jarvis Lorry's dream about digging someone out of a grave signifies the resurrection theme central to the novel. It foreshadows the actual event of freeing Dr. Manette from...

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A Tale of Two Cities

Lucie's reaction to learning her father is alive reveals her deep compassion and emotional strength. She is initially shocked but quickly becomes determined to help him recover from his traumatic...

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A Tale of Two Cities

In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens uses detailed description and humor to depict Tellson's Bank. He portrays it as a dark, old-fashioned, and unwelcoming place, humorously noting its archaic...

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A Tale of Two Cities

In A Tale of Two Cities, Lucie Manette is introduced as 17 years old, Charles Darnay as 25, and Madame Defarge as 30. Sydney Carton's age is not specified, but he is presumed to be in his 20s due to...

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A Tale of Two Cities

In A Tale of Two Cities, love triumphs over hate through the selflessness of characters like Sydney Carton, who sacrifices his life for the happiness of Lucie Manette and her family. This act of...

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A Tale of Two Cities

Sydney Carton's motivation for his sacrifice in A Tale of Two Cities stems from his love for Lucie Manette and his desire to give her a better life. His foreshadowing occurs through his earlier...

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A Tale of Two Cities

Charles Darnay in A Tale of Two Cities is characterized by his remarkable resemblance to Sydney Carton, symbolizing the duality of human nature. As a nobleman who rejects his heritage, Darnay...

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A Tale of Two Cities

Carton's last act in A Tale of Two Cities can be seen as lonely, desperate, and selfish because he sacrifices himself partly out of a sense of hopelessness and lack of purpose in his own life. His...

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A Tale of Two Cities

In A Tale of Two Cities, Carton uses three "cards" to persuade Barsad to help free Darnay. First, he threatens to expose Barsad's false identity as Solomon Pross. Second, he reveals Barsad's past as...

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A Tale of Two Cities

Dr. Manette's letter reveals Madame Defarge's deep vengefulness, as it documents the tragic events caused by Charles Darnay's father and uncle, including the deaths of Madame Defarge's family. The...

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A Tale of Two Cities

In A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, Charles Darnay returns to France to rescue his former servant, Gabelle, who is imprisoned for loyalty to Darnay's family. Despite the dangers of...

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A Tale of Two Cities

Dickens uses contrasts in A Tale of Two Cities to convey morality by juxtaposing characters, settings, and themes. The two cities, London and Paris, represent moral opposites: London symbolizes peace...

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A Tale of Two Cities

The phrase "recalled to life" suggests that Mr. Lorry's business in Dover involves reviving someone thought lost or "dead." It refers to his mission to bring Dr. Manette, imprisoned in the Bastille...

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A Tale of Two Cities

The hidden function of Madame Defarge's knitting in A Tale of Two Cities is to record the names of those targeted for execution during the French Revolution. This impacts Charles Darnay because his...

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A Tale of Two Cities

Monseigneur the Marquis is a French aristocrat in Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. He is also known as the Marquis St. Evrémonde. His character represents the cruel and oppressive nature of the...

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A Tale of Two Cities

In A Tale of Two Cities, Dr. Manette's release from the Bastille is shrouded in mystery, with no specific reasons provided for his liberation. The novel begins with his release, and Jarvis Lorry,...

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A Tale of Two Cities

Charles is arrested again in A Tale of Two Cities because he is denounced by the Defarges and an unknown third person, later revealed to be Dr. Manette. Madame Defarge, driven by revenge and sadism,...

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A Tale of Two Cities

Dr. Manette makes shoes as a coping mechanism for stress, a habit formed during his 18-year imprisonment in the Bastille by the Marquis St. Evremonde. Shoemaking helped him maintain sanity, and he...

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A Tale of Two Cities

The main differences between the film and novel A Tale of Two Cities include omissions due to the adaptation's time constraints. In the 1935 film, Sydney Carton tricks John Barsad into admitting...

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A Tale of Two Cities

Defarge shows Dr. Manette to selected visitors to highlight the injustices of the aristocracy and to inspire revolutionary fervor. By exposing Dr. Manette's suffering, Defarge aims to galvanize...

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A Tale of Two Cities

In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Darnay's secret is his real identity as Charles St. Evremonde, heir to a cruel aristocratic family responsible for Dr. Manette's imprisonment. Darnay renounces his...

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A Tale of Two Cities

Miss Pross is a fiercely loyal and protective servant to Lucie Manette in A Tale of Two Cities. She acts as a mother figure and guardian, showing unwavering devotion and dedication to Lucie's...

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A Tale of Two Cities

In A Tale of Two Cities, Stryver and Carton are represented by the lion and the jackal, respectively. Stryver, with a dominant personality and successful career, embodies the lion, often seen as the...

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A Tale of Two Cities

Eight metaphors in A Tale of Two Cities include: the kings and queens as "those two of the large jaws" and "the other two of the plain and fair faces," "The Night Shadows" representing human...

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A Tale of Two Cities

An alternate ending for A Tale of Two Cities could involve a more pessimistic outcome where Charles, Lucie, and their daughter perish, negating Carton's sacrifice. Alternatively, Carton might abandon...

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A Tale of Two Cities

The first line of The Tale of Two Cities is an example of parallelism because it contains clauses that are nearly identical in structure. Also, each pair of clauses contains contrasting content....

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A Tale of Two Cities

The significance of many "Jacques" in Defarge's wine shop in A Tale of Two Cities is that they symbolize the emerging revolutionary movement. The name "Jacques" refers to the Jacquerie, a historical...

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A Tale of Two Cities

The titles "The Fellow of Delicacy" and "The Fellow of No Delicacy" are ironic because they describe characters who exhibit the opposite traits. Mr. Stryver, called "The Fellow of Delicacy," is...

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A Tale of Two Cities

In A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens intertwines realism and romanticism. Realism is depicted through detailed portrayals of the French Revolution's harsh realities, including poverty, starvation, and...

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A Tale of Two Cities

Dr. Manette repeats "105 North Tower" in A Tale of Two Cities because he lost his sanity during his 18-year imprisonment and can only remember his prison cell identification. This repetition reveals...

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A Tale of Two Cities

In A Tale of Two Cities, Madame Defarge's rose headdress serves as a secret signal to other revolutionaries. When she wears it, it indicates that spies or enemies are present, alerting her allies to...

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A Tale of Two Cities

In A Tale of Two Cities, power abuse is exemplified by the aristocracy's exploitation of the peasantry, such as the Marquis St. Evrémonde's cruel treatment of commoners. Additionally, the...

4 educator answers