What are 20 paradoxes in Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities?

Taking paradox in the broad sense as an apparent contradiction, Charles Dickens creates some paradoxical traits regarding the characters of A Tale of Two Cities.  Here are some:

1. After Mr. Lorry receives the message "Recalled to Life" from the gravedigger Jerry Cruncher, he rides in the coach mentally questioning the dead man in his dream.  Paradoxically Dickens converts the morbid into something spirited and purposeful.

2-3. Two of the most salient examples of paradox are in the chapters entitled "The Jackal" and "The Lion."  A jackal is a small scavenger that feeds on what has been killed by another animal or has died.  The paradox exists in that it is Sydney Carton who is brillant and makes the "kill" on the evidence that will favor a case on which he works, while C. J. Stryver is the scavenger who steals his brillant deductions and passes them off as his own.  And, Stryver is hardly a lion; he commands no respect from others such as Mr. Lorry who is appalled by his pompous attitudes and his presumptions that Lucie Manette should consider him as a husband.

4-5. Miss Pross, Lucie's nurse, is so stern with those around her, but regarding her brother Solomon she can perceive no flaws when he is really a treasonous double-spy who has no contact with her.  In additiom, she is the stereotypical stiff, short-tempered, masculine British nanny.  But, she is tender and loving with Lucy,  like a doting mother.

6. Madame Defarge, who "sees nothing" notes everything and knits the names of her revolutionary victims into her weaving.

7. Ernest Defarge seems to have a filial devotions to Dr. Mannette, having been his servant as a boy, yet he is not above exploiting the former prisoner of the Bastille's insanity as a spectacle to further the revolutionary cause.

8. In the Chapter entitled "Monseigneur," the wealthy aristocrat who has had command of an estate and many servants, etc., now requires several servants just to put the cup of chocolate to his mouth when he awakens in the morning.

 9. Mr. Lorry, the "man of business," who contends that he has no feelings, is tender and loving to Lucie and Dr. Manette, becoming personally involved with the Manette family.

10. Sydney Carton, the man of no character who allows himself to be exploited, becomes the savior for Charles Darnay and the Manette family.

How does Dickens use paradox in the first chapter of A Tale of Two Cities?

The themes of this work include plenty of comparisons, contrasts, or doubles. We see this in the comparisons of England and France, two major countries. We also see the theme of doubles in the look-alike characters of Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton. There is also the contrast between Charles and his uncle (who was his father's twin), the Marquis, whose personalities couldn't be any more different.

The introduction to the titular "two cities" is also a paradox, contradiction, or reflection of itself: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness . . . ”

The first paragraph of the chapter explains, however, the real reason for Dickens's paradoxes: they set the tone for the historical period (the book takes place beginning in 1775). The first chapter compares and contrasts the two monarchies of England and France, along with each country's set of problems. Moreover, the different social structures of these two countries and their faults are described, so that a reader from a number of different backgrounds might relate to or be engaged by this storyline.

Some have suggested that Dickens wanted his work to have mass appeal. Indeed, such contrasts would engage a wider audience than would one set of descriptions.

How does Dickens use paradox in the first chapter of A Tale of Two Cities?

The famous opening paragraph of the book sets the scene for Dickens's subsequent treatment of paradox. Here, Dickens establishes what is without a doubt the fundamental paradox at the heart of the Enlightenment:

[I]t was the season of light, it was the season of darkness.

The intellectual movement known as the Enlightenment had swept over Europe in the 18th century, overturning old ideas and ways of doing things. The watchword of the Enlightenment was "reason." Reason was the standard against which ideas, institutions, and social practices should be measured. If they failed to measure up to this standard, then they were to be changed according to rational principles. The Enlightenment was hugely influential all over Europe—not to mention the American colonies—but it was especially so in France, and Enlightenment ideas provided the intellectual foundation for the French Revolution.

Paradoxically, however, the French Revolution, in its savagery and violence, harkened back to a much more primitive, less enlightened age. And this is primarily what Dickens is referring to in the opening paragraph. Although this may have been the Age of Reason, the "season of light" as Dickens calls it, it was also marked by widespread "darkness"—by violence, ignorance, and superstition in the form of the quasi-religious cult of the Revolution.

How does Dickens use paradox in the first chapter of A Tale of Two Cities?

Dickens uses paradox to establish one of the main themes of the novel.  The theme is that during every age, people experience the same struggles, difficulties, and joys.  Dickens uses this theme to create universal appeal for the audience.  He talks about every age having "wisdom" and "foolishness", "light" and "darkness", "hope" and "despair".

The paradox also sets up the plot of the story which bounces back and forth between England and France.  To do this, he discusses the kings and queens of both, the nobility, and the struggles of the common people - again highlighting the universality of it all. 

How does Dickens use paradox in the first chapter of A Tale of Two Cities?

Paradox involves a statement that is apparently contradictory, but it really presents a truth. The poet Marianne Moore uses a paradox in "Nevertheless" when she declares, "Victory won't come to me unless I go/to it." Paradox is often surprising, or even shocking; therefore, it draws the reader's attention to what is being stated. 

In Chapter 2 of Book I of A Tale of Two Cities, in the twentieth indention (counting each line of dialogue as an indention) the paragraph containing a paradox begins with this sentence:

The stillness consequent on the cessation of the rumbling and labouring of the coach, added to the stillness of the night, made it very quiet indeed.

Further, this paragraph reads,

The hearts of the passengers beat loud enough perhaps to be heard; but at any rate, the quiet pause was audibly expressive of people out of breath, and holding that breath, and having the pulses quickened by expectation.

Here lies the paradox: a "quiet pause" cannot really be heard, or "audible." But, the truth of this contradiction is that when the listener notices the "pause" of the passengers, the silence would be noticeable--"audible" to his mind.

How does Dickens use paradox in the first chapter of A Tale of Two Cities?

Dickens uses paradoxes throughout the novel.  First, through the structure of character, he establishes paradoxical traits  to represent the best and worst of times.  For example: Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay, and Lucie and Madame Defarge, etc.  In addition, he uses the settings of Paris and London to form paradoxes to develop the plot of the story.

Second, there are conflicts between loyalty in love and of family, and the lack of humanity and hatred on the other hand.

Furthermore, Dickens uses anaphora (repetition of a phrase, etc...), and rhythm (sequence of sounds) to represent the paradoxes included in the quote.

Lastly, it was the good times for certain people, and bad times for the others.

What are some character paradoxes in A Tale of Two Cities?

A novel of dualities, A Tale of Two Cities contains characters who are much like other characters; and within themselves there are two apparently contradictory sides to the characters.  Even extremely minor characters exhibit paradoxical qualities. One such personage is the Monseigneur of Chapter 7 of Book the Second, who is one of the great lords in power at the Court in Paris, yet he is unable to drink his morning chocolate without the much assistance:

Monsiegneur could swallow a great many things with ease, and was by some few sullen minds supposed to be rather rapidly swallowing France; but , his morning's chocolate could not so much as get into the throat of Monseigneur, without the aid of four strong men besides the Cook.

Another minor character who exhibits paradoxical characteristics is Jerry Cruncher.  Claiming to be "an honest tradesman," who runs errands for a highly reputable bank by day, Jerry commits crimes at night as he exhumes cadavers and delivers them for profit to medical schools.  Jerry's self-bestowed sobriquet of "Resurrection Man" seems contradictory, but when Jerry goes to exhume Roger Cly one night in London, he finds no body.  Noticing John Barsad while he is in France, Jerry figuratively "resurrects" Roger Cly by reporting that the funeral for this person has  been staged.  Thus, he exposes Miss Pross's brother, whose name is really Solomon, as a double-spy.

C. J. Stryver, whose acumen is not as great as that of Sydney Carton, nevertheless possesses enough analytical and logical skill to be a practicing barrister in London.  Yet, paradoxically, he is too obtuse to even catch any of the hints that Mr. Lorry provides him regarding Lucie's lack of interest in him as a husband. In the chapter entitled paradoxically "The Fellow of Delicacy," Mr. Lorry does his best to persuade Stryver not to go to the Manette's and propose to Lucie.  However, Mr. Stryver misconstrues completely what Mr. Lorry implies about him, thinking instead that Lorry means that Lucie "is a mincing Fool."

Dr. Manette, too, is paradoxical.  For, while he has his spells of insanity, he yet can lucidly talk of his mental malady with Mr. Lorry as long as they discuss Manette as though he were another man about whom Mr. Lorry is consulting him.  In fact, in Chapter 19, "An Opinion," Manette even analyzes his ailment:

...it is very hard to explain, consistently, the innermost workings of this poor man's mind.  He once yearned so frightfully for that occupation, and it was so welcome when it came; no doubt it relieved his pain so much by substituting the perplexity of the fingers for the perplexity of the brain...

With Mr. Lorry's gentle coaxing, Manette agrees to the cure.

The paradoxical qualities of the characters of Dickens's great classic recall for the reader the famous opening passage of the novel:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,....we had everything before us, we had nothing before us....

The Monseigneur has everything before him, but later has nothing, Stryver has all the evidence before him but has no understanding, Dr. Manette has his family, but must regain his mental strength.  Like life itself, many of the characters seem contradictory in nature.

What are some character paradoxes in A Tale of Two Cities?

Paradoxes are already interesting, because they take what seems to be and then twist it into something else, as well.  In A Tale of two Cities, paradoxes can be found in several characters.

Of course, Sydney Carton is a paradox.  Here is a man who has wasted his entire life doing nothing--or as close to nothing as he can get.  He's lackadaisical and even disrespectful in the courtroom, yet he has a sharper legal mind than the most up-an-coming lawyer in the town (and he actually makes Stryver's cases for him).  He is a man who doesn't care in the least what people say about him, yet he very much wants to be seen in a positive light to Lucie. He's not particularly a man of action, yet he is forceful and commanding in Paris during the crisis.  Finally, of course, he is a man who loves the pleasures of life but is willing to give his for the man Lucie loves.

Miss Pross is also a rather paradoxical creature.  She's kind of crazy in many ways, yet she is loyal to a fault.  She rants and raves at Jarvis over ridiculous nonsense, yet she is fierce and determined when she needs to be.  She's all crazy or all business.

Ernest Defarge is a man who is willing to shed blood for the cause of freedom for his fellow men; he's also compassionate toward Charles Darnay (or as compassionate as his wife will let him be), one of the aristocrats Defarge has purposed to rid the world of.

Jarvis is the funniest paradox to me.  In those opening scenes he is quite clear about being a "man of business" in everything; however, he is compassionate with Dr. Manette as a broken man and cries at Lucie's weddding.  He's clearly not all about business.