A Tale Of Two Cities Essay

Submitted By YOYOOYOYYOYOOYOY
Words: 988
Pages: 4
Open Document
Omar Calderon
Mr. Arieas
H English 10
11 January 2015
A Tale of Two Cities Essay Throughout the novel, A Tale of Two Cities, there are many characters with different personalities and traits. However, there is one character that stands out by the end of the novel and the reader feels sympathetic towards. Her name is Madame Defarge; to the reader she seems to be the bad person throughout the novel. Even though Madame Defarge is very ruthless and never knows when to draw the line, the reader feels sympathetic towards her by the end of the novel. She had a very horrific past, having to deal with losing her brother and sister when she is just a young girl. Madame Defarge grows with anger and the thirst for blood which leads to her part in the revolutionary. Madame Defarge does alot horrific acts but the reader then understands and feels sympathy for her once learning about her past. In the novel Madame Defarge knits and to the reader, it seems useless and a, “Pastime,” said Madame” (182 Darnay), but later into the book the reader finds the true meaning behind the knitting. She is knitting a list of the names of people the revolutionaries are going to kill, most of which are aristocrats and spies. Then once the revolution is in full force, she and the Vengeance seek to kill their targets and all of the counterrevolutionaries. These acts show the reader that, “She was absolutely without pity. If she had ever had the virtue in her, it had quite gone out of her”. With Madame Defarge losing her respect for others, she turns into something else and can’t turn back. Madame Defarge says, “Nothing that we do, is done in vain. I believe, with all my soul, that we shall see the triumph” (180 Darnay), this shows that she will not stop for anything and will always in her eyes triumph. Defarge becomes ruthless and uses the revolutionaries to her advantage, which lets her do anything to anyone who gets in her way in reaching her ultimate goal, even taking the lives of others. Madame Defarge throughout the novel tries to get revenge for what happened to her in the past. Madame Defarge says, “I tell thee it never retreats, and never stops. I tell thee it is always advancing” (180 Darnay), this quote tells the reader that her revenge cannot stop and she will only be getting closer to her goal rather than father. The first thing Defarge needs to do to finish what she had started is to arrest Lucie and her family. Defarge goes to an apartment thinking that Lucie and her family will be there to arrest them for mourning the death of Charles Darnay. However, she only finds Miss Pross in the apartment and they start to argue with each other. Madame Defarge asks if Lucie is in the room but Miss Pross refuses to say anything and they start to fight. Madame Defarge gets desperate and even goes as far as trying to kill Miss Pross just to see if Lucie is in the room or not. Instead, Miss Pross actually gets hold of the gun and shoots it. Once the smoke clears from the gunshot all that was left was, “the soul of the furious woman whose body lay lifeless on the ground” (360 Darnay). Madame Defarge didn’t know where to draw the line and wanted to kill everyone close to Darnay even though Darnay and his family weren’t directly involved with what had happened to her family. All she wants is to get revenge and others to pay, which as a result leads to her death. However, Defarge’s past makes the reader feel sympathy towards her, even after all she has done. By the end of the novel the narrator finally shows us what drove Madame Defarge’s anger and her thirst for revenge. The narrator tells us that Madame Defarge as
Show More

Related Documents: A Tale Of Two Cities Essay

A Tale of Two Cities Essay

A TALE OF TWO CITIES.................................... Joe Traver Every year, football fans around the country flock to their televisions to watch the Super Bowl. For some, their team is there to win; for others, they want one to lose. Whatever the particular viewer's case may be, there are always two teams competing to see which is better. There may be an underdog, there may be a miracle pass to save the game, but no matter what, someone walks out a winner, and someone a loser. The same happens…

Words 654 - Pages 3

Tale Of Two Cities Essay

A tale of two cities, by Charles Dickens, has a lot to do with the major theme of revolution. “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times in London and Paris” dealing with economic and political conflict to the American and French Revolution. The main characters in A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Darnay, Sydney Carton, and Doctor Alexandre are restored to life in different ways as chaos erupts. It clearly shows that Dickens looks upon the French Revolution with some hesitant. Charles dickens…

Words 678 - Pages 3

Tale of Two Cities Essay

Azcárraga Mr. Jowers Honors English/ 2° 4 November 2012 Love and Violence in Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities The French Revolution began due to the huge amount of pressure put upon the Third Estate in the latter 18th century. Their first act of rebellion was gathering mobs of their fellow man to protest and overthrow the higher nobility classes. In Charles Dickens’ historical fiction novel, A Tale of Two Cities, the author delivers many examples of the mobs brutal behavior and self-destructive nature…

Words 1419 - Pages 6

A Tale of Two Cities-Jails Essay

three failed attempts. Unlike a board game, the prison system provides confinement for the unstable, rehabilitation for the insecure, and punishment for the miscreants; when abused, chaos in society ensues. In his historical fiction novel, A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens reveals the imprisonment the French people experienced during the revolution. Amidst literal captivity is metaphorical captivity as well. Through the prisons of time, situation, and love, Dickens describes the imprisonment of…

Words 1929 - Pages 8

Revenge In A Tale Of Two Cities Essay

Revenge is defined as the act of inflicting harm on someone for a wrong caused by them. In, “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens, revenge proves to be one of the most significant themes in the book. Dickens makes it clear to the reader that revenge only leads one down a path to more troubles. In “A Tale of Two Cities”, Dickens makes it clear that revenge is not always the best path to take. Revenge is not justified because it is controlled by a person's emotions instead of their reasoning.…

Words 444 - Pages 2

A Tale of Two Cities and Madame Defarge Essay

Tale of Two Cities By: Beau Overman There are several themes in the 19th century novel A Tale of Two Cities, but one of the most important is transformation. Charles Dickens uses multiple characters and scenarios to manipulate the actions of others. He believes that all people have the ability to change for the better no matter how they’re brought up. In the story, you will see how far people will go for others. Sydney Carton is first described at Darnay's trial as not paying attention to what's…

Words 560 - Pages 3

A Tale of Two Cities and Dickens Essay examples

Inspirations A popular topic during the 18th century, the French Revolution, was a period in European history that thrived on violence and economic crisis. Charles Dickens, one of the best authors known to mankind, wrote the historic fictional novel A Tale of Two Cities that soon became his most successful piece. The novel, set in the 18th century, gives readers an understanding of the lifestyles the characters lived during this era. Dickens composes the details of the scenes and characters in the novel from…

Words 1698 - Pages 7

Tale Of Two Cities Rhetorical Analysis Essay

In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens is able to lay out that the reason death is so painful is because it forces humans to realize they truly don’t know the people that surround them through the passage, Night Shadows. Charles Dickens is able to use literary techniques to explain why dying is such a threatening enigma. He begins the passage by stating that “ a wonderful fact to reflect upon, is that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to each other”. The…

Words 801 - Pages 4

Essay on A Tale of Two Cities: Madame Defarge

Madame Thérèse Defarge When terrible things happen to good people there are two paths that can be traveled: forgiveness can be offered, or vengeance can be pursued. Madame Defarge from Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, takes the latter of these two options and religiously lives by it, seeking revenge on the cruel heartless aristocracy plaguing France with famine, poverty, and oppression; however, the reasons behind her malice force the reader to understand why she performs such hateful acts…

Words 978 - Pages 4

Tale Of Two Cities Darnay Vs Carton Essay

In the Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, there are many struggles that occur. These struggles either occur in characters or in their lives. Each character in the novel played a key role that was important to the story and themes of the novel. During the time that the novel was set, there was a sense of an “ideal” man or woman. The two characters that portrayed two different types of men were Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton. In this paper I will discuss the similarities and differences that…

Words 999 - Pages 4