A Tale of Two Cities (p.1-15)

"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, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."-p.3, A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens

As the first paragraph of the novel, it paints a picture of a time period of contradictions and extremes.

The first fifteen pages of the novel cover the back round of what is happening in the world in 1775. France is starting its revolution and England is having trouble with its religious policies.

In November of 1775, a mail coach travels from London to Dover. the travel is tough and the men in the coach are forced to walk along side in order to continue on. A messenger arrives and tells Mr. Jarvis Lorry to go to the Royal George Hotel in Dover. Lorry replies that he is "Recalled to life."

During the rest of the journey, Lorry falls asleep and dreams of a scene over and over again. The scene is of a ghost and Lorry in a grave yard talking about a body that they just dug up out if its grave.

A Tale of Two Cities Discussion notes p.1-100

• Antithesis- p.3 "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."

•  Setting- Late 1700's, Paris and London. Dickens uses the two cities to convey his themes, the cities both have their own problems. Paris- French Revolution, London- Religion (the whole one king is Catholic, the next is Protestant deal that went on in England during that time period) and crime.

• Diction- Dickens uses a British dialect form the late 1700's-1800's, p.9 has quite a bit of examples

• Syntax- He structures his sentences differently than we are use to.

• Symbolism- death and fate are used a lot.

• Theme- Rebirth, "Recalled to Life." first appears at the end of book 1 chapter 2.

• Anaphora- Dickens repeats "It was" in the beginning.

• Tone- p.4, gloomy, Both London and Paris are having hard times.

• Apostrophe- Chapter 3, Mr. Lorry talks with a ghost.

• Genre- Historical Fiction

• Metaphor- p.27, the broken wine case and all the people rushing to drink every last drop they can get.

• Foreshadowing- p.57, the rusty fingers. p.97, the story of the prisoners.

A Tale of Two Cities Questions

1. When does the novel take place?
- 1775,1780

2. Why does Mr. Lorry go to the hotel?
- To meet Miss Lucie Manette.

3. Where do Mr. Lorry and Lucie go?
- San Antoine, Paris.

4. Who is the shoemaker?
- Dr. Manette, Lucie's father.

5. Why does Dr. Manette not remember anything?
- he is sick.

6. What kind of job does Jerry Cruncher have?
- Messenger.

7. Why does Jerry always have rust on his fingers?
-*

8. Who is on trial?
- Charles Darnay.

9. Why is Darnay on trial?
- Treason.

10. Who is Darnay related to?
- Sydney Carton.