Tuesday, October 13, 2015

In A Tale of Two Cities, what are some examples of stylsitic devices that Dickens uses?

Such a ponderous question cannot fully be addressed by one
posting.  But, here are some of the most salient literary
devices:


ANTITHESIS/THESIS


The
very title of A Tale of Two Cities suggests this conflict of
contrasts. The opening paragraph of this great novel employs this literary device which
summarizes the major themes,


readability="14">

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.... 



Antithesis
also involves characters who both contrast and reflect one another. For instance, Mr.
Lorry and Ernest DeFarge both work or have worked for Dr. Manette.  They consider
themselves as businessmen; however, Defarge is unredeemed at the end of the novel
because of his wife's hatred for the Evremondes, while Mr. Lorry's connection to the
Manette family and the Darnays saves him from a life without love in Tellson's
Bank.


Also, while Dr. Manette's experiences mirror those of
Madame Defarge regarding the injuries dealt to her family, Madame Defarge is
figuratively imprisoned by the evil of retaliation and he is "brought back to life" from
his imprisonment in the
Bastille.


DOPPELGANGER


Most
salient among the doubles in this novel are Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay, two
characters whom some critics feel are but two sides of the same psyche.  In fact,
several times in the narrative, Carton reflects upon how he sees what he could have been
in Darnay.  Their physical resemblance is what saves Darnay from a treason charge in
England and death by the guillotine in France.  Of course, they both are in love with
Lucie Manette.


Other doubles are Mr. Lorry and Doctor
Manette; while Mr. Lorry has been imprisoned in Tellson's Bank [see Chapter 1 of Book
the Second], Dr. Manette has spent fourteen years in the Bastille.  Both older men are
reborn/resurrected by the presence of Lucie Manette, the physician's daughter, who helps
to restore his mind and gives him a purpose to live and who also provides Mr. Lorry a
family that he has never
had.


SYMBOLISM


The
red wine spilled in St. Antoine becomes symbolic of the
bloodshed to come as well as foreshadowing "the time to
come."


The shoemaker is
symbolic of the imprisoned and mentally tortured Dr.
Manette.


The Monseigneur
symbolizes the effete aristocracy of France.


The
stone symbolizes the cruelty and cold-heartedness of the
Marquis d'Evremonde.


Madame Defarge's
knitting
symbolizes the methodical and insistent coming of the bloody
French Revolution.


The
Vengeance  is a character symbolic of the blood-thirsty
revolutionaries.


The
wood-sawyer is symbolic of Fate for the aristocrats in the
form of the
guillotine.


METAPHOR


Dickens
uses metaphoric chapter titles to engage his readers who purchased this work in
installments:


The night
shadows
are the inner feelings of people, inscrutable to others.  Sydney
Carton has "old shadows" stirred up after meeting Darnay, for
instance.


The jackal and
the fellow of no delicacy are ironic metaphors for the
nature of Sydney Carton.


The honest
tradesman
is also an ironic metaphor for Jerry
Cruncher.


Echoing footsteps
are the marching
revolutionaries


loadstone rock
is a metaphor for the magnetic ore that drew ships off couse.  (Darnay is
drawn to France)


Tellson's bank
is a prison


Another interesting rhetorical
device that Dickens uses is the switch to the present tense as in Chapter 21 (bk. 2) to
create suspense. 

No comments:

Post a Comment

What accomplishments did Bill Clinton have as president?

Of course, Bill Clinton's presidency will be most clearly remembered for the fact that he was only the second president ever...