SparkNotes: A Tale of Two Cities: Character List A Tale of Two Cities Charles Dickens Plot Overview Analysis of Major Characters Charles Darnay - A French aristocrat by birth, Darnay chooses to live in England because he cannot bear to be associated with the cruel injustices of the French social system. Darnay displays great virtue in his rejection of the snobbish and cruel values of his uncle, the Marquis Evrémonde. He exhibits an admirable honesty in his decision to reveal to Doctor Manette his true identity as a member of the infamous Evrémonde family. So, too, does he prove his courage in his decision to return to Paris at great personal risk to save the imprisoned Gabelle. Read an in-depth analysis of Charles Darnay. Sydney Carton - An insolent, indifferent, and alcoholic attorney who works with Stryver. Carton has no real prospects in life and doesn’t seem to be in pursuit of any. He does, however, love Lucie, and his feelings for her eventually transform him into a man of profound merit. At first the polar opposite of Darnay, in the end Carton morally surpasses the man to whom he bears a striking physical resemblance.

Read an in-depth analysis of Sydney Carton. Doctor Manette - Lucie’s father and a brilliant physician, Doctor Manette spent eighteen years as a prisoner in the Bastille. At the start of the novel, Manette does nothing but make shoes, a hobby that he adopted to distract himself from the tortures of prison. As he overcomes his past as a prisoner, however, he proves to be a kind, loving father who prizes his daughter’s happiness above all things. Read an in-depth analysis of Doctor Manette. Lucie Manette - A young French woman who grew up in England, Lucie was raised as a ward of Tellson’s Bank because her parents were assumed dead. Dickens depicts Lucie as an archetype of compassion. Her love has the power to bind her family together—the text often refers to her as the “golden thread.” Furthermore, her love has the power to transform those around her. It enables her father to be “recalled to life,” and it sparks Sydney Carton’s development from a “jackal” into a hero. Read an in-depth analysis of Lucie Manette.

Monsieur Defarge - A wine shop owner and revolutionary in the poor Saint Antoine section of Paris, Monsieur Defarge formerly worked as a servant for Doctor Manette. Defarge proves an intelligent and committed revolutionary, a natural leader. Although he remains dedicated to bringing about a better society at any cost, he does demonstrate a kindness toward Manette. His wife, Madame Defarge, views this consideration for Manette as a weakness. Madame Defarge - A cruel revolutionary whose hatred of the aristocracy fuels her tireless crusade, Madame Defarge spends a good deal of the novel knitting a register of everyone who must die for the revolutionary cause. Unlike her husband, she proves unrelentingly blood-thirsty, and her lust for vengeance knows no bounds. Read an in-depth analysis of Madame Defarge. Jarvis Lorry - An elderly businessman who works for Tellson’s Bank, Mr. Lorry is a very business-oriented bachelor with a strong moral sense and a good, honest heart. He proves trustworthy and loyal, and Doctor Manette and Lucie come to value him as a personal friend.

Jerry Cruncher - An odd-job man for Tellson’s Bank, Cruncher is gruff, short-tempered, superstitious, and uneducated. He supplements his income by working as a “Resurrection-Man,” one who digs up dead bodies and sells them to scientists. Miss Pross - The servant who raised Lucie, Miss Pross is brusque, tough, and fiercely loyal to her mistress. Because she personifies order and loyalty, she provides the perfect foil to Madame Defarge, who epitomizes the violent chaos of the revolution. Marquis Evrémonde - Charles Darnay’s uncle, the Marquis Evrémonde is a French aristocrat who embodies an inhumanly cruel caste system. He shows absolutely no regard for human life and wishes that the peasants of the world would be exterminated. Mr. Stryver - An ambitious lawyer, Stryver dreams of climbing the social ladder. Unlike his associate, Sydney Carton, Stryver is bombastic, proud, and foolish. John Barsad - Like Roger Cly, John Barsad is a British spy who swears that patriotism is his only motive. Barsad falsely claims to be a virtuous man of upstanding reputation.

Roger Cly - Like John Barsad, Roger Cly is a British spy who swears that patriotism alone inspires all of his actions. Cly feigns honesty but in fact constantly participates in conniving schemes. Gabelle - The man charged with keeping up the Evrémonde estate after the Marquis’ death, Gabelle is imprisoned by the revolutionaries. News of his internment prompts Darnay to travel to France to save him. SparkNotes: A Tale of Two Cities: Analysis of Major Characters Analysis of Major Characters A Tale of Two Cities Charles Dickens Themes, Motifs & Symbols Sydney Carton Sydney Carton proves the most dynamic character in A Tale of Two Cities. He first appears as a lazy, alcoholic attorney who cannot muster even the smallest amount of interest in his own life. He describes his existence as a supreme waste of life and takes every opportunity to declare that he cares for nothing and no one. But the reader senses, even in the initial chapters of the novel, that Carton in fact feels something that he perhaps cannot articulate. In his conversation with the recently acquitted Charles Darnay, Carton’s comments about Lucie Manette, while bitter and sardonic, betray his interest in, and budding feelings for, the gentle girl.

Eventually, Carton reaches a point where he can admit his feelings to Lucie herself. Before Lucie weds Darnay, Carton professes his love to her, though he still persists in seeing himself as essentially worthless. This scene marks a vital transition for Carton and lays the foundation for the supreme sacrifice that he makes at the novel’s end. Carton’s death has provided much material for scholars and critics of Dickens’s novel. Some readers consider it the inevitable conclusion to a work obsessed with the themes of redemption and resurrection. According to this interpretation, Carton becomes a Christ-like figure, a selfless martyr whose death enables the happiness of his beloved and ensures his own immortality. Other readers, however, question the ultimate significance of Carton’s final act. They argue that since Carton initially places little value on his existence, the sacrifice of his life proves relatively easy. However, Dickens’s frequent use in his text of other resurrection imagery—his motifs of wine and blood, for example—suggests that he did intend for Carton’s death to be redemptive, whether or not it ultimately appears so to the reader.

As Carton goes to the guillotine, the narrator tells us that he envisions a beautiful, idyllic Paris “rising from the abyss” and sees “the evil of this time and of the previous time of which this is the natural birth, gradually making expiation for itself and wearing out.” Just as the apocalyptic violence of the revolution precedes a new society’s birth, perhaps it is only in the sacrifice of his life that Carton can establish his life’s great worth. Madame Defarge Possessing a remorseless bloodlust, Madame Defarge embodies the chaos of the French Revolution. The initial chapters of the novel find her sitting quietly and knitting in the wine shop. However, her apparent passivity belies her relentless thirst for vengeance. With her stitches, she secretly knits a register of the names of the revolution’s intended victims. As the revolution breaks into full force, Madame Defarge reveals her true viciousness. She turns on Lucie in particular, and, as violence sweeps Paris, she invades Lucie’s physical and psychological space. She effects this invasion first by committing the faces of Lucie and her family to memory, in order to add them to her mental “register” of those slated to die in the revolution.

Later, she bursts into the young woman’s apartment in an attempt to catch Lucie mourning Darnay’s imminent execution. Dickens notes that Madame Defarge’s hatefulness does not reflect any inherent flaw, but rather results from the oppression and personal tragedy that she has suffered at the hands of the aristocracy, specifically the Evrémondes, to whom Darnay is related by blood, and Lucie by marriage. However, the author refrains from justifying Madame Defarge’s policy of retributive justice. For just as the aristocracy’s oppression has made an oppressor of Madame Defarge herself, so will her oppression, in turn, make oppressors of her victims. Madame Defarge’s death by a bullet from her own gun—she dies in a scuffle with Miss Pross—symbolizes Dickens’s belief that the sort of vengeful attitude embodied by Madame Defarge ultimately proves a self-damning one. Doctor Manette Dickens uses Doctor Manette to illustrate one of the dominant motifs of the novel: the essential mystery that surrounds every human being.

As Jarvis Lorry makes his way toward France to recover Manette, the narrator reflects that “every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other.” For much of the novel, the cause of Manette’s incarceration remains a mystery both to the other characters and to the reader. Even when the story concerning the evil Marquis Evrémonde comes to light, the conditions of Manette’s imprisonment remain hidden. Though the reader never learns exactly how Manette suffered, his relapses into trembling sessions of shoemaking evidence the depth of his misery. Like Carton, Manette undergoes a drastic change over the course of the novel. He is transformed from an insensate prisoner who mindlessly cobbles shoes into a man of distinction. The contemporary reader tends to understand human individuals not as fixed entities but rather as impressionable and reactive beings, affected and influenced by their surroundings and by the people with whom they interact. In Dickens’s age, however, this notion was rather revolutionary. Manette’s transformation testifies to the tremendous impact of relationships and experience on life.

The strength that he displays while dedicating himself to rescuing Darnay seems to confirm the lesson that Carton learns by the end of the novel—that not only does one’s treatment of others play an important role in others’ personal development, but also that the very worth of one’s life is determined by its impact on the lives of others. Charles Darnay and Lucie Manette Novelist E. M. Forster famously criticized Dickens’s characters as “flat,” lamenting that they seem to lack the depth and complexity that make literary characters realistic and believable. Charles Darnay and Lucie Manette certainly fit this description. A man of honor, respect, and courage, Darnay conforms to the archetype of the hero but never exhibits the kind of inner struggle that Carton and Doctor Manette undergo. His opposition to the Marquis’ snobbish and cruel aristocratic values is admirable, but, ultimately, his virtue proves too uniform, and he fails to exert any compelling force on the imagination. Along similar lines, Lucie likely seems to modern readers as uninteresting and two-dimensional as Darnay.

In every detail of her being, she embodies compassion, love, and virtue; the indelible image of her cradling her father’s head delicately on her breast encapsulates her role as the “golden thread” that holds her family together. She manifests her purity of devotion to Darnay in her unquestioning willingness to wait at a street corner for two hours each day, on the off chance that he will catch sight of her from his prison window. In a letter to Dickens, a contemporary criticized such simplistic characterizations: The tenacity of your imagination, the vehe-mence and fixity with which you impress your thought into the detail you wish to grasp, limit your knowledge, arrest you in a single feature, prevent you from reaching all the parts of the soul, and from sounding its depths. While Darnay and Lucie may not act as windows into the gritty essence of humanity, in combination with other characters they contribute to a more detailed picture of human nature. First, they provide the light that counters the vengeful Madame Defarge’s darkness, revealing the moral aspects of the human soul so noticeably absent from Madame Defarge.

Second, throughout the novel they manifest a virtuousness that Carton strives to attain and that inspires his very real and believable struggles to become a better person. Tale of Two Cities. Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay. - book profile from the WritersNet books and publications directory Tale of Two Cities. Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay. FALL 2004 5/14/04 Tale of Two Cities. Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay. Charles Dickens often pairs unlikely people in his novels. A Tale of two cities has numerous odd couplings. One of these odd couplings consists of Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay. Carton and Darnay are two of the main characters in this book and both are the protagonists. Dickens purposely pairs these two characters in order to heighten the themes of the novel. The pairing helps to tell the story of the two cities of the title. We are introduced to Charles Darnay in the second chapter of Book the second. He is on trial for treason, and everyone except Carton strains to see him enter into the courtroom.

Darnay is described as "a young man of about five and twenty, well grown and well looking...his condition was that of a young gentleman." Darnay was calm and quiet for a person accused, he bowed to the judge and stood quiet. This is the same chapter in which we are introduced to Sydney Carton as well. He is described as a "...gentlemen with his hands in his pockets, whose whole attention,... seemed to be concentrated on the ceiling of the court." A day dreamer in his old world it seems. Carton appears lazy to us, a man with no self respect, since he does not take care of his appearance. These opposites of these to characters makes them a pair. In the chapter entitled "A disappointment" we learn that Carton resembles Darnay and its because of this that Darnay is acquitted. This similarity of appearance reinforces the pairing. This is the biggest similarity that the two share, their likeness to each other. After the trial Carton and Darnay go to dine. Carton orders wine more than once and he is bitter and rude and jealous to and of Darnay.

Carton is depressed, he says "I care for no man on earth, and no man cares for me." This creates sympathy for Carton, who seems cold towards people and also has no love in his life. Carton doesn't even think that he should exist, stating "I have no business to be, that I know of." Darnay states, "You might have used your talents better" to which Carton responds "may be so, Mr. Darnay; may be not." This means that Carton has let his talents go to waste. He has not become the man he could have became and he pities himself, evident with his response. After Darnay leaves, Carton looks into a mirror and tells himself that there is nothing in himself to like. He also tells himself that Darnay shows what he could have became, what he could have been. Carton hates Darnay because he is not the one being "looked at by those blue eyes" like Darnay is. Carton wishes he were Darnay because he wants to be loved by Lucie and to be as honorable, courageous, and respected as Darnay is. Instead, Carton is a social outsider.

Both Carton and Darnay love Lucie, but it is Darnay that marries her. By having both of them love Lucie, this makes the plot more interesting. Certainly the readers may root for one of the two. I see this as Lucie being representative of freedom, Darnay of France and Carton of England. England lost solider in the revolution and France got its freedom. In the end of the novel, Darnay is imprisoned and awaiting execution, because his father and uncle committed terrible crimes that were unaccounted for by his family. In book 2, chapter 13 Carton tries to articulate to Lucie just how much he loves her by saying: "...think now and then that there is a man, who would give his life, to keep a life you love beside you." Even if he cant be with her, just to see her happy, Carton would die in place of someone Lucie loves. Carton sacrifices his life, Darnay sacrifices his aristocratic privileges and estate in France, then he lives in England with Lucie and their child, and he earns a living teaching. Darnay is saved by Carton, and by doing so Carton redeems himself.

Both enact the novel's theme of resurrection. Darnay is portrayed as the hero type, until Carton does two good deeds, but its his ultimate and last deed that makes him the hero, his sacrifice. In the beginning Darnay seems like the strong man and Carton seems weak, but now Carton seems like the strong one in the end and Darnay seems like the weak man. Pairing these two men together relates to the themes of the book: redemption, altruism, resurrection, sacrifice, and role reversals. A person can do something in their life to transform them-self into an honorable or self respecting person, as Carton proves to be the case. Darnay is twice the man Carton is in the beginning of the novel, but by the end Carton surpasses Darnay and becomes more virtuous and honorable than Darnay was. When Carton saves Darnay the first time Darnay was sort of resurrected in a way and in the very end, the reader believes that Carton will be reborn into the hearts of the Darnay, Lucie and their daughter. People of France died so that their country could be free, a sacrifice similar to Cartonï¿½s.

France was reborn after the revolution. France was inferior to England before the French Revolution, but afterwards the roles were reversed as it was with Carton and Darnay. Darnay was not doing very well in France so he moved to England and became a French teacher and Carton was an outsider in London, but became immortalized in Paris. Works Consulted 4/14/04 4/14/04 General , Romance A Tale of Two Cities Sydney Carton Essay - 516 Words Tale of Two Cities Essay ...In the fictitious novel Tale of Two Cities, the author, Charles Dickens, lays out a brilliant plot. Charles Dickens was born in England on February 7, 1812 near the south coast. His family moved to London when he was ten years old and quickly went into debt. To help support himself, Charles went to work at a blacking warehouse when he was twelve. His father was soon imprisoned for debt and shortly thereafter the rest of the family split... 1357 Words | 7 Pages A Tale of Two Cities Essay ...Hannah Howard Ms.

Freel English II 4/25/13 A Tale of Two Cities Throughout the book A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens portrays several themes using specific characters. An example of this is Sydney Carton and how he is used to represent redemption. Carton’s character demonstrates redemption through specific events that show how he is redeemed. Through the book Carton’s... 809 Words | 3 Pages Essay about Twinship in a Tale of Two Cities ...lives. In A Tale of Two Cities, many twins and opposites appear under scrutiny in an array of different situations. In Charles Dickens’s novel A Tale of Two Cities, the central theme of doubling is demonstrated from beginning to end. From the first page of the novel, the idea of pairing is evidently revealed. The first chapter gives the reader a brief impression of the conflicts occurring in that era and... 895 Words | 3 Pages A Tale of Two Cities Character Carton Analysis Essay ...In the novel, A Tale of Two Cities, Sydney Carton’s character went through a series of decisions that affected the outcome of the novel.

Sydney Carton looks almost looks exactly the same as Charles Darnay, but the main difference, was that Darnay was sober a majority of the time, and he cared and worked for his life. Lucie, the love of Carton’s life, had fallen in love with Darnay. After... 732 Words | 2 Pages Tale of Two Cities Carton Essay ...Tale of Two Cities Character Analysis The sacrifice of one’s own life for the person they love is by far the ultimate sacrifice any human being can make. In A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens, Sydney Carton, a despondent and inebriate man, did exactly that. Through his sacrifice, he became the most memorable and dynamic character in this book. Sydney... 580 Words | 2 Pages Internal Conflict in a Tale of Two Cities ...The Problem with Sydney Every novel in history has conflict. Without it, the plot is boring, and uninteresting. In the novel A Tale of Two Cities, a character that has conflict within himself is Sydney Carton. Sydney Carton takes a backseat to Mr. Stryver in the novel. In reality, he is much more than that.

He falls in love with Lucie Manette, but many others do as well.... 562 Words | 2 Pages A Tale of Two Cities Character Analysis; Sydney Carton. Essay ...Sydney Carton is probably the most dynamic character in A Tale of Two Cities. He first appears to be a lazy, alcoholic attorney who cannot find even the smallest amount of interest in his own life. “Mr. Carton’s manner was so careless as to be almost insolent” (Dickens65). He describes his existence as a supreme waste of life and takes every opportunity to declare that he cares for nothing and no one. In chapter 6, when... 686 Words | 2 Pages Tale of Two Cities Essay ...emotions that people use to express themselves; though these two are complete ample opposites, they are also immensely related. Like tools, both factors are neither good nor bad. It is how we use them that decide whether they contribute to harmony or conflict and if one is used, the other always plays a sufficient role. Charles Dickens connects both emotions within the characters and events to develop the famous novel, Tale of Two...

490 Words | 1 Pages Tale of Two Cities - Essay Tale of Two Cities By: Anna • Essay • 1,311 Words • November 17, 2009 • 391 Views Page 1 of 6 Essay title: Tale of Two Cities In the fictitious novel Tale of Two Cities, the author, Charles Dickens, lays out a brilliant plot. Charles Dickens was born in England on February 7, 1812 near the south coast. His family moved to London when he was ten years old and quickly went into debt. To help support himself, Charles went to work at a blacking warehouse when he was twelve. His father was soon imprisoned for debt and shortly thereafter the rest of the family split apart. Charles continued to work at the blacking warehouse even after his father inherited some money and got out of prison. When he was thirteen, Dickens went back to school for two years. He later learned shorthand and became a freelance court reporter. He started out as a journalist at the age of twenty and later wrote his first novel, The Pickwick Papers. He went on to write many other novels, including Tale of Two Cities in 1859.

Tale of Two Cities takes place in France and England during the troubled times of the French Revolution. There are travels by the characters between the countries, but most of the action takes place in Paris, France. The wineshop in Paris is the hot spot for the French revolutionists, mostly because the wineshop owner, Ernest Defarge, and his wife, Madame Defarge, are key leaders and officials of the revolution. Action in the book is scattered out in many places; such as the Bastille, Tellson's Bank, the home of the Manettes, and largely, the streets of Paris. These places help to introduce many characters into the plot. One of the main characters, Madame Therese Defarge, is a major antagonist who seeks revenge, being a key revolutionist. She is very stubborn and unforgiving in her cunning scheme of revenge on the Evermonde family. Throughout the story, she knits shrouds for the intended victims of the revolution. Charles Darnay, one of whom Mrs. Defarge is seeking revenge, is constantly being put on the stand and wants no part of his own lineage. He is a languid protagonist and has a tendency to get arrested and must be bailed out several times during the story.

Dr. Alexander Manette, a veteran prisoner of the Bastille and moderate protagonist, cannot escape the memory of being held and sometimes relapses to cobbling shoes. Dr. Manette is somewhat redundant as a character in the novel, but plays a very significant part in the plot. Dr. Manette's daughter, Lucie Manette, a positive protagonist, is loved by many and marries Charles Darnay . She is a quiet, emotional person and a subtle protagonist in the novel. One who never forgot his love for Lucie, the protagonist Sydney Carton changed predominately during the course of the novel. Sydney , a look-alike of Charles Darnay, was introduced as a frustrated, immature alcoholic, but in the end, made the ultimate sacrifice for a good friend. These and other characters help to weave an interesting and dramatic plot. Dr. Manette has just been released from the Bastille, and Lucie, eager to meet her father whom she thought was dead, goes with Mr. Jarvis Lorry to bring him back to England. Dr. Manette is in an insane state from his long prison stay and does nothing but cobble shoes, although he is finally persuaded to go to England.

Several years later, Lucie, Dr. Manette, and Mr. Lorry are witnesses at Continue for 5 more pages » • Join now to read essay Tale of Two Cities and other term papers or research documents "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." is one of the most famous quotes used by Charles Dickens in all 868 Words | 4 Pages Tale of two cities quotes 1."What o'clock do you make it, Joe?" What time is it joe?

2."Ten minutes, good, past eleven." Ten minutes 371 Words | 2 Pages вЂњIt was the best of times, it was the worst of times,вЂќ Dickens writes in the opening lines of A Tale of Two Cities as 522 Words | 3 Pages A Tale of Two Cities In the novel A Tale of Two Cities there were three strands of people: the Manettes, the Everemonds and the 845 Words | 4 Pages A Tale of Two Cities | Sydney Carton A Tale of Two Cities “Sadly, sadly, the sun rose; it rose upon no sadder sight than the man of good abilities and good emotions, incapable of their directed exercise, incapable of his own help and his own happiness, sensible of the blight on him, and resigning him-self to let it eat him away.” James Wilby as Sydney Carton I was only 14 the first time I read A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens , I was overwhelmed and the one thing that troubled my parents was that the only person that I could relate to in the novel was Sydney Carton .

I felt this way because back then I used to help other students with their homework, but I never bothered to do mine. That seemed a lot like Sydney Carton. I just loved him. I still have my copy with my favorite parts highlighted. The only actor who played Sydney Carton and seriously convinced me was James Wilby in the mini-series made in 1989. I will discuss this in a future post hopefully. I remember back at high school when my economics teacher told me that the worst person is the one who is capable of doing so much and yet is doing nothing. I didn’t care back then, but what he said stayed with me for years. Book Summary “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” Dickens writes in the opening lines of A Tale of Two Cities as he paints a picture of life in England and France. The year is late 1775, and Jarvis Lorry travels from London to Paris on a secret mission for his employer, Tellson’s Bank.

Joining him on his journey is Lucie Manette, a 17-year-old woman who is stunned to learn that her father, Doctor Alexandre Manette, is alive and has recently been released after having been secretly imprisoned in Paris for 18 years. When Mr. Lorry and Lucie arrive in Paris, they find the Doctor’s former servant, Ernest Defarge, caring for the him. Defarge now runs a wine-shop with his wife in the poverty-stricken quarter of Saint Antoine. Defarge takes Mr. Lorry and Lucie to the garret room where he is keeping Doctor Manette, warning them that the Doctor’s years in prison have greatly changed him. Thin and pale, Doctor Manette sits at a shoemaker’s bench intently making shoes. He barely responds to questions from Defarge and Mr. Lorry, but when Lucie approaches him, he remembers his wife and begins to weep. Lucie comforts him, and that night Mr. Lorry and Lucie take him to England. Five years later, the porter for Tellson’s Bank, Jerry Cruncher, takes a message to Mr. Lorry who is at a courthouse. Mr.

Lorry has been called as a witness for the trial of Charles Darnay, a Frenchman accused of being a spy for France and the United States. Also at the trial are Doctor Manette and Lucie, who are witnesses for the prosecution. Doctor Manette has fully recovered and has formed a close bond with his daughter. If found guilty of treason, Darnay will suffer a gruesome death, and the testimony of an acquaintance, John Barsad, and a former servant, Roger Cly, seems sure to result in a guilty verdict. Questions from Darnay’s attorney, Mr. Stryver, indicate that Cly and Barsad are the real spies, but the turning point in the trial occurs when Sydney Carton, Stryver’s assistant, points out that Carton and Darnay look alike enough to be doubles. This revelation throws into doubt a positive identification of Darnay as the person seen passing secrets, and the court acquits Darnay. After the trial, Darnay, Carton, and Stryver begin spending time at the Manette home, obviously attracted to Lucie’s beauty and kind nature. Stryver decides to propose to her, but is dissuaded by Mr. Lorry.

Carton confesses his love to Lucie, but does not propose, knowing that his drunken and apathetic way of life is not worthy of her. However, he vows that he would gladly give his life to save a life she loved, and Lucie is moved by his sincerity and devotion. Eventually, it is Darnay whose love Lucie returns, and the two marry with Doctor Manette’s uneasy blessing. While the couple is on their honeymoon, the Doctor suffers a nine-day relapse of his mental incapacity and believes he is making shoes in prison again. Meanwhile, the situation in France grows worse. Signs of unrest become evident when Darnay’s cruel and unfeeling uncle, the Marquis St. Evrémonde, is murdered in his bed after running down a child with his carriage in the Paris streets. Although Darnay inherits the title and the estate, he has renounced all ties to his brutal family and works instead in England as a tutor of French language and literature. The revolution erupts with full force in July 1789 with the storming of the Bastille.

The Defarges are at the center of the revolutionary movement and lead the people in a wave of violence and destruction.By 1792, the revolutionaries have taken control of France and are imprisoning and killing anyone they view as an enemy of the state. Darnay receives a letter from the Evrémonde steward, who has been captured and who begs Darnay to come to France to save him. Feeling a sense of duty to his servant and not fully realizing the danger awaiting him, Darnay departs for France. Once he reaches Paris, though, revolutionaries take him to La Force prison “in secret,” with no way of contacting anyone and with little hope of a trial. Doctor Manette, Lucie, and Lucie’s daughter soon arrive in Paris and join Mr. Lorry who is at Tellson’s Paris office. Doctor Manette’s status as a former prisoner of the Bastille gives him a heroic status with the revolutionaries and enables him to find out what has happened to his son-in-law. He uses his influence to get a trial for Darnay, and Doctor Manette’s powerful testimony at the trial frees his son-in-law.

Hours after being reunited with his wife and daughter, however, the revolutionaries again arrest Darnay, based on the accusations of the Defarges. The next day, Darnay is tried again. This time, the Defarges produce a letter written years earlier by Doctor Manette in prison condemning all Evrémondes for the murder of Madame Defarge’s family and for imprisoning the Doctor. Based on this evidence, the court sentences Darnay to death and Doctor Manette, devastated by what has happened, reverts to his prior state of dementia. Unknown to the Manette and Darnay family, Sydney Carton has arrived in Paris and learns of Darnay’s fate. He also hears of a plot contrived to send Lucie and her daughter to the guillotine. Determined to save their lives, he enlists the help of a prison spy to enter the prison where the revolutionaries are holding Darnay. He enters Darnay’s cell, changes clothes with him, drugs him, and has Darnay taken out of the prison in his place. No one questions either man’s identity because of the similarities in their features. As Mr.

Lorry shepherds Doctor Manette, Darnay, Lucie, and young Lucie out of France, Carton goes to the guillotine, strengthened and comforted by the knowledge that his sacrifice has saved the woman he loves and her family. “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known!” Development of Sydney Carton in Tale of Two Cities Chapter 1: Essay, an essay fiction | FictionPress By: Kara Rose Trojan An essay that discusses the characterization and growth of the tragic hero, Sydney Carton. Rated: Fiction T - English - Chapters: 2 - Words: 5,053 - Reviews: 7 - Favs: 2 - Follows: 1 - Published: 4/4/2007 - Status: Complete - id: 2343701 + - Full 3/4 1/2 Expand Tighten Next > The Character Development of Sydney Carton "It is a far, far better thing that I do than I have ever done.

It is a far, far better rest that I have than I have ever known." (Dickens 367). Sydney Carton spoke these immortal words in the last few moments of his life. Carton has wasted his life on alcohol and apathy. He makes his intelligence obvious through his ability to analyze cases for his business partner, Stryver. He makes clear that he has the same opportunities for success as Stryver, but for some reason chose not to take them. Carton's past remains a mystery. The only noble part of his life is his love for Lucie and his affection for the rest of the Manette and Darnay household. His love for her is strong enough to induce him to give his life for that of her husband. Carton takes on a mythical aspect in sacrificing himself to save his friends. He represents the sacrificial hero who is ritually slaughtered of his own free will so that society might renew itself. Through his death, he redeems his sins and is reborn in his namesake that the Darnay family shall keep alive. Leading up to the moment of his death was an adventure of romance, blackmail, murder, rebellion, and mystery.

Through Dickens's story, Carton touches bases with each of these occurrences and develops into a tragic, romantic hero that readers will come to love and mourn. Sydney Carton develops throughout A Tale of Two Cities in a variety of ways. Dickens uses literary devices abundantly in the novel, some which that contribute to the growth of Carton. The uses of symbolism, foreshadowing, and theme mold and shape Carton and thicken the plot for readers. The other characters in the novel prove to help move Carton's progress along. Darnay, Lorry, Lucie, and a few other minor characters ascertain that Carton is motivated toward reaching his goal of finding a purpose in life. Dickens successfully portrays Carton differently than he portrays any other characters in the novel. Dickens establishes that Carton is the most dynamic character, that he possesses Christ-like behavior, and that if Carton hadn't developed successfully, none of the loose ends would be tied up. The character development of Sydney Carton in A Tale of Two Cities is expressed by Dickens through the use of literary devices, the reactions of other character, and the unique way Dickens portrays Carton.

Literary devices strewn throughout the text help the development of Sydney Carton further along. Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities is renowned for its complex yet simple usage of literary devices. These devices seem to tie the entire novel together, and they create a sense of satisfaction when Carton's life finally succumbs to a tragic end. Symbolism circles Carton from the very moment his name graces the pages of the novel. He is described through Dickens with symbolic structures such as a jackal and a shadow. The foreshadowing within the story is apparent, especially in Books I and II. The scene where Carton reflects upon his hatred and jealousy for Darnay in the mirror indicates that the rivalry will help thicken the plot. The part where Carton sees a flash of a happy life when he is leaving Stryver's home exhibits a sense of hope that is still flickering gently within Carton's demeanor. When Carton promised Lucie how he would give up his own life in order to save a life that she loved proved to be one of the strongest examples of foreshadowing for the growth of Sydney Carton's character. The themes of rebirth and resurrection are hinted strongly within the text.

It is through those themes that Carton grows and develops within the story. Dickens explains Carton's imperative relation to the plot of A Tale of Two Cities through the application of symbolism, foreshadowing, and theme. Symbolism runs rampant in Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities. One such event that occurs within the novel takes place in chapter five, entitled "The Jackal." The chapter name already hints at the symbolic structure that appears through Carton's personality. The Jackal is supposed to represent a person who performs menial tasks for another. In the novel, Dickens even shares insight on Carton's personality: "Carton would never be a lion, he was an amazingly good jackal, and that he rendered suit and service to Stryver in that humble capacity." (93). What Dickens is explaining to the reader is that Carton will never be the one to take credit for his work. Petch claims that while Stryver is critical with Carton, Carton still shows indifference towards him. Stryver is saying how Carton "summons no energy and purpose." (Dickens 95).

He is content and apathetic towards the fact that he will never be accredited with the performance and outcomes of his actions. This assumption rings true later on in the book when Carton silently sacrifices his own life for Charles Darnay's life with only the knowledge of Barsad and the seamstress. Later, however, within that same chapter, the sun rises upon Carton and the "…glorious sun, rising, seemed to strike those words, that burden of the night, straight and warm into his heart in its long bright rays." (309). This symbolizes the obvious change in Carton after this chapter. Carton's motive is no longer a mystery neither to the reader nor to Carton. He realizes that he must fulfill the promise he made to Lucie and preserve the life that she loves. While Dickens does create masses of symbolism surrounding Carton's ultimate end, he also establishes plenty of foreshadowing that helps create even more suspense. Foreshadowing clutters the text of A Tale of Two Cities, most of which that assists in shaping Carton's destiny. The earliest, obvious example of foreshadowing which involved Carton speaking to Stryver about how he and Darnay seem to look alike.

Not only is this a peculiar fact that helped Darnay gain his innocence, but this fact is taken advantage of later on in the novel. Because of the fact that Darnay and Carton look alike, Carton is able to successfully switch places with Darnay hours before the execution and save Darnay's life. There is, however, a more obscure example of foreshadowing that readers tend to overlook. At the Old Bailey trial, "…there was a mirror…" (71) that hung above Darnay's head. Onlookers to the trial within the text make observation of Carton, who sits idly staring up at the mirror, watching. Gross explains, "reflections, like ghosts, suggest unreality and self-division." (142). After the trial, when Carton insults Darnay and Darnay exits, Carton holds a self-reflection in the mirror, speaking about how he despises and is jealous of Darnay. In both of these incidents, Carton is using the mirror as a way to connect with Darnay. "So like each other in feature, so unlike in manner, both reflected in the glass above them." (142).

Carton reveals more about his own fate as the novel goes on. When Carton is leaving Stryver's house after working extremely hard on cases, Carton has a vision of happiness for only a few moments. … this man stood still on his way across a silent terrace, and saw for a moment, lying in the wilderness before him, a mirage of honorable ambition, self-denial, and perseverance. In the fair city of this vision, there were airy galleries from which the loves and graces looked upon him, gardens in which the fruits of life hung ripening, waters of Hope that sparkled in his sight. A moment, and it was gone. (97). The vision that Carton receives is similar to the vision that Carton sees before his death. "… I see a beautiful city and a brilliant people rising from this abyss, and, in their struggles to be truly free, in their triumphs and defeats, through long years to come, I see the evil of this time and of the previous time of which this is the natural birth, gradually making exploitation for itself and wearing out." (367). From this reading, one can only assume that Carton almost had vision of foresight into the future.

Carton not only could sense his ultimate end coming nearer, but he could also sense Lucie's compassion towards him and the life that she loved. That promise is greater than any of Lucie's other suitors could make. According to Marcus, Carton's love for Lucie aroused a sympathy in him and makes him able to respond to those around him. (33). Shortly after Carton makes his confession to Lucie, there is an oblivious change in his personality and behavior. Glancy offers that "it is memory… inspired by Lucie that eventually brings about the change of direction in him." (84). The similarity in appearance between Darnay and Carton and Carton's important change in demeanor directly tie into Dickens's themes of rebirth and resurrection. The themes of mystery and rebirth tend to help create the new personality of Sydney Carton. Dickens exhibits quite a few incidents where Carton is hidden away in the shadows, adding to the theme of mystery. After Darnay is proven innocent, Carton is nowhere to be seen as Darnay, Lucie, Lorry, Doctor Manette, and Stryver converse.

Dickens describes Carton as one "… who had been leaning against the wall where its shadow was darkest…" (88). What the reader can interpret from this sentence is that this is when Carton is at the peak of being mysterious. His past is a mystery and his entire demeanor is a mystery. We never come to understand why Carton is the way he is, even after Dickens's insight into Carton's past later near the end of the story. Glancy describes Carton, as one who "…suffers from a disease of apathy…" (80). In the courtroom scene at the Old Bailey Inn and during numerous conversations, Carton gives off the air of indifference. He doesn't care about others and chooses to be apathetic towards others because he can "…see beyond the limited vision of others…" (Kucich 40) or "…say what others dare not say." (40). In the courtroom, he stares up at the ceiling, emotionless and indifferent to what is going on around him, while still revealing evidence of being extremely observant.

Carton was the first one to notice when Lucie fainted and called for aid, and he noticed the shared, physical appearance of both he and Darnay. As stated by Glancy, Carton has potential for rebirth through evidence found in his little visions of what he wants. Carton himself feels that he has nothing to lose and has no purpose in life. He has total potential to turn his entire life around. (82.) Lucie says to Carton, as he's professing his love to her, "I am sure that you might be much, much worthier of yourself." (153). Lucie implores to Carton that he can have rebirth and resurrect himself. Carton, however, ends up taking a lead towards the end of the novel. Gross describes Carton as "drained of the will to live… he is shown in the closing chapters of the book as a man courting death, and embracing it when it comes." (45). After Carton goes on a stroll during the night near the end of the novel, he falls asleep on the street. When the sun rises, it symbolizes that Carton has already gone through the mental stage of rebirth.

The vivid and interesting characters that grace the pages of Dickens's novel prove more than enough to not be worthy in the presence of Sydney Carton. The characters within the book, from the start, that came in contact with Carton changed their views about him dramatically towards the end of the novel. Not only does this alert the reader of Carton's obvious maturity, but it also helps move the plot along as well. Kucich explains that "…by the good characters in their own struggles for freedom…they are focused… in the 'pure' self-violence of Sydney Carton, which liberates him from self-hatred." (38). In the beginning, Carton was rude and vile towards Darnay, lacing his words with venom when he spoke to him. Towards the end of the middle of the novel, Carton reconciles with Darnay. When Lorry first encountered Carton, Carton seemed to fluster Lorry. Carton, however, seems to treat Lorry warmly towards the end of the novel. Lucie never seems, or has any reason to, resent Carton. In the beginning and middle of the novel, Lucie feels compassion towards Carton and wishes to aid him in any way possible.

Towards the end, she shows less concerned, which could be a sign of her worry for him decreasing and an indication of his stability. Other characters, such as Stryver and Jerry, play smaller roles when it comes to dealing with Carton. Through the reactions of other characters, Dickens depicts the development of Sydney Carton. Carton loathed Darnay for his success and coveted Lucie's admiration. As carton stared at himself in the mirror, he said to himself, "'A good reason for taking to a man, that he shows you what you have fallen away from, and what you might have been…come on, and have it out in plain words! You hate the fellow.'" (Dickens 91). Carton, however, makes amends with Darnay sometime after the Darnay's honeymoon. In the novel, Carton says to Darnay, "'…I should ask that I might be permitted to come and go as a privileged person here." (207). When Carton apologizes for his behavior, Darnay takes it lightheartedly and seems indifferent towards Carton's change.

Although his words are neither malicious nor mocking, Darnay explains to Lucie was Carton had told him. Lucie then scolds Darnay for not appreciating Carton the way he should be. Lucie becomes upset and says to Darnay, "'Remember how strong we are in our happiness, and how weak he is in his misery!'" (208). Carton also develops Darnay's character by establishing himself as Darnay's savior. This is where, finally, Carton begins his transformation as Darnay. Darnay says to Carton, "'Carton! Dear Carton…I implore you not to add your death to the bitterness of mine.'" (345). This is where Darnay begins to feel compassion towards Carton. Not only does Darnay not want to feel the guilt of Carton's death, but he also cares about Carton's life. Darnay seems to share a common bond with Carton, much like Lorry. Lorry is introduced to us as a man of business whose attempts at remaining emotionless tend to be failures.

When Carton and Lorry first exchange words within the novel, Lorry becomes flustered with Carton's indifference and Carton moves him into a tough position. Lorry says to Carton, "'We men of business, who serve a House, are not our own masters. We have to think of the House more than ourselves.'" (88). Lorry is obviously irritated by the way Carton chooses to present himself, while Lorry has to struggle to maintain a professional composure. "If you'll excuse me, as very much your elder, for saying so, I really don't know that it is your business." "Business! Bless you, I have no business," said Mr. Carton. (88). This is a good example of how Carton replies apathetically to Lorry's insults. He allows Lorry's insults to roll off his back. Carton, however, changes his demeanor. Later on in the novel, Carton shows his softened side to Lorry and treats him almost as one would treat his or her father. He comforts Lorry about Lorry's fear of having no legacy for when he dies. Carton says to Lorry, "'See what a place you fill at seventy-eight.

How many people will miss you when you leave it empty!'" (305). Carton treats Lorry like a father figure towards the end of the book. Dickens describes Lorry's reaction to Carton's change by writing, "… there was a true feeling and respect both in his tone and in his tough, that Mr. Lorry, who had never seen the better side of him, was wholly unprepared for." (304) Lorry, after this, understands Carton and is able to sense a connection between them. Carton and Lorry also share an evocative feeling of their youth. "I should like to ask you: Does your childhood seem far off? Do the days when you sat at your mother's knee seem days of very long ago?" Carton "Twenty years back, yes…" Lorry (306). They share even more of a common bond because they found a common ground. This could be a way of foreshadowing their upcoming deaths and the peace and calm that would entail them. Although Lorry's reaction to Darnay is positive, Lucie's reaction seems to be indifferent. Lucie is obviously one of the characters that influence Sydney Carton the most.

It is because of Lucie's compassion that Carton develops within the story. "It is memory…inspired by Lucie that eventually brings about the change of direction in him…" Glancy states. (84). Lucie's compassion is what throttled Carton and changed his apathetic ways. He, too, becomes burdened with the act of compassion, and with that, compassion comes his final demise. During Carton's last few moments of life, the memory of his profession of love to Lucie is what creates the peaceful look on his face. The reason is that Carton "…has a more intimate relationship with Lucie than either Darnay or Manette…" (Kucich 40). Because of the raw emotion that is shared between them, there is a vulnerability to Carton that only Lucie will ever know. When Lucie showed him compassion, it triggered a sense of self-worth and determination within himself. Marcus explains that "Carton's love for Lucie aroused a sympathy in him and makes him able to respond to those around him." (33).

If Lucie hadn't triggered Carton's vulnerability, then Carton would've remained a flat character, and Darnay's life would've never been saved. If Darnay's life would've never been saved, Lucie would've become a grief-stricken widow. It was through love, determination, and compassion that Carton changed his ways to save a life that Lucie loved. There are a couple of more minor characters that still received a response from Carton. Stryver, Carton's business partner, worked and strived to receive a reaction from Carton. During the time when Stryver is explaining to Carton how he wishes to marry Lucie, Carton turns to alcohol for some comfort. In the passage, Dickens writes, "Sydney Carton drank the punch at a great rate; drank it by bumpers, looking at his friend." (144). It is obvious that Stryver's behavior bothers him, although he tries to use alcohol to mask his irritation. Stryver does what he can in order to affect Carton and proves to be the motivation that Carton needs in order to profess his love to Lucie.

If Stryver hadn't told Carton how he was going to demand Lucie to marry him, Carton would've probably never felt the need to tell Lucie his true feelings. Jerry is another character that helps Develop Carton's character. When Jerry sets eyes on Carton while Carton is staring up at the ceiling, Jerry just giggles at him and ridicules him. Later in the trial, Jerry makes the comment, "'I'd hold half a guinea that he don't get no law work to do. Don't look like the sort of one to get any, do he?'" (83). Eventually, nevertheless, Carton and Jerry team up when they interrogate Barsad in Paris. While Carton is successfully interrogating Barsad, Jerry pops up and, to everyone's surprise, adds another object to the case stacked against Barsad. Dickens says in the reading, "Sydney Carton, who… had been lost in amazement at this turn of the business, here requested Mr. Cruncher to moderate and explain himself." (300). Here is where Carton and Jerry develop an understanding of one another.

Through the interrogation, Jerry's views of Carton are changed and now realizes how successful and genius Carton truly is. Dickens portrays Carton much differently than he portrays any other characters in A Tale of Two Cities. He stands out mostly from the way Dickens chooses to portray him. As stated by Glancy, "…Dickens's intention that the characters should be expressed through the story rather than through dialogue, and partly because of the role he plays in the novel." (80). In the beginning, he was an apathetic alcoholic and work-horse. By the end of the novel, Carton proved to be a sly, passionate, and determined savior with a purpose in his step. Carton, also, demonstrates Christ-like behavior near the end of the novel. Through his sacrifice, everyone's lives are better off. The reenactment of the discussion between Martha and Jesus about resurrection is almost flawless up to the last word. After the death of Carton, all the conflicts within the novel are resolved and there is no more grief. The Manette's quandary of how to save Darnay is solved. The Evremonde's predicament of redeeming their family is resolved.

Madame Defarge's quest to seek revenge on her family's death is assumed to be fulfilled. Sydney Carton proves to be the most important character within A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens's portrayal of him through Carton's dynamic change in character, Carton's Christ-like behavior, and how Carton's sacrifice is the resolution to everyone's problems. Sydney Carton, as mentioned before, has proven to be an extremely changed person by the end of Dickens's novel. When Carton is first introduced, his character is so shady and pathetic that even Jerry Cruncher chooses to laugh at him. Kucich offers that Carton is holding himself back from success. (39). Carton, as stated previously, carries the labor for Stryver, but takes no credit for it. It is assumed that Sydney Carton "… is too paralyzed to realize his emotional or professional capabilities…" (Marcus 33). His entire mind has been numbed due to his excessive self-loathing and apathy. There is no more motivation and determination left inside him. Carton, however, changes dramatically near the end of the book. At the end of the novel, for instance, Carton's walk even has more of a purpose to it.

Carton walked "… with the decided step of one who remembered the way well…" (Dickens 307) as he ventured toward Lucie's house. Carton has reiterated his plan over and over within his mind so much that he knows precisely what he has to do. With Lucie's help, Carton has found a purpose and knows what he must do. Carton is the only dynamic character within the novel. Lucie was escorted into the story by Dickens as the domesticated, golden-haired sweetheart and remained that way throughout the novel. In both the beginning and the end of the novel, she faints because of her fear for Darnay's life. At the trial at the Old Bailey Inn and at the trial in Paris, Lucie swoons and Carton comes to her aid on both occurrences. Lucie, also, remains compassionate towards all the characters and stays consistent. Darnay remains unchanged in the novel as the gentlemanly scholar whose only change that occurs is his occupation. His liking towards Carton never wavers since, technically, Darnay never despised Carton in the first place. Although his kinship with Carton may have grown, it is hardly enough to call Darnay a dynamic character.

Lorry undergoes little development in the novel as the "'man of business.'" (31). He remains in love with his career at Telleson's Bank throughout the entire novel. Although he does claim to be extremely business-like throughout the novel, he also fails to mask his emotions consistently. Carton proves to be Dickens's most, and perhaps only, dynamic character within the novel. Dickens does nothing to hide Bible references when one reads the novel. On many accounts does he take a religious twist on certain items, including the guillotine, the theme of resurrection, and the peculiar conversation between Carton and the seamstress. In the novel, Dickens describes the guillotine as follows: "It was the sign of the regeneration of the human race. It superseded the Cross. Models of it were worn on breasts from which the Cross was derived." (271). Dickens is laying the foundation for the setting for Carton's death, where the guillotine, which is substituted for the Cross, will kill him. Resurrection, as formerly touched upon, is the main theme in Dickens's novel. Only through resurrection of Carton's self-worth can the conflicts be mended within the novel.

Carton even brings up how a particular Bible verse was recited at his father's funeral. The verse was, "'I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die.'"(308). Carton lives up to this verse perfectly because before he dies, he envisions about how his legacy will live through the Darnay family even though he does indeed die. Alter explains, "Sydney Carton, who possesses the greatest love… achieves an imitation of Chris in his death." (19). Alter does indeed help determine how Carton's legacy will indeed live on after his body is deceased. Moments before Carton's death, he is greeted by a seamstress who Dickens could have very well modeled after Martha, an important woman in the Bible and one of Jesus' followers.

When the seamstress becomes knowledgeable of Carton's motive, she says to Carton, "'If I may ride with you… will you let me hold your hand?" I am not afraid, but I am little and weak, and it will give me more courage.'" (Dickens 347). The seamstress's words are quite similar to the discussion held between Jesus and Martha when Jesus promise the resurrection of the faithful. 25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?" 27 She said to Him, "Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world." (John 11:25-27). The seamstress possesses the same faith and dependence that Martha placed in Jesus. Through these passages, Dickens found a way to demonstrate Martha and Jesus' conversation through the bond between the seamstress and Carton. It is only through Carton's sacrifice that all the conflicts within the novel come to a resolution.

The conflicts that plagued the novel were the conflicts within the Manette/Darnay household, the Evremonde legacy, and the Defarge family. The trouble roused within the Manette/Darnay household was the obvious reason: Darnay was going to be executed. If Darnay were to die, he would leave behind a mourning widow and a bright-eyed daughter. Since Carton and Darnay look alike, Carton is the only substitute for Darnay's place at the guillotine. The Evremonde legacy will forever be redeemed if Carton sacrifices himself. In the novel, the Evremonde family was dishonored by the history of cruelty towards commoners. They afflicted the lives of many peasant families, including Madame Defarge's family. It was Darnay's motive to make amends for the actions of his family, but his efforts proved to be insufficient. Madame Defarge's family is the greatest conflict that is resolved in the novel. Although Madame Defarge dies before she even sees Carton's head be sliced off, it still satisfied the bloodlust of her followers.

It has been Madame Defarge's purpose to end the Evremonde bloodline, which included the death of Darnay. Since Darnay and Carton look alike, the followers of Madame Defarge can only assume that it had been Darnay who was executed. Because of Carton's self-sacrifice, the conflicts that plague the three major families are resolved. Sydney Carton has developed successfully in Dickens's novel A Tale of Two Cities because of the literary devices used, the influences of other characters, and the distinctive depiction of his character. Because of Dickens's triumphant representation of Sydney Carton, the entire plot of A Tale of Two Cities was a giant success. It added to the excitement, suspense, and emotion that were hidden within the novel. Since Dickens developed Carton so beautifully and flawlessly, the reader can have a sense of grief and mourning for the death of Sydney Carton, or at least a sense of closure to the novel. Sydney Carton's death leaves the reader satisfied with the novel since all the conflicts in the novel were resolved. Carton's romantic and tragic end, ironically, was the highlight of his life.

Through him, an emptiness was filled for the afflicted families, the revolutionaries, and the reader. Dickens created a character that shows that there is a purpose for everyone, no matter how many mistakes were made in the past. Next > The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted. Favorite : Story

Question: In the Charles Dickens novel 'A Tale of Two Cities' Sidney Carton exchanges places with which other character?
Answer: Charles Darnay