Essay, Research Paper: A Tale Of Two Cities

The book I read was A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. Have you ever wanted to read a novel that had violence, romance, suspense, and action all in one? If so this is the book for you.
I felt that Dickens chose this title because the story takes place in both France and England. The two countries are mirror images of each other, and both have poverty and a corrupt government; England is slightly better than France though. Most of the story takes place in France rather than England.
Charles is the son of John and Elizabeth Dickens, and was born on February 7, 1812 near Portsmouth on England's south coast. He was taught to read by his mother, and had a passion for reading his father's collection of classics; such as Shakespeare, Cervantes, Defoe, smollett, Fielding, and Goldsmith. Charles wrote 15 novels, and the last one was unfinished due to his death caused by a stroke; he was fifty-eight and died on June 9, 1870.
The main characters are: Charles Darnay- a French man who is a tutor and is put on trial numerous times and has to be rescued. Dr. Manette- a prisoner for 18 years who recovers with the aid of his daughter; he tries to repay her by rescuing her husband from death. Sydney Carton- a drunken lawyer who looks like Charles Darnay, and saves his life because of his love for Lucie. Lucie Manette- a pretty, blonde woman who is very loving and loyal to others and marries Charles Darnay. Ernest Defarge- an owner of a wine shop who becomes a leader in the French Revolution. Madame Therese Defarge- the wife of Ernest who waits for the revolution to get revenge on her enemies; she knits the names of the people she is going to kill. Jarvis Lorry- an agent of Tellson's Bank who is an old, neatly dressed man and a family friend of the Manettes'.
A Tale of Two Cities begins in England, the year is 1775. Jarvis Lorry is sent by his firm, Telson's Bank, on a mission to Paris to find and bring back Dr. Alexandre Manette; who has been in prison for 18 years. Mr. Lorry takes along Dr. Manette's daughter, Lucie, who finds out her father is still alive. When they arrive in Paris they go see Ernest Defarge, a owner of a wine shop, he tells them where Dr. Manette is at. When they find the doctor he is cobbling shoes; he has aged a great deal and is lacking memory. In time both his health and memory is restored.
Five years later Mr. Lorry, Lucie, and Dr. Manette are called as witnesses in a trial at Old Bailey, France, involving Charles Darnay; who is accused of treason. Lucie gives incriminating evidence against him, but Mr. Darnay is acquitted after a witness can't positively identify him because of his similar looks to Sydney Carton; a lawyer in the court room. Mr. Darnay falls in love with Lucie, and they end up getting married.
The French Revolution started, and Ernest Defarge becomes the leader of the revolution along with his wife, Madame Therese, who gets revenge on her enemies. Charles Darnay is also put on trial again, but is set free after being in prison for a year and three months. The same day he was freed he was re-arrested and put on trial again after new evidence was brought forward by the Defarges.
When Dr. Manette was in prison he wrote a letter telling of an incident that accrued in a country house outside of Paris in 1757. The letter stated that the Evremonde twins, Charles Darnay's father and uncle, took the doctor to the house where there was a woman and her dying brother. The man told Dr. Manette that the Evremondes kill his whole family except for a younger sister who had been taken to a safe place. Shortly after they both died. The Evremondes twins were uneasy about the doctor and how he accepted the money with no questions asked. They then took Dr. Manette from his home and pregnant wife and put in prison. Madame Defarge was the younger sister that was put in hiding; this is why she wants Darnay dead.
When the letter was finished being read the court decided to send Charles Darnay, formerly Evremode, to his death. He was the last of the Evremode family and was held responsible. On the day of his execution he was visited by Sydney Carton, his "twin", who drugged him and took his place. Carton loved Lucie, but knew he could never have her, so he vowed to sacrifice himself for her or anyone she loves.
As Carton is about to be killed he sees a vision of his own survival in the memories of the Darnay family. They named their son after him; he will become a judge. This was a dream of Carton's own ambitions in life; there fore he is happy and dies with a self respect and triumph.
Dickens theme of the novel was resurrection or being recalled to life. The way Dr. Manette was rescued and nursed back to good health; therefore being brought back to life. Another example is the French Revolution, and how the people were set free by it; they were no longer held prisoners either in prison or in their own minds. When Jarvis Lorry started working at Tellson's Bank he was a young man like Dr. Manette was when he went to prison, but both the bank and the prison aged both men. Dickens was comparing both places to be similar to each other, and set the scene that both countries had citizens who were held prisoners. The novel shows the darker side of Dickens and his writing; he puts violence and drama along with action and suspense to create a novel that almost any can enjoy.