A Tale Of Two Cities Introduction

A Tale Of Two Cities Introduction Essay In the fictitious novel Tale of Two Cities, the author, Charles Dickens, lays out a brilliant plot. Charles Dickens was born inEngland 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 theage 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, Tellsons 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 coneztly being put on the ezd 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. Manettes 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 the trial of Charles Darnay. Darnay, earning his living as a tutor, frequently travels between England and France and is accused of treason in his home country of France. He is saved from being prosecuted by Sydney Carton, who a witness confuses for Darnay, thus not making the case positive. Darnay ended up being acquitted for his presumed crime. Darnay and Carton both fall in love with Lucie and want to marry her. Carton, an alcoholic at the time, realizes that a relationship with Lucie is impossible, but he still tells her that he loves her and would do anything for her. Darnay and Lucie marry ea ch other on thepremises of the two promises between Dr. Manette and Darnay. Right after the marriage, while the newlyweds are on their honeymoon, Dr. Manette has a relapse and cobbles shoes for nine days straight. READ: Lysistrata Argumentative Essay Frances citizens arm themselves for a revolution and, led by the Defarges, start the revolution by raiding the Bastille. Shortlybefore the start of the revolution, the Marquis runs over a child in the streets of Paris. He is assassinated soon after by Gaspard, the childs father, who is also a part of the revolution. Three years later, right in the middle of the revolution, Darnay is called to France to help Gabelle, an old friend. As soon as he goes down what seems to be a one-way street to France, he is arrested (in France) for being an enemy of the state. Dr. Manette, Lucie, and the Darnays daughter go shortly after to Paris to see if they can be of any help to Charles. When the delayed trial finally takes place, Dr. Manette, who is in the peoples favor, uses his influence to free Charles. The same day, Charles is re-arrested on charges set forth by the Defarges and one other mystery person. The next day, at a trial that had absolutely no delay , Charles is convicted and sentenced to death. Because of the despondent situation, Dr. Manette has a relapse and cobbles shoes. Sydney Carton overhears plot to kill Lucie, herdaughter, and Dr. Manette and has them immediately get ready to leave the country. Carton, having spy contacts, gets into the prison in which Darnay is being held, drugs him and switches places with him. Lucie, Charles, and their daughter successfully leave the country. Sydney Carton, making the ultimate sacrifice, partly for Lucie, goes to the guillotine in place of Charles. Just before he dies, Carton has a vision in which society is greatly improved and the Darnays have a son named after him. This dramatic plot revolves around several central themes. One theme involves revenge. Ones bad side is brought out by the evil effects of revenge. Madame Defarge is the main subject of this implicit theme. She turns into a killing machine because she must get revenge. An example of this is when she finds out Charles Darnay is an Evermonde and is going to marry Lucie Manette. She knits Darnays name into the death register. Another key theme in the novel has to do with courage and sacrifice. There were many sacrifices in this novel by many different characters. The ultimate sacrifice was made by Sydney Carton. Because of his love for Lucie and his friendship with Darnay,Carton is the example of one of the most important themes implied in this book. Carton helps others, and does not think so much of himself. Right before going to the guillotine, Carton sees a better world, a world where he gave to others, not thinkingof himself. These themes help outline an interesting story.

Museum Visit Humi 16 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Museum Visit Humi 16 - Assignment Example It represents a masculine man, who has a strong sense of power, which is apparently not threatening (Rodin 1). His massive form also adds to its dynamic torsion. The result is a powerful man, who is apparently meditating, and thinking about the problems and suffering he has undergone. Most of the French societies, during the Middle Ages, believed in the power of religion. For instance, people believe that sinners will be condemned and sent to suffer in the hell. Sculptures, like any other artistic work, are used to represent one’s culture. From his sitting position, â€Å"The Thinker† is probably visualizing souls suffering in hell, which they were condemned to by their passions (Rodin 1). Rodin was determined to create a figure that suggests meditation, and that is why he created it in a sitting position while supporting his chin by his hand. This is an indication that those who believe in the power and teachings of God will end up in heaven while sinners will end up suffering in hell (Rodin 1). â€Å"The Thinker† was originally referred to as â€Å"The Poet†. It represented the author of Divina Commedia, Dante Alighieri, who according to popular stories, used to sit and think while sitting on a rock called Sasso di Dente, in Florence (Rodin 1). Created in Dante’s portrait, â€Å"The Thinker† symbolizes intellectual power, which developed the dramatic world represented in â€Å"Gates†. This sculpture was later detached from Dante’s personal connection and is currently perceived as a symbol of mental creativity and power of thought. The creative qualities such as color, texture and the mood, which are represented in this sculpture, depicts a person who can judge and understand the society from a higher standpoint (Rodin 1). â€Å"The Thinker† is centrally placed high above the mayhem of sinners, which most viewers believe to represent the figure of Jesus Christ, in the judgment seat (Rodin 1). In the 19th Century, Europe redis covered the spirits

Startups. Young Entrepreneurs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Startups. Young Entrepreneurs - Essay Example And of course there are the "children" that refuse to be seen as incapable members of the society and by chance or knowledge they make it work in the very competitive business market, hit the screen and make a fortune even from their adolescence. This is the case of two young entrepreneurs that share their secret and how they cracked the market. The first case is the one of Dominic McVey. He started his business around the age of 13, when boys have dreams of driving anything that moves. He is now 19 and his business still goes one and flourishes. There could be said that his story is one of sheer luck, but the fact is that he took advantage of a simple fact that happened in his life. By mistake, when he was looking for a Visa credit card, he introduced the word "Viza", which is a brand of scooters. As a young boy he wanted one for himself, but knew that neither he, nor his parents had the money to buy one. He dared to write them an e-mail through which he requested a free one, with the promise that he could sell much more in his town. The answer from the company was that if he bought five, he would get one for free. McVey was not a complete stranger in the field of business and he started gathering the money from different sources, like organizing parties and selling various things on the internet. When he finally got the si x scooters, a new business opportunity opened for him. He sold the five scooters to friends and family and within a week he sold other ten ones. From there the sky was the limit. Some people said that Dominic's business was sheer luck, but when we hear the version of his promotion there are some clear strategies that he followed in order to be successful on a large scale. One of the strong points of Dominic was his great persuasive manner of presenting the product. He admits that "I was very, very competitive. I guess I was very mouthy about other products out there, but all the others out there were crap and expensive." He proved to have a good knowledge of the product and at first he had a great direct marketing strategy, which involved a personal touch and contact with the customers. This touch brought him in the center of attention both for the press and the people in general. The fact that he was liked by the press proved to be essential in his business, as he got the kind of promotion and advertising he never thought to achieve before. Even if as a child he got bored of his scooter, he did not stop selling them. He thought of a way of promoting his pro duct through flyers and was not discouraged when he was chased around by security or the traffic safety people started to be unhappy with so many scooters. His customers had different backgrounds, from the businessmen that bought them as toys, to the persons that used them to commute to their work place. One of the problems that Dominic faced was obviously his age. He managed to overcome this by working mostly on the internet and on the phone. He had good presentations made by his friends and practically this was all he needed. The big companies tended to see him as the little brother and found it a pleasure to share information with his. Anyhow the great advantage of the business was that all the money was his and the only things that were needed to be paid were the phone and internet bills. For Dominic technology filled the gap. The internet marketing strategy worked out. Anyhow, McVey is for now not taking into