Tale of Two Cities Lecture notes

Pattern of influences: the history behind the French Revolution and Dickens's reactions to London and Paris.

In 1857, Dickens wrote the play, "The Frozen Deep." 

Dickens acts as the character who is a hero in sacrificing himself for others.

Originally wanted to name Sydney as Carton or Dick.

There is a parallelism between Charles Darnay and Dick Carton, "doubleness in character"

April 1858, Dickens began public readings for charity but also read for profit. As a result, he began to establish a relationship with his readers and was known as a great reader and writer.

May 1858, separated from his wife, Catherine and called it "Some Domestic Trouble of Mine" 

November 1858, separated from his publishers and ended his journal 

The following year he published a new journal.

April 30, 1859, chapters one to three of A Tale of Two Cities were published.

He moved to London when he was ten to work under his father's demand. Described his experience as "extensive and peculiar knowledge at the city", "wretched darkness", "great fascination."

As an adult he called it a "vile place" but he was able to be creative and find an inspiration in the "magical land."

- dickens wrote about London as a newspaper: everything is there but disconnected 

- organized at early age 

- London city of extremes, maze

- first impression of Paris: most extraordinary place. Perfectly distinct character. Novelty and strange things. Expressive of own character. Every house and person added to the "book". Never was such a place for a description. 

- Paris half size of London

- lacked uncontrolled nature of London

- crime common but replaced with urban city

- end of Two Cities is rememberance of this change 

- visits during period of political change and change to urban land scape

- 1879 dickens died

- Paris was modernized city with vibrant life of elegance. Had light

- dickens describes progress of city

- dickens attracted to dark side of city. Go visit morgue

- attraction of repulsion theory

- eye for detail and described Paris is deep detail when leaving city on way to Italy 

- dickens sets two cities back in time 

- articles describe beauty of two cities of London and Paris

- describe Bastille fortress in great detail 

- Dickens makes it very clear in his opening of Tale of Two cities that his worlds of London and Paris are very similar

- his opening is very profound and famous

- it was the best of times the worst of times

- he sets us back in time published in 1859 and set back in 1775

- it brings us back to the present time 

- He issues a very modern historical setting that uses a modern parallel 

- Tale of Two Cities moves back and forth from England and France immediately following the French Revolution

- Dickens uses the historical facts of the period as background

- timeline is from 1757 to 1794

- Victorians were haunted by the memory of the French Revolution in 1789

- only happened 70 years before Dickens wrote Tale of Two Cities

- the book marks violence very powerfully 

- Dickens makes it very clear between pre revolutionary France and contemporary Britain

- the novel was weary of confronting the great Victorian fear of revolution 

- the novel came out in weekly parts with one or two chapters available each week

- the novel wasn't eye appealing but was made in the US

- his book sold very well in the US

Dickens was comfortable with sending out his pages weekly

- Dickens wanted a volume of a couple chapters of the Tale to be published that including illustrations, monthly

- the taste of the people was moving more towards a realistic style of illustrations 

- Dickens style of writing was precise that left cliffhanger endings  for people to buy the next issue each week

- Dickens wrote a new chapter or chapters each week that developed the creative flow of work and characters and the plot adjusting to the audience as they were reacting to it

- "the best story he has written" was told to him by one of his colleagues 

A time of war, every weapon possible being used, people had bloody hands, in a time of need and fear

- life on no account, ready to sacrifice 

- man giving orders telling people where to go. 

-setting in France, 

-living sea (metaphor)

- the attack started, symbolism of smoke and repetition of stone wall, work, smoke, gunfire, eight great towers

- told to work, women could kill, armed in hunger and revenge instead of weapons 

- wet straw, bravery, living sea repeated, massive great walls, 

- talks of Alice, a white flag, not audible in the distance, a surrender, 

- as he had been struggling in the south sea, simile 

- jack three, multiple "jacks"

- cries, loud roars, 

- man with the touch, défage says where is the north tower 

- went fast to descend, find the north tower, find a key man to the plot locked in the tower, this is a key area of the book

-likes to describe the sea, and revenge and suffering 

- two groups of seven, all very different In faces of prisoners, carried, all lost and scared to die, lost faces 

- other seven dead, droopy faces, seven heads on sticks, seven alive and released 

- found documents of former prisoners died from "broken heart"

-1789, in Paris 

- has a driving passion to move things forward, 

- dickens responses well to criticisms

 

Critiquing letter from Edward Bollard Lintel Responds to the criticism with many facts. 

Riviting public theme, the creation of a world back in the 1770 1780

Inevitability of history but equally powerful personal story.

Authorial-not given to a character comes directly from him at start of chapter 3. Stands out differently from the rest of the novel 

Characters become mysteries to others. Sidney Counten most mysterious to the response and reaction.

Depth of personal intensity which characterizes other layer of the novel. Character rocked to sleep by the regular movement of the coach and Dreams of recording of the life the prisoner.

Dr Minets face, Man been in prisoner for 18 years and is 45 and is recalled to life 

Met Ellen turner in 1857 and he was 45 and she was 18 and she was born in 1839 in Rochester

Changed the prisoners sentence from 15 to 18 years 

Then met Lucy who is only 17 been conceived but not born when Minet was in prison. 

Described her as blue eyes very pretty and her being young and smooth. He held that child on the passage across the Channel. 

Highly personal thing in dickens experience 

Sidney Counten enabled Charles to escape and spend his life with Lucy and their family. 

- collaboration 

Lit terms #3

exposition-a comprehensive description and explanation of an idea or theory.

expressionism-was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, 

fable-is a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, mythical creatures, plants, inanimate objects or forces of nature which are anthropomorphized (given human qualities such as verbal communication), and that illustrates or leads to an interpretation of a moral lesson 

fallacy-a mistaken belief, especially one based on unsound argument.

falling action-the part of a literary plot thatoccurs after the climax has beenreached and the conflict hasbeen resolved.

farce-a comic dramatic work using buffoonery and horseplay and typically including crude characterization and ludicrously improbable situations.

figurative language- A figure of speech in which things that are different are compared by the use of the words in which are more descriptive 

flashback-a device in the narrative of amotion picture, novel, 

foil- a character who contrasts with another character 

folk tale-a tale or legend originating andtraditional among a people orfolk, especially one forming partof the oral tradition of thecommon people.

foreshadowing-to show or indicate beforehand;prefigure

free verse-poetry that does not rhyme or have a regular meter.

genre-a class or category of artisticendeavor having a particularform, content, technique,

gothic tale-which is largely dominated by the subgenre of gothic horror, is a genre or mode of literature that combined fiction, horror and Romanticism. 

hyperbole-exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

imagery-the formation of mental images,figures, or likenesses of things,or of such images collectively

implication-the conclusion that can be drawn from something, although it is not explicitly stated.

incongruity-not harmonious in character;inconsonant; lacking harmony ofparts 

inference-the act or process of inferring.

irony- the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.

What's The Story

Charles Dickens wrote the novel Great Expectstions because he wanted to convey life through the eyes of a growing and questioning human being. I feel that Dickens pulls from his own personal experiences to exploit the want and desire in the world. I found this out through the lecture we had in class and also the narrators tone towards other characters in the novel. In the novel there have been many metaphors and similes to depict the nature of family and society into one tale of expectations. 

Great Expectation Review

Reflection:

I think the lecture yesterday gave way for the entire book. The lecture gave insight into what I can look for in the rest of the novel and showed points I could find. However the lecture told me what the author meant and what happened in the novel before I could finish the book and interpret the authors intent on my own. I only read the first 60 pages the weekend prior to the lecture, so finding out the end of the book was a bit of a spoiler. During my conversation today I went into detail with some of my fellow students about the parts we had read so far and I feel it helped my understanding. 

Great Expectations Notes:

-pip has imaginings of his life, desires of life, child idealist, 

- feels different, am I a good person,

- what is normal? 

- has fears, fatherless; adopts men as father figures 

magwhich- represents boogy man, convict, in the church graveyard, tells him to steal, not a moral character, brutality. Threat of abandonment if he doesn't do what he says, what pip might become 

Haveasham - witch like figure, represents decay, and shining promise, what could be a fairy godmother, sacrificed, her house is very still nothing has moved since she was left at the altar, trained to be a heart breaker Estella, she is rich and adopted an orphan (positive pip takes). 

Pip doesn't talk truthfully about either character

-pip male desire to rule the world, wanting to be something more

- pip it's not just about disire, these people disappear.

- meets joe gragary, jaggars j in Greek alphabet means I, he is identifying with both. Joe can beat someone but doesn't use it,goes with his heart, a romanic, poetic view if people/world, not a wealthy man, is content 

- biddy, whemic, 

 jaggars knows the shameful secrets and can use them over people to keep honest, he is cold, doesn't use emotion, knows about people can hurt them, not successful emotionally but has a lot of money

- Estella, Molly, havasham, magwhich 

- both come across a mother and child joe accepts, jaggar puts kid in adoption and has mother work as a slave, 

-they are foils to each other not a pure example 

- jaggar is acting as a business man, sometimes he finds a jewel. 

- whemic- is a clerk is two different people business at work home loving 

- magwhich- evil life of childhood, 

- pip has an influence, following a life, 

- multiple conflicts, less action more progression, 

His relevation 

1. pip isn't son of dynasty leader

2. Estella isn't for him, not a pure spirit, origins worse than her

3. magwhich- his own thoughts were not his own

4. He has to seek out what he wants, not an intellectual, they aren't worth one thing one day, they can change 

5.

- joe and jaggar ready to accept consequences of life, pip wants the benefits but doesn't want to pay the price 

- becomes a snob because he wants to stay aloof, pip writing biography is him coming together and a cautionary tale or what he is, 

-novel ends, doesn't want Estella anymore

- forge for black smith, 

- child named pip born from biddile 

All That David Copperfield Kind of ...

I think what it means is that Salinger isn't going to talk about his life in the past and isn't going to go into the autobiographical  aspects of his life but tell you how and where he is at that moment. Although Catcher in the Rye is quite straight forward with the moments that occur the author also has to talk slightly about his past, but he never tells his entire life story like David Copperfild. 

Lit terms #2

Circumlocution

Classicism

Cliché

Climax 

Colloquialism

Comedy 

Conflict

Connotation 

Contrast

Denotation

Denouement 

Dialect 

Dialectics

Dichotomy 

Diction

Didactic 

Dogmatic

Elegy

Epic 

Epigram

AP Prep Post 1:Siddhartha

1.Siddhartha concerns the quest for spiritual enlightenment, and by the end of it four characters have achieved this goal: Govinda, Gotama, Vasudeva, and Siddhartha. Is the enlightenment achieved by each of these characters the same? Why or why not? What distinctions and similarities exist between the paths these characters use to reach their final goal?

2. 

3.  

Siddhartha's Attitude

In the passage, Siddhartha's primary attitude toward normal human life was that it appeared

A

out-of-reach

B

too cerebral

C

commonplace

D

commercial

E

illusionary 

4.A bildungsroman, or coming-of-age novel, recounts the psychological or moral development of its protagonist from youth to maturity, when this character recognizes his or her place in the world. Select a single pivotal moment in the psychological or moral development of the protagonist of a bildungsroman. Then write a well-organized essay that analyzes how that single moment shapes the meaning of the work as a whole.

http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/ap/apcentral/ap13_frq_eng_lit.pdf

5. Meaning of Ascetic

In the context of the passage, the singular form of the word "ascetic" (line 1) most likely means

A

sybaritic

B

iconoclastic

C

stoic

D

self-abnegating

What this has told me about the ap test is that I need to find deeper meaning into the attitude and thoughts that are past the words. 

I would need to read more of the text to understand what each question was asking in their specific parts of the passage. I would also need to learn more about the tone and literary devices to construct a good essay and/or answer the multiple choice questions correctly. 

Siddhartha

-I have found literature wasn't all the answers to himself,found himself, found his natural course 

-Simile stood still like a snake in his path,

-repetition of being still 

-Comparison to nature

- talks of his religious past, still his fathers son

- says he doesn't amount to something, he doesn't have a belonging group 

- paralyzed because he is going away from what others think, he doesn't belong 

- cultural context to Brahman religion, a threat to identity of his family 

- it's something that you look forward to what is ahead of him 

- theme unknown, an awakening, self discovery

- tone: doubtful, optimistic about the future in what it can be 

Conversation

Food Co man at the recycling center, talked to him about his life and discussed the places he has been and the ideas he has. 

Conversation

Victoria likes writing, photography, and reading; she has debated what she has wanted to do for awhile for a life profession. However I think she would be a great author and journalist. I think I could use some of her talents as ideas of my own in which I photograph the brain and read about my topic more effectively. 

conversation

Joey and I had a conversation about big questions and it got us to thinking about life in how the stress of things get to us no matter if school is in session or not. Times have changed and we need to be part of them by changing the world as we know it for the greater good. 

Big Question

My topic is healing and medicine and over the break I have found that this topic is very interesting although broad I believe I have narrowed it down to the mentally ill. I have been trying to earn money for a senior trip to Italy this summer by collecting bottles and cans and I realized once I was turning in bottles down town that many of the people also turning in recycles were mentally ill in my own town. This has brought me to become more interested in people of this sort and in my big questions about the brain. I feel that learning about this topic will help myself understand how these illnesses are inquired, however I'm not sure how exact I could make this an event of some sort. How I have already started learning about this topic was by listening to the stories of these people and reading books about how they function. I even met a man who discussed about his wife saying "all eight of us get along just fine." I could learn more by learning about the brain and what trigors mental instability and how treatments are preformed. 

Literature analysis #1

1.a. My book is about a girl by the name of Julie who is telling the story of her life and the mental illness is her mother. Her mother has MBP which is where a mother or guardian is over nurturing in the way they make up problems with their child and take them to the doctor trying to find an illness that is made up. MBP is usually not found until two or more of the children have died from the procedures or medications they are taking with no true symptoms. The story is one of how they are remembered and not ones of possible events. 

b. MBP consumed Julie's mother, the illness engulfs Julie's life. 

2. The author chose to write about his topic because she wanted to spread the word about MBP in how thousands of children experience the effects of this disease, which needs to be stopped. 

3. I chose this book because I wanted to learn about mental illness and I seem to enjoy books that have more to do with life stories of struggle. Also considering I want to be a doctor, you must know a lot about the type of patients you will experience and it is known that most patients will be mentally ill. I wanted to keep reading because I wanted to see the medical records and the illusions made up by Julie's mother and what type of disorder the father had. 

4. The book was realistic because as I read the tendencies were the same as every child in that we all want to please put mothers and parents and will do anything to do so. I found that Julie's mother was very similar to another book I read called "child  called it." I don't really relate to the topics in the book because I have not had a mentally ill adult in my life but I have seen the effects of mental illness among my piers and their family's, which I would say has brought me to find these cases interesting. 

People

1. Considering the book is written from personal experience the experiences are factual and have hundreds of hospital bills and records to back up the story. Some are even included in the written pages of the book. I feel no one from outside closed doors ever really know the effects or situations of home life so it is hard to say whether or not you would understand what is really happening, due to the fact the mother acts so nurturing out in public always having her children presentable and wanting to know what is wrong with them. The authors choices show me survival and sacrifice to please those around her. Although she is a victim through the entire story she still reportedly loves her mother for loving julie and her brother Dan "little joe" so much. The author is a giving and caring victim of maltreatment from her mothers illness. 

2. Daniel Joseph Gregory the first the father of Julie and has a form of scitsophrenia, short tempered, seen as a round man who is demanding. 

Julie Gregory the author of the story tells her tale of MBP as the victim and how her life wasn't all bad but the medical "advice" has forever scard her. Tall, very skinny, and mostly refered to as sick. 

Sandy Gregory a model like woman, very nurturing, short tempered, mentally ill, has had a hard life and was given away by her mother many times to groups of men. 

I would use both indirect and direct characterization because you can't describe the events in which both parents I acted directly because it wouldn't give the event justice, but through actions the audience is then able to infer what is actually going on in the parents brains. Also, direct characterization would then be needed for smaller details and looks upon their faces when the events occur.

3. These people are interesting enough to write about because they have all suffered trama, although in different ways Daniel Joseph the First Being sent to war by a worthless father, sandy with a mother who was selfish and sold her daughter for money ( her mother also had mental illness) and Julie at the brunt of two parents who suffer from different disorders is the victim and story teller of what happened behind those closed doors. 

Style 

1. The author didn't use literary techniques besides similes, metaphors, and a little imagery because she was talking about life. And in life there aren't really techniques during events in the life's of these people. The style was more journalistic with events. 

Examples: 

- imagery "As far as o can see are rusty refrigerators, old stoves, jagged edges of washers, toothy sheets of tin, heaps of tires, wavy hear rising from the black rubber piled right out there in the blazing sun." Page 45 

- simile "I remember my dad then, manatee like; big, soft, scrubbed clean as if he'd just been run through a car wash on a la-Z- boy gurney." Page 5 

- simile "The car bump-bump over the washboard rivets etched by years of wheels that have sped up the steep hill like it was their own 4x4 trail." Page 44 

-simile "I wake up on the floor, shaped around the tub like a chalk-drawn body at a crime scene." Page 188 

2. The author focuses on the action of the novel because if you are thinking to memories as you recall them you aren't going to remember something if it was insignificant. Therefore the information is what is remembered and if the surrounds were important they were explained. For example when the family moves to Ohio Julie describes the mucky water and trashy area they were living in, also she talks deeply about the rooms she was in at the doctors offices and while she was getting tests done. These aren't necessarily choices but they are memories, So they are important because they reveal the true experience of being a victim to this illness. 

3. The authors tone and mood is empathy and understanding even though the events of this life were traumatic. 

4.the authors attitude was one of awareness to the audience because the entire purpose of the book is to spread awareness of MBP to the world. 

5. The author offers medical records in the written text of the novel. It supported my thinking because it gave hard evidence of the mental acts against Julie. 

Two ideas of the novel that I never will forget if the wonder about why the mother had rocks ingrained in her skin and what led her to the moment of getting them there. Also what will stay with me is the over all idea that some mentally ill people will do this to their child and I could see this and stop its continuance. 

" The impact of her skid lodged pebbles so far under her skin that they stuck there permanently.

Why did you jump out the window, Mom?

Because I had to, Julie. 

But why?

I'll tell you sometime when you're older. And she turns away, lips trembling."