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
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