A Tale of Two Cities

A Tale of Two Cities

  • Submitted By: cnelson
  • Date Submitted: 05/24/2008 2:29 PM
  • Category: Book Reports
  • Words: 2476
  • Page: 10
  • Views: 1

A Tale of Two Cities is a riveting novel that gives deep insight into the personal beliefs and life experiences of the author, Charles Dickens. Through this literary work, Dickens conveys his opinions about revolutions and their advocates. Also explored are the effects of prisons and imprisonment his life. In his British masterpiece A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens utilizes symbolism to develop themes of resurrection, sacrifice, and imprisonment. Even though written for Dickens' to profess his disenchantment with society, A Tale of Two Cities is surprisingly somewhat uplifting. Throughout this compelling novel, Dickens provides an intriguing view of the French Revolution and the social structure of the time period.

Dickens's childhood and selective parts of his adult life largely affected his point of view and writing style. Dickens was born in England on February 7, 1812, to a family that lived well beyond their means. As the son of John Dickens, a minor city official, he watched his father go to debtor's prison ("Charles Dickens"). Edgar Johnson, a former English professor at the City College of New York insists" The wound was so deep that its psychological scars were never eradicated. Dickens could never bear to tell his wife and children either of his father's confinement in the Marshalsea or of his own imprisonment in the blacking warehouse" (31).

After his father's incarceration, Dickens, at the tender young age of twelve, was sent to work in Jonathan Warren's blacking warehouse as a bottle wrapper (Johnson 31). As a result of too many outstanding debts, John Dickens' was sent to prison. Dickens was extremely humiliated by this experience and carried his disgrace through to adulthood. Dickens' interest in journalism was sparked by his job as a court reporter, from which he also developed many of his political views. He began writing short stories and sketches for London newspapers and...

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