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A Tale of Two Cities – by Charles Dickens (1859) Essential Questions • Why did Dickens chose to write ToTC? What was his main purpose/message? • Many readers criticize Dickens’ coincidences as unbelievable and far fetched. However, what important theme do you think the coincidences in ToTC convey? • At several points Dickens shifts from third to first person and from present tense to past tense. What do these shifts accomplish? • Who is the main hero/heroine of the novel? • What is the theme of the novel? Key motifs Resurrection Individual sacrifice Light vs. dark Good vs. evil Shadows Fate/inevitability Echoes of footsteps Wine/blood Guillotine Doubles/opposites/parallels Individual freedoms (liberty, privacy) Characters Dr. Manette Lucie Manette Charles Darnay Sydney Carton Jarvis Lorry Madame Defarge Monsieur Defarge Jerry Cruncher (and his son) Ms. Pross Mr. Stryver Mr. Barsad/Pross The Monsiegneur The Marquis Gaspard Terminology L'ABBAYE Prison of the French monarchy, used by the Revolutionaries to jail aristocrats. BASTILLE French fortress used to confine state prisoners; the Bastille was much hated by the people. CONCIERGERIE Prison attached to the Palace of Justice in Paris. Marie Antoinette, Robespierre, and other famous prisoners of the Revolution awaited execution here; between January 1793 and July 1794 nearly 2,600 prisoners left for the guillotine. FLEET STREET London newspaper and business district, well known to Dickens. LA FORCE Old debtors' prison of Paris; during the Revolution it held political offenders. FURIES In Greek and Roman mythology, minor deities who relentlessly pursued sinners. GORGON'S HEAD Reference to Medusa, the Gorgon, a monster of Greek mythology. All who looked at Medusa were turned to stone. The hero Perseus succeeded in cutting off her head. JACQUERIE Originally applied to a French peasant revolt in the Middle Ages, the term came to mean any uprising of the common people. Jacques was the old collective name for French peasants, which Defarge and his revolutionary friends co-opt, proudly, as a password: "How goes it, Jacques?" NEWGATE Infamous London prison, now demolished; held prisoners awaiting trial at the Old Bailey, next door. OLD BAILEY London court of law, remodeled into the Centre Criminal Court, but still widely called "Old Bailey." SAINT ANTOINE Suburb (faubourg) of Paris that supported primitive manufacturing; its impoverished residents were the backbone of the Revolutionary mob. TEMPLE BAR London gateway dividing Fleet Street from the Strand; the heads of executed traitors were displayed on it. Designed by Christopher Wren in 1670, Temple Bar was removed to a private estate in 1878. TOWER OF LONDON Fortress where those imprisoned for treason awaited trial. TUILERIES, PALACE OF Paris residence of the French kings, and hated symbol of the monarchy. Burnt down by French Revolutionaries of 1871. WHITEFRIARS London district between Thames and Fleet Street, long a haunt of fugitive debtors and criminals and so an appropriate address for Jerry Cruncher, body snatcher.