A Tale of Two CitiesCharles Dickens

Charles Dickens

• Born February 7, 1812

• Died June 9, 1870

• Famous writer and social critic

Charles Dickens

• Dickens was raised in poverty.

• His father was put in debtor’s prison.

• His mother and younger siblings eventually joined

their father in debtor’s prison.

Charles DickensCHILDHOOD

• At the age of 12, he was forced to

drop out of school to work.

• He was sent to Warren’s Blacking

Factory, where he worked 10 hour

shifts.

• His job was to paste labels on pots of

black shoe polish.Warren’s Blacking Factory

“The blacking-warehouse …was a crazy, tumble-down old house, abutting of course on the river, and literally overrun with rats. Its

wainscoted rooms, and its rotten floors and staircase, and the old grey rats swarming down in the cellars, and the sound of their squeaking and

scuffling coming up the stairs at all times, and the dirt and decay of the place, rise up visibly before me, as if I were there again.” –Charles

Dickens

Charles DickensFACTORY WORK

• Later, Dickens’ family received an inheritance,

allowing his family to leave debtor’s prison.

• However, his mother did not immediately remove him

from the factory. She fought to send him back.

• Later, he worked for a lawyer and as a reporter.

"I never afterwards forgot, I never shall forget, I never can forget, that my mother

was warm for my being sent back.“ –Charles Dickens

Charles DickensHIS MOTHER, LATER WORK

• These experiences never left Dickens.

• His novels include depictions of child poverty,

debtor’s prison, cruel adults, factory life,

courtrooms, and social injustice.

• His sympathy toward the poor, especially poor

children is a strong theme in many of his writings.

"I had no advice, no counsel, no encouragement, no consolation, no assistance, no support, of any kind, from anyone, that I can call to

mind, as I hope to go to heaven!“ –from David Copperfield, Dickens’ most

autobiographical novel

Charles DickensWRITING INFLUENCES

A Tale of Two CitiesHistorical Background

The Reign of Terror

The Monarchy

King Louis XVI Marie Antoinette

Estates of the Realm• First Estate

o Clergy

o 0.5% of population

• Second Estateo Nobility

o 2% of population

• Third Estate o Everyone else (peasants,

laborers, shop keepers, etc.)

o 97% of population

Leading to Revolution• Third Estate

o Heavily taxed (only estate that was taxed)

o Politically under-represented

o The poorest were devastated by food shortages

• The Third Estate’s growing discontent with

the lavish lifestyle of aristocracy, despite

France’s economic turmoil.

Revolution Begins - 1789• Tennis Court Oath (June)

• Storming of the Bastille(July)

• Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the

Citizen (August)

• Women’s March on Versailles (October)

The Estates-General

Tennis Court Oath - June• Members of the Third Estate were locked out

of the Estates-General meeting

• 576 of the 577 members signed a pledge in

an indoor tennis court

• Took an oath "not to separate, and to

reassemble wherever circumstances require,

until the constitution of the kingdom is

established.“

• Renamed themselves the National Assembly

Tennis Court Oath - June

Storming the Bastille - July• The Bastille was a prison in the center of Paris

• Symbol of royal authority and abuses of monarchy

• A mob of citizens stormed the Bastille

• Only 7 prisoners, but a lot of gunpowder (15 tons)

Storming of the Bastille“Work, Jacques One, Jacques Two, Jacques One Thousand,

Jacques Two Thousand, Jacques Five-and-Twenty Thousand; in the name of all the Angels or the

Devils--which you prefer--work!”

"To me, women!" cried madame. "What! We can kill as well

as the men when the place is taken!”

After the Bastille• The king was informed of the storming the next

morning by one of his dukes.

"Is it a revolt?" asked Louis XVI.

The duke replied: "No sire, it is a revolution.”

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen - August

• Fundamental document of the Revolution

• First step toward writing constitution

• Defines individual human rights

• Collective rights of all estates of the realm as universal

• Adopted by the National Assembly (political leaders of Third Realm) after the Tennis Court Oath

March on Versailles - Oct• Women in a Paris marketplace were angered

by the high price and scarcity of bread

• Grew into a mob of thousands

• Ransacked the city armory for weapons

• Marched to Versailles to confront the King

Palace of Versailles

Palace of Versailles

Palace of Versailles

Palace of Versailles

The Revolutionaries• Commoners

• Sans-culottes

• Red liberty hats

• Tricolor cockade

The Red Cap• A Red Cap, also known as Liberty cap or Phrygian cap

• Brimless felt cap, conical with the tip pulled forward

• Alludes to Roman manumission of slaves

o Freed slave receives the cap as symbol of liberty

• French revolutionaries wore it at the Bastille

The Red Cap in Dickens• Mounted patriots in red caps

and tri-coloured cockades,

armed with national muskets

and sabres…”

• “Houses, with the standard

inscription Republic One and

Indivisible. Liberty, Equality,

Fraternity, or Death!”

• “Her dark hair looked rich

under her coarse red cap.”

The Red Cap in America

The “Jacques”• “Jacques” was a code name

used by the revolutionaries to

identify other revolutionaries

• Common name representing

the common citizen

• Provided anonymity

Reign of Terror• The most violent period of

the Revolution

• Lasted approx. one year,

Sept 1793 to July 1794

• Mass executions of “enemies

of the revolution“

o 16,594 executed by guillotine

o 2,639 by guillotine in Paris

• Another 25,000 executions

across France

Madame Guillotine• A symbol of the revolution

• Many nobles (émigrés) left France

• aExecution of

King Louis XVI

• a

Execution of

Marie Antoinette

Charles Dickens• a

Tumbril• “Rude carts, bespattered with rustic mire…the Farmer, Death,

had already set apart to be his tumbrils of the Revolution.”

• “The tumbrils now jolted heavily, filled with Condemned…all red

wine for La Guillotine, all daily brought into light from the dark

cellars of the loathsome prisons, and carried to her through the

streets to slake her devouring thirst. Liberty, equality, fraternity,

or death;—the last, much the easiest to bestow, O Guillotine!”

Tricoteuse• French for “knitting women”

• Nickname for the women who

regularly attended executions

• Sat beside the guillotine

• They were morbidly calm,

knitting between executions.

A Tale of Two CitiesAbout

Structure

Unpacking Book the First

About A Tale of Two Cities

• 1859, A Tale of Two Cities published

• 1775–1793 Setting of the book

• 45 chapters

• Published in 31 weekly installments (see p. 19)

from April 1859 to November 1859

• Novel format: 3 Books (see p. 5)

o Book the First (6 chapters)

o Book the Second (24 chapters)

o Book the Third (15 chapters)

Dover Mail

White Cliffs of Dover

Recalled to Life: to remember something from the past

: to order someone to return

: to ask people to return a product with

a defect or problem

Temple Bar

Tellson’s Bank

Characters

• Jarvis Lorry—Banker at Tellson’s Bank of London, trusted friend of the Manettes

• Jerry Cruncher—“odd job man” for Tellson’s, grave robber

• Lucie Manette—Dr. Manette’s daughter

• Miss Pross—Lucie’s servant who cared for her during Dr. Manette’s imprisonment

• Dr. Manette—Lucie’s father who was unjustly imprisoned for eighteen years in Paris

• The Marquis St. Evermonde—Cruel member of French aristocracy

• Mr. Stryver—London trial lawyer

• Sydney Carton—Drunken lawyer, works for Stryver

• Ernest Defarge—Paris wine shop owner, former servant of Dr. Manette

• Madame Defarge—Wife of Ernest Defarge

1. The Period: In the year 1775 conditions were brutal for the people of England and France. Both were ruled by a king and queen and the times were often violent and terrible. In France, the nobles lived in luxury and were sure that they and the king ruled by divine right and that nothing would ever change. The general public suffered from starvation, disease, and deprivation and were growing impatient for change.

2. The Mail: While in route from London to Paris by way of Dover, Mr. Lorry of Tellson’s Bank receives a cryptic message from the bank’s messenger, Jerry Cruncher. Mr. Lorry responds to the message, “Wait at Dover for Mam’selle,” with his own cryptic reply, “RECALLED TO LIFE.”

3. The Night Shadows: Continuing his journey, Lorry holds imagined conversations with someone (Dr. Manette) about this person’s feelings and future hopes after being buried for eighteen years.

4. The Preparation: In Dover, Lorry meets Lucie Manette and informs her that he is going to take her to her father, whom she thought was dead. Lorry tells her that Dr. Manette is alive and has been released from prison in Paris where he has been for eighteen years.

5. The Wine-Shop: In Paris, Lorry and Lucie go to Defarge’s wine shop. Dr. Manette has been released to Defarge because he was once Manette’s servant. Defarge is a key figure in the underground movement against the ruling government, and his wine shop is a central meeting place.