English 2 Period.6
A Story of Oppression and Injustice
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, which was first published in the year 1859, a novel that depicts the French peasantry’s predicament at the hands of the aristocracy, and the vengeance and violence that erupted. It talks about a love story that became muddled within the most violent revolutions in human history. The story revolves around the family of Dr. Manette, particularly on the love life of his daughter Lucie Manette, and explains vividly how they manage to escape the mayhem in France and reach England safely. The expression of two powerful themes – love and violence, and the author’s expert use of literary elements, makes this novel a classic. The novel is a literary treasure chest, which offers its readers lots of motifs, themes, allegories, metaphors and symbolisms. The aim of this essay is to discuss the theme of violence, and to analyze how the author has subtly used various symbols and motifs to convey this theme to the reader. Those familiar with European history know that the French revolution was the revenge of the poor on the aristocracy. The movement had many other motives like equality, liberty and so on, but one cannot ignore the outburst of the boiled frustration of the poor, which was exhibited in the bloody battles that took place in the course of this revolution. Having based his story on such a turbulent period, Dickens could not but portray the utter violence and vengeance that ran unchecked through the streets of France, when his story was happening.
Symbolism is one of the main tools used by Dickens while describing the events before the revolution, to create an imagery of terror. In the initial chapters, the author writes about a broken wine cask and how people immediately suspended all their jobs and run to have a taste of the wine. An entire chapter is devoted for this small incident and the incident has a deeper meaning than poor people fighting for a drop of wine. Dickens writes, “The time was to come, when that wine too would be spilled on the street-stones, and when the stain of it would be red upon many there” (Dickens 27). Through this he tries to convey how a single incident can spark violence, like the pandemonium that broke when a single wine casket fell down from a coach. The starved and over worked poor people of France were at their boiling point during this incident, and Dickens hints to the reader about the chaos that is in store in the latter chapters. He says “It had stained many hands, too, and many faces, and many naked feet, and many wooden shoes” (27). These words clearly depict that every French citizen, is going to be affected by the approaching mayhem and none can escape it. Thus, the theme of violence is depicted by the scene of the contravention of a casket, and the red wine, which resembles the color of the blood, flowing on the streets of Paris, is an imagery the author evokes to make his readers imagine a street filled with blood. Not just the cask, there are many other symbols Dickens brings into play, such as the woodman and stony buildings of the aristocrats, to depict the environment of despair and panic that prevailed in France, and to portray the general attitude of the ruling class towards the sufferings of the poor.
The role of fate is another aspect Dickens used to accentuate the theme of violence. In the very first chapter Dickens talks about a wood man and a farmer which sets the mood for the entire story, and through these symbols he gives a synopsis of the role played by death in the story. They cut trees and convert them into boards and they go about their jobs. Why they are described in detail is a question to ponder. Dickens says, “It is likely enough that, already marked by the Woodman, Fate, to come down and be sawn into boards, to make a certain movable framework with a sack and a knife in it” (4). It is quite clear that these are the references made to fate and death. These lines foreshadow the role of the fate in the events in the characters’ lives, and how death is looming large over the aristocracy of France. He further corroborates his point by saying, “But that Woodman and that Farmer, though they work unceasingly, work silently, and no one heard them as they went about with muffled tread” (4). Thus, fate and death already put their plans in motion, but they are doing this ever so silently, without anybody having a clue of what is to happen in the near future. Apart from symbolisms, Dickens employs various motifs to portray the violent nature of the revolution and the ‘stone faces’ is one such term which is used often with reference to the upper class.
‘Stone faces’, which finds repeated mentions in the story, is used to denote the attitude of the upper class France, which is the root cause behind all the violence that follows. In chapter 9, the reader finds repeated references to stone faces when Dickens elucidates about the chateau the Monsieur the Marquis lives. Stone is something which is unyielding, and come sun or rain, it goes on without changing its façade for centuries. The same way, the rich and powerful of France have a very rigid notion towards the poor. Whatever might be the suffering or plight of the destitute, they just get one treatment from the aristocrats - indifference. The building is defined as “A stony business altogether, with heavy stone balustrades, and stone urns, and stone flowers, and Stone faces of men, and stone heads of lions, in all directions” (Dickens, pg. 108). This is how the author sees the aristocracy as – stone faces. Dickens describes the stone as rigid, with a heart unmoving to the suffering of the deprived. They are emotionless and care only for their comfort and pride, and do not have a kind word or any other noble emotion towards others. This Marquis is able to simply toss a coin to the father of a child whom he killed, caring more for his horses than the child the horses ran into. Only a stone hearted individual would be so nonchalant about a suffering of a father childless. Dickens also adds, “In the glow, the water of the chateau fountain seemed to turn to blood and the stone faces crimsoned” (Dickens pg. 116). The stoniness of their demeanor is a metaphor to their heartlessness. These words again foreshadow the bloodbath that is intended for the aristocracy, who are finally going to pay for their unkindness with their lives. The author is forced to bring in so many symbols about violence, just to reflect aptly the time period of the story.
The French revolution was a turbulent period, and the deaths and the murders that took place in this time had to be explicitly explained by the author, because his story takes place in this backdrop. The author directly refers to death and violent attacks that takes place in the course of the story by explaining numerous murders and burnings. Usage of such symbols and magnifies the theme of violence and creates an image in the reader’s mind, which is difficult to erase. Saying wine is flowing through the streets, is even deadlier than describing blood running down the streets. Likewise, mentioning death did its job is not quite as fascinating as a woodman cutting a tree. He could have said that the aristocracy was heartless, but the term ‘stone faces’ captures that emotion even more accurately. Charles Dickens is regarded as a champion of the poor man’s cause, and through this novel he reiterates his ability to draft a classic social criticism, by aptly capturing the violence and deaths that occurring when the oppressed finally decided to take their oppressors head on.
