Help! A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens Questions

Question

I have summer homework and there are a couple questions I don't get

Please, I don't expect them all answered.

Just the best answer gets 10 points.

thanks

:D

*What are the conditions in France that lead to the revolution?

*Why does Dickens describe Stryver as "the lion" and Carton as "the jackal"?

*Compare and contrast how Charles Darnay and Defarge both put duty before desire.

*What do you consider the books strengths?

*What do you consider the books weaknesses?

Answer 1

The murder of the Marquis is the climax of this section of the novel and indicates the inevitability of the revolution. In Book Two the plot is divided between London and Paris.  

Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities, Book II, Chapter 5, "Jackal"

Stryver is an insensitive fool who feels that he is superior to Carton. He boasts that he was born to be successful, and even Carton admits that Stryver is always somewhere while he is nowhere. Ironically, Stryver's success as a lawyer is largely due to his ability to pick the shrewd mind of Carton. By employing the disreputable, drunk lawyer, Stryver has been able to win a large number of cases. He is pictured as a lion feeding on what the Jackal kills.

Sydney Carton, idlest and most unpromising of men, was Stryver's great ally. What the two drank together, between Hilary Term and Michaelmas, might have floated a king's ship. Stryver never had a case in hand, anywhere, but Carton was there, with his hands in his pockets, staring at the ceiling of the court; they went the same Circuit, and even there they prolonged their usual orgies late into the night, and Carton was rumoured to be seen at broad day, going home stealthily and unsteadily to his lodgings, like a dissipated cat. Sydney Carton would never be a lion, he was an amazingly good jackal, and that he rendered suit and service to Stryver in that humble capacity.

Charles Darnay in living his life with a different name, proves his courage by risking his life by returning to Paris to save Gabelle. “Upon those had followed Gabelle’s letter: the appeal of an innocent prisoner, in danger of death, to his justice, honour and good name. His resolution was made. He must go to Paris.” Pg. 240. Mr. Defarge and his wife Mrs. Defarge both have desires to kill. By doing this they feel satisfied and that it is their duty to stand up for the people of Paris. Darnay and Defarge both show compassion and dignity in what they are trying to accomplish whether it is good or bad. They may not be doing what they truly desire in their hearts but are putting their duty forth.

One of the main themes in Charles Dickens's, A Tale of Two Cities, is the power of a crowd affect over the strength of an individual. Or sometimes, vice versa, the strength of an individual affected the power of a bigger crowd.  

The novel, A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens, is a story of love and compassion, which takes place during the beginnings of the French Revolution. Despite the fact that many aspects of the revolution are portrayed well in the novel, the book is still a tiring read and requires a strong liking for Dickens' writing style.

Throughout the novel, Dickens bogs the story down with excessive descriptions and meaningless scenes. The language is relatively simple and easy to comprehend, but the extra descriptions make the novel difficult to fully understand. Most of the characters in the novel are completely unrealistic, which makes it difficult for the reader to relate to what is going on

The book, with all its shortcomings, did reveal to the reader, the atrocities that occurred during the French Revolution, and the events that led to it. The abuse of the nobles, and the radical ideas of the revolutionists are all shown in many parts of the novel. The one other aspect that Dickens got right in his novel was the character of Sydney Carton. Sydney Carton is the only character in the story that many readers can relate too and understand a variation of what Carton feels.

OK..  see what you can do in your own words.

Answer 2

Since we were forced to read the whole book out loud in High School quite a few years back, I cannot remember some of the answers to those questions except the first and the fifth.  (1) There was widespread dire poverty in France prior to the Revolution with two great extremes:  the rich (the aristocrats) and the poor (the peasants).  The peasants hated the aristocrats and fueling the fire were the antics of Marie Antoinette, who spend huge amounts of money on debauchery and foolishness.  The final straw was when she and her court dressed and pretended to live the simple life of peasants.  The Russian Royal family met the same fate due to similar circumstances.  (2) It's weakness is that the book is the most booooorrrrriiiing book that I've ever read in my life and you couldn't get me to read it again if wild horses dragged me to it.