I REALLY REALLY NEED HELP!?

Question

okay we are going to read tale of two cities in school and i need to translate what Dickens meant in the opening paragraph... but i'm confused

Basically, this is the opening paragraph:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going directly to heaven, we were all going direct the other way- in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

Answer 1

What Dickens is talking about is that at that particular time, we as a country are between 'times'. Things are not as they were but things are not done changing to become what they will be. We are not there and we are not here, we are in between.

The epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity. These are opposites, belief and non-belief. The height of (epoch) of belief and the lack of (incredulity) of belief. He is talking about the changes in religious and governmental belief. People are changing their minds and turning away from religion and government while others are turning toward and believing. It helps to understand that at the time this was written it was unheard of for a family to not go to church or to talk badly about or government.

...in the superlative degree of comparison only.

Superlative means to the greatest extreme. So, taking the epoch and the incredulity to the greatest extreme possible means that the entire world has turned topsy turvey.

Answer 2

its sort of a double standard. perhaps the wisdom is available, or you otherwise have it, and yet act foolishly despite it. my favorite dictionary in Ninjawords.com , look for synonyms to help you understand what all the words mean.

i enjoyed that book,

Answer 3

basically, everything was being viewed as black or white - no shades of grey in between. no realism or practicality.

anything good was the Best while anything bad was the Worst.

split the para into all it's "contradictions" - that way you will find it easier to decipher & think of some examples for each to help you along ...

hope this helps you get thinking

all the best