GOLDEN THREAD Chapter 1 Five Years Later How does Dickens make England the mirror image of France England has many of the social problems that France did in Book One Like France England has its prisons ID: 746316
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Slide1
A Tale of two cities
THE GOLDEN THREADSlide2
Chapter 1: Five Years Later
How does Dickens make England the mirror image of France?England has many of the social problems that France did in Book OneLike France, England has its prisons that admit young men and release old menin England, the prisons are transformed into "acceptable" social structuresTellson's Bank
serves as one of these prisonsit has very elderly clerks who have committed themselves to service, or kept themselves
"in a dark place"
since their youth
everything in Tellson's points towards death and decay
What do we learn about England by examining the character of Jerry Cruncher ?
we
see that the life of the poor in France is not so much different than the life of the poor in England
although Jerry and his family are played for comic effect, one can see that he is merely a light-hearted version of the French peasants of the Saint Antoine district
he lives in a poor section of town, and his family has very little food
What do we know about Jerry’s
mysterious
job
that gives him rusty hands and dirty
boots?
Jerry's second occupation is as much a mystery to
young Jerry
as it is to us at the moment
we only know that it worries Mrs. Cruncher and that Jerry has not had much luck at it latelySlide3
Chapter 2: A Sight
the penalties throughout the world in those days were quite severe even for minor offenses such as stealing a loaf of bread - for such a theft, a man might lose a limb or even his lifeWhat was the penalty for the high crime of treason? What is it? Quartering - the man would be half hanged, then he would be disemboweled while still alive, and then decapitated and his body cut into quarters
a not uncommon punishment in England or France in the 18th CenturySlide4
Duality & foreshadowing
What version of the Paris mobs is presented?in this case, it becomes the English crowd at the courtsDickens thus presents a foreshadowing of future events: the mob, hungry for blood, eagerly watches a man who is under the threat of deaththus, he demonstrates his criticism of the British legal system and mob psychology
What do you notice about Darnay's initials?
some scholars suggest that Darnay is an idealized version of Dickens
Darnay is clearly an idealized man, with his handsome looks and calm demeanor
What is the significance of Darnay being placed under a
mirror
on the
stand?
Dickens uses the mirror to suggest that Darnay will be presented with a
mirror image
(theme of
DUALITY
) of himself - an image we will see in the next chapter. Slide5
Chapter 3: A Disappointment
What examples of duality or resurrection are present?Corrupt, dangerous "witnesses" in Barsad and ClyDarnay
Darnay can also be seen as a newer version of Dr. Manette
he also has to be rescued from the horrible fate that the trial has for him
both Darnay and Dr. Manette were both "
recalled to life
"
ironically, this time
Lucie
and
Lorry
serve as accomplices in Darnay's pending death through their testimony
even more ironically,
Darnay
falls in love with
Lucie
just as she is providing the most damning evidence against him
a
heroic figure
that will provide the evidence that turns the trial, here it is
Sydney
Carton
Dickens presents
Sydney Carton
as a lowly clerk. However, he is actually a powerful man
his power is a covert power that stems from his
powers of observation
(like
Madame Defarge
)
he is the
first one to see Darnay's resemblance to him
, and he calls for help for the fainting Lucie, who is ignored by the crowdSlide6
Chapter 4: Congratulatory
Carton takes Darnay to a nearby tavern where Darnay sits down to a meal after his ordeal while Carton sits opposite him with a bottle of port. As they sit together, Carton, in his half-insolent manner, baits Darnay: "That's a fair young lady to be pitied by and wept for by! How does it feel? Is it worth being tried for one's life, to be the object of such sympathy and compassion, Mr. Darnay?" Darnay does not reply to the question but instead thanks Carton for his help in the trial. Carton rejects this and asks, “Do you think I particularly like you?" "You have acted as if you do; but I don't think you do." "I don't think I do," agrees Carton, whereupon Darnay expresses a wish to part friends, pays the bill and rises to leave. Then, all of Carton's bitterness comes to the surface.
"I am a disappointed drudge, sir, I care for no man on earth, and no man on earth cares for me."
As Darnay leaves, Carton considers his image in a mirror. Why should he like a man who resembles himself?
For he only reminds him of what he, Carton, might have been.
And then to have those blue eyes and fair face show pity and despair for Darnay.
"Come on, and have it out in plain words! You hate the fellow."
Slide7
How does Dr. Manette react to Darnay’s face?
something in Charles Darnay's face awakens a spark of disturbing recognition in Dr. Manette's mindAny examples of duality in this chapter?Sydney Carton – ill-mannered, unkempt, heavy drinkerCharles Darnay – polite, composed, a gentleman
it is in the reflected light of Lucie Manette that each would like to bask, but Carton knows that for him it is impossible and so he hates the man for whom it is possible and who, if things had been different, he might have been
Darnay represents Carton’s unrealized possibilitiesSlide8
Chapter 5: The Jackal
What is the setting as Carton makes his way home? Significance?the air is cold & the sky overcastthe bleak setting reflects his unhappy feelingsHow are Stryver & Carton viewed in
the eyes of the community?
S
tryver
seems to be a great man, a
Lion
, while Carton appears as a hanger-on to Stryver's coat-tails, a
Jackal
though Carton can see that his present life is a waste, that his talents might be put to better use than serving as mental drudge to a pompous, successful lawyer, he is unable to change his situation
Why does Stryver call
Carton
"Memory"
in this
chapter?
it implies that Carton has the
ability to transcend time
he can move well in the past and the present because of his power to remember thingsSlide9
Chapter 6: hundreds of people
Miss Pross assumes a proprietary air over Lucie, and she resents the "dozens of people" who come to the house looking after her "Ladybird" (Lucie). "Do dozens come for that purpose?" asks Mr. Lorry. "Hundreds," replies Miss Pross.
Lucie remarks that sometimes, when she has sat before this same window of an evening, she has thought
that the echoes of the
footsteps
in the streets before the house are the footsteps of people who are coming, by-and-by, into their lives. Indeed, many
footsteps
can be heard rushing and echoing through the
storm
and the sounds of lightning and thunder and torrents of rain underline this picture of multitudes rushing down upon them.Slide10
What are some similarities between Mr. Lorry & Miss Pross?
they are both unmarried, but neither of them seems to mind because they have the power to protect the ManettesPross and Lorry resemble fairy godparents to the Manettes, as they have saved and will save again the Manettes from their dangerous situations later in the bookthey are even given magical powers
Miss Pross is called "Sorceress"
because of her ability to turn any poorly made ingredient into a delicious meal
this allusion to magic also sets up the theme of
dark magic
, which will reveal itself in the next chapter.
What is Charles’ story and how does Dr. Manette react to Charles and his story?
Charles
Darnay's story has brought a shock of recognition to Dr. Manette and he
looks
at Darnay with that same look of dislike and fear which we noted at the trial
he recalls that he, too, has written something during his imprisonment and buried it in his cell
How is Lucie like a
prophetess
in this
chapter?
the great crowd of people that Lucie senses will soon enter their lives is already forming and will sweep into their lives in a very short while, bringing death and destruction
the
depressing nature of the rain
implies that the times will grow more difficult
the footsteps that the rain emulates will later be transformed into
the footsteps of the Paris mobs
, which are coming straight to Lucie and Dr. Manette's door Slide11
Chapter 7: Monseigneur in town
The Marquis takes out his purse: "It is extraordinary to me that you people cannot take care of yourselves and your children. One or the other of you is forever in the way. How do I know what injury you have done my horses? See! Give him that," and he tosses a coin to the ground. Another man (Defarge
) appears on the scene and comforts the weeping
father:
"Be a brave man, Gaspard. It is better for the poor little plaything to die so, than to live."
His
remarks please the Marquis, who throws him another coin and begins to drive away. Suddenly, the coin is flung back into the coach. The enraged Marquis stops the coach and looks out but Defarge is nowhere to be seen, and in his anger the Marquis does not notice the woman standing nearby staring at him, and
knitting
. As the coach departs, she remains there and knits on with the
steadfastness of fate
.Slide12
How is peasant
life cheap to the nobility of France?a child is killed under the horses' hooves, a coin is thrown out, and it is all forgotten by the Marquis who is able to pay for anything he breaksit is not forgotten by the father of the child - Gaspard, the man who wrote the word "blood"
on a wall with a wine-soaked hand and whose prophetic word has struck at his own being
What is Madame
Defarge
knitting?
like the three fates of Greek mythology, she, with her knitting, is
recording the names of many Frenchmen whom she has marked for death
What might the
water
and fountains
symbolize?
the fountain that sees the child's death does not have the power to cleanse and purify
from this death,
all fountains will become places of death
instead of the purifying fountains,
the mob itself will resemble a large sea
also, this new water will replace these fountains with
fountains of bloodSlide13
Chapter 8: monseigneur in the country
What is suggested by the bleak setting of the countryside?suggests that the aristocrats starve the land as they starve the peopleanother description of the abject misery in which the French people live and the callousness of the nobility toward their suffering – this time of the poor in the country
What has the mender of roads has
seen?
an
unidentified man hanging from the underside of the Marquis' carriage
this extraordinary event occupies their full
attention
What might the
crimson light
of the sun bathing the Marquis
symbolize?
the
child he has killed
h
is
own death
?
a
dawning of a new day with this
1
st
revolutionary act