How is the truth of Dickens' famous opening line ("It was the best of times; it was the worst of times ...") evident in the novel?
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Anonymous
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The opening line ("It was the best of times; it was the worst of times") is evident in the novel in the lives of the different characters. For the peasants during the French Revolution it was the best of times. At least the best times they had had in a very long time. The upper class was overturned and the commoners benefited well from this. It was the worst of times for Lucie and her family. Her husband sentenced to death by a letter her father wrote while in prison. Any family would consider those the worst of times. For Sydney Carton it was both, the worst of times and best of times. At the start of the novel he is an attorney, in the most loose sense of the word. He drinks heavily and has no real ambition or future in his life. However, as the novel progresses he is changed into an amazingly selfless man. He gives his life without a second thought, all for the happiness of the woman he loves. His final thoughts are those of no regret, instead they are of happiness.
The opening line is most evident in the novel in the life of Sydney Carton. For Carton the beginging of the book is his worst of times where he is a good for nothing drunk and a sub par attorney who does nothing but serve someone else. He really doesn't even care about his own life. As the story goes on however and in the end of the novel it is his best of times because his life finally has purpose. When he makes the ultimate sacrifice and dies in the conclusion of the novel it is his best hour because he is proud to do so and that statement has given his hollow life meaning.
The opening line of the novel describes the life of many people before and during the Revolution. For the wealthy and upper class, they were content until the French Revolution. They had everything going for them and then when the French Revolution rolled around, it went downhill from there. For the peasents, it was the opposite. After the Revolution, their lives were filled with opportunity and a bright future. I think that the transition between the two was showing that there is hope for those who have it, and things can change when you don't expect it.
Dicken's famous opening line "it was the best of times; it was the worst of time" is portrayed in the novel through the lives of the different characters that are used to symbolize larger populations of the time. The Marqui is used to portray the best of times because he is a member of aristocracy and has the power and wealth to do whatever he pleases. Before the Revolution it was the worst of times for the peasants because they were terribly oppressed by the wealthy as shown by the child who was struck by the carriage. During the revolution it was the best of times for the peasants because they had freedoms that were not granted to them before the Revolution. The characters of Lucie, Darnay, and Carton were used to show how the Revolution negativley affected the lives of the common citizen. Dicken's opening line is an accurate description of the French Revolution because it was the best of times for the peasants but the worst of times for the rich.
4 comments:
The opening line ("It was the best of times; it was the worst of times") is evident in the novel in the lives of the different characters. For the peasants during the French Revolution it was the best of times. At least the best times they had had in a very long time. The upper class was overturned and the commoners benefited well from this. It was the worst of times for Lucie and her family. Her husband sentenced to death by a letter her father wrote while in prison. Any family would consider those the worst of times. For Sydney Carton it was both, the worst of times and best of times. At the start of the novel he is an attorney, in the most loose sense of the word. He drinks heavily and has no real ambition or future in his life. However, as the novel progresses he is changed into an amazingly selfless man. He gives his life without a second thought, all for the happiness of the woman he loves. His final thoughts are those of no regret, instead they are of happiness.
The opening line is most evident in the novel in the life of Sydney Carton. For Carton the beginging of the book is his worst of times where he is a good for nothing drunk and a sub par attorney who does nothing but serve someone else. He really doesn't even care about his own life. As the story goes on however and in the end of the novel it is his best of times because his life finally has purpose. When he makes the ultimate sacrifice and dies in the conclusion of the novel it is his best hour because he is proud to do so and that statement has given his hollow life meaning.
The opening line of the novel describes the life of many people before and during the Revolution. For the wealthy and upper class, they were content until the French Revolution. They had everything going for them and then when the French Revolution rolled around, it went downhill from there. For the peasents, it was the opposite. After the Revolution, their lives were filled with opportunity and a bright future. I think that the transition between the two was showing that there is hope for those who have it, and things can change when you don't expect it.
Dicken's famous opening line "it was the best of times; it was the worst of time" is portrayed in the novel through the lives of the different characters that are used to symbolize larger populations of the time. The Marqui is used to portray the best of times because he is a member of aristocracy and has the power and wealth to do whatever he pleases. Before the Revolution it was the worst of times for the peasants because they were terribly oppressed by the wealthy as shown by the child who was struck by the carriage. During the revolution it was the best of times for the peasants because they had freedoms that were not granted to them before the Revolution. The characters of Lucie, Darnay, and Carton were used to show how the Revolution negativley affected the lives of the common citizen. Dicken's opening line is an accurate description of the French Revolution because it was the best of times for the peasants but the worst of times for the rich.
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