History 113 - Group project - A Tale of Two Cities - Ideas gathering Assignment

History 113 - Group project - A Tale of Two Cities - Ideas gathering - Assignment Example What factors led to the success of French Revolution? How did London contribute to this change? How did people, both of royal and lay descent, feel about the Revolution? By looking at the lives of Charles Darnay, Lucie Manette and Sydney Carton, Dickens tries to provide readers with a more personal understanding of the French Revolution and how it affected individuals from different backgrounds. A Tale of Two Cities is considered as one of the Dickensian of all Charles Dickens’ work. Gone are the main characters with exaggerated mannerisms, idiosyncratic speech of his earlier work. This time, Dickens has dealt with social issues head-on, minus the comedy. Many critics say that as the Tale is about love, violence and transformation, it is a representation of the the major events and changes happening in Dickens’ life during the period. On the outside, Dickens was faced with a rapidly industrializing society. At the time, England was considered as one of the wealthiest nations in the world, but its political and social stability was in danger as the French Revolution planned to expand their territory. Meanwhile, as turmoil in the English society increases, turmoil in Dickens’ life was also increasing. For one, his 23-year marriage with Catherine Hogart was coming to a close. He has also discovered a new zest for writing and acting when he fell in love wit h the younger Ellen Ternan. A Tale of Two Cities embodied the irony of Dickens’ life and contradiction in society – a life of hope and despair, of joy and sadness, of love and hate, of prosperity and poverty – a theme which can be seen immediately from the beginning of the book, â€Å"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†¦Ã¢â‚¬ 