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 direct 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.
One of the best beginning lines in literature!
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It is likely enough that, rooted in the woods of France and Norway, there were growing tress when that sufferer was put to death, already marked by the Woodman, Fate, to come down and be sawn into boards, to make a certain movable framework with a sack and a knife in it, terrible in history.
This is one of the distinct characteristics of this book;it has these ominous,indirect hints about the Revolution that is to come. It gives me goosebumps!
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It was prevalent everywhere. Hunger was pushed out of the tall houses, in the wretched clothing that hung upon poles and lines; Hunger was patched into them with straw and rags and wood and paper; Hunger was repeated in every fragment of the small modicum of firewood that the man sawed off; Hunger stared down from the smokeless chimneys, and started up from the filthy street that had no offal, among its refuse, of anything to eat. Hunger was the inscription on the baker's shelves, written in every small loaf of his scanty stock of bad bread; at the sausage shop, in every dead-dog preparation that was offered for sale. Hunger rattled its dry bones among the roasting chestnuts in the turned cylinder; hunger was shred into atomies in every farthing porringer of husky chips of potato, fried with some reluctant drops of oil.
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Only one soul was to be seen, and that was Madame Defarge- who leaned against the door-post, knitting, and saw nothing.
Saw nothing indeed :D Only Dickens can describe it so superbly!
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Mr Lorry: I hope you care to be recalled to life?
Dr Manette: I can't say.
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Mr Stryver: I had to get into the front rank; I was not born there, was I?
Sydney Carton: I was not present at the ceremony; but my opinion is you were.
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Monseigneur could swallow a great many things with ease, and was by some few sullen minds supposed to be rather rapidly swallowing France.
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Defarge: It is better for the poor little plaything to die so, than to live. It has died in a moment, without pain. Could it have lived an hour as happily?
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The water of the fountain ran, the swift river ran, the day ran into evening, so much life in the city ran into death according to the rule, time and tide waited for no man, the rats were sleeping close together in their dark holes again, the Fancy Ball was lighted up at supper, all things ran their course.
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All these trivial incidents belonged to the routine of life and the return of the morning. surely, not so the ringing of the great bell of the chateau, nor the running up and down the stairs; nor the hurried figures on the terrace; nor the booting and tramping here and there and everywhere, nor the quick saddling of horses and riding away?
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It portended that there was one stone face too many, up at the chateau.
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Defarge: It would be easier for the weakest poltroon that lives, to erase himself from existence, than erase one letter of his name or crimes from the knitted register of Madame Defarge.
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But, madame sat all day at her counter, so expressly unconscious of him, and so particularly determined not to perceive that his being there had any connection with anything below the surface, that he shook in his wooden shoes whenever his eyes lighted on her. For, he contended with himself that it was impossible to foresee what that lady might pretend next;and he felt assured that should she take it into her brightly ornamented head to pretend that she had seen him do a murder and afterwards flay the victim, she would infallibly go through with it until the play was played out.
One of the most enjoyable things in this book is the descriptions of Madame Defarge's character and manners and their effect on others.
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Man: You work hard, madame
Madame Defarge: Yes, I have a good deal to do.
Man: What to you make, madame?
Madame Defarge: Many things.
Man: For instance-
Madame Defarge: For instance, shrouds.
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Madame Defarge: You have seen both dolls and birds today, now, go home!
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Chateau and hut, stone face and dangling figure, the red stain on the stone floor, and the pure water in the village well- thousands of acres of land-a whole province of France-all France itself-lay under the night sky, concentrated into a faint hair-breadth line.So does a whole world, with all its greatnesses and littlenesses, lie in a twinkling star.
You can almost picture this, zooming out from the chateau to look at the world as a little speck from far away.
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The day was very hot, and heaps of flies, who were extending their inquisitive and adventurous perquisitions into all the glutinous little glasses near madame, fell dead at the bottom. Their decease made no impression on the other flies out promenading, who looked at them in the coolest manner (as if they themselves were elephants, or something as far removed), until they met the same fate. Curious to consider how heedless flies are!--perhaps they thought as much at Court that sunny summer day.
Again the ominous hint :)
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Madame Defarge: "Hah! Good day, age about forty, height about five feet nine, black hair, generally rather handsome visage, complexion dark, eyes dark, thin, long and sallow face, aquiline nose but not straight, having a peculiar inclination towards the left cheek which imparts a sinister expression! Good day, one and all!"
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John Barsad: "A pretty pattern too!"
"YOU think so?" said madame, looking at him with a smile.
This lady gives me the chills!
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It was remarkable; but, the taste of Saint Antoine seemed to be decidedly opposed to a rose on the head-dress of Madame Defarge.
The frequent personification of Saint Antoine gives a different feel to the situation..as if the town itself has come alive to demand justice and revenge
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The sea of black and threatening waters, and of destructive upheaving of wave against wave, whose depths were yet unfathomed and whose forces were yet unknown. The remorseless sea of turbulently swaying shapes, voices of vengeance, and faces hardened in the furnaces of suffering until the touch of pity could make no mark on them.
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The great grindstone, Earth, had turned when Mr. Lorry looked out again, and the sun was red on the courtyard. But, the lesser grindstone stood alone there in the calm morning air, with a red upon it that the sun had never given, and would never take away.
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As the last thing on earth that his heart was to warm and soften to , it warmed and softened to this pitiable girl.
Brings out the finality of death quite well!
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"I am the Resurrection and the Life, saith the Lord: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die."
The last lines of courage for Sydney Carton when he is called to the guillotine
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"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."
The last thoughts of Sydney Carton and the last lines of the book!
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A Tale of Two Cities is one of the best written of Charles Dickens' books. One of the highlights of the book is the significant, ominous hints Dickens keeps throwing throughout the first half on the upcoming Revolution and his description of the Revolution when it comes. The other is some really wonderful characters, which is kind of his specialty across all his books. I don't know if any other writer has devised as many quirky characters as him (think Miss Havisham, Uriah Heep, Mr.Dick, Betsey Trotwood, and Daniel Quilp)! Here it is Sydney Carton and Madame Defarge. Madame Defarge is one of the scariest people ever and just gives you the chills whenever she makes an appearance! :D The book is definitely a masterpiece, especially for anyone who enjoys the journey of reading and not just the destination!
Again the ominous hint :)
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Madame Defarge: "Hah! Good day, age about forty, height about five feet nine, black hair, generally rather handsome visage, complexion dark, eyes dark, thin, long and sallow face, aquiline nose but not straight, having a peculiar inclination towards the left cheek which imparts a sinister expression! Good day, one and all!"
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John Barsad: "A pretty pattern too!"
"YOU think so?" said madame, looking at him with a smile.
This lady gives me the chills!
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It was remarkable; but, the taste of Saint Antoine seemed to be decidedly opposed to a rose on the head-dress of Madame Defarge.
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The sea of black and threatening waters, and of destructive upheaving of wave against wave, whose depths were yet unfathomed and whose forces were yet unknown. The remorseless sea of turbulently swaying shapes, voices of vengeance, and faces hardened in the furnaces of suffering until the touch of pity could make no mark on them.
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The great grindstone, Earth, had turned when Mr. Lorry looked out again, and the sun was red on the courtyard. But, the lesser grindstone stood alone there in the calm morning air, with a red upon it that the sun had never given, and would never take away.
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As the last thing on earth that his heart was to warm and soften to , it warmed and softened to this pitiable girl.
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"I am the Resurrection and the Life, saith the Lord: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die."
The last lines of courage for Sydney Carton when he is called to the guillotine
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"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."
The last thoughts of Sydney Carton and the last lines of the book!
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A Tale of Two Cities is one of the best written of Charles Dickens' books. One of the highlights of the book is the significant, ominous hints Dickens keeps throwing throughout the first half on the upcoming Revolution and his description of the Revolution when it comes. The other is some really wonderful characters, which is kind of his specialty across all his books. I don't know if any other writer has devised as many quirky characters as him (think Miss Havisham, Uriah Heep, Mr.Dick, Betsey Trotwood, and Daniel Quilp)! Here it is Sydney Carton and Madame Defarge. Madame Defarge is one of the scariest people ever and just gives you the chills whenever she makes an appearance! :D The book is definitely a masterpiece, especially for anyone who enjoys the journey of reading and not just the destination!
