A Tale Of Two Cities Essay Topics

John Fitzgerald Kennedy said that “The courage of life is often less dramatic than the courage of a final moment; but it is no less a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy. ” This quote can be interpreted to mean that when it all comes down to the end, courage might seem more significant than the courage of normal everyday life, but really they are both as significant as each other.

I do agree with this quote because all forms of courage deserve the same recognition as each other.

One work of literature that I feel support this quote are A Tale of Two Cities, a novel by Charles Dickens this work is a prime examples of literature that support this quote. Through the use of characterization Charles Dickens proves this quote. The character Sydney Carton is a man who appears to be not much. He is always drunk and unkept in his appearance. His character appears to be useless to any of the other characters in the story, but he really turns out to be one of the main essential characters in the novel.

When Charles Darnay stands trial for being accused of being a spy who is giving English information to the French, Sydney saves Darnay by showing how much they both look alike and thereby making all other evidence admitted obsolete. This is a small everyday act of courage that Sydney commits and shows that he really is a good natured and smart person. When Darnay is held captive and sentenced to die at the guillotine, Sydney commits the greatest act of courage.

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He decides to save Darnay by trading places with him. He is able to carry out this plan because of how closely he resembles Darnay.

A Tale Of Two Cities Quote

Darnay does this because he has a great love for Darnay and his family, especially for Lucie Manette, Darnay’s wife. This act of courage though, unfortunately costs Sydney his life. Even so, he dies with grace and dignity because he realizes what a great sacrifice he is making for others. Another was that Charles Dickens proves this quote is through the theme that love has the power to comfort, heal, and redeem. Lucie Manette is the character who emulates this theme the most in the novel. She is a constant reminder that love can heal and rejuvenate.

When she meets her father, Doctor Manette, she immediately tries to care for him and become close to him again. Her father soon becomes well again and does not yearn so much for his shoe makers’ bench, which used to give him comfort while he was imprisoned. She gives her father the courage to be “recalled to life. ” Also she is seen as the “golden thread” that weaves everyone together, giving everyone courage to live through their triumphs and tragedies. Lucie not only rejuvenates her father but also shows Sydney Carton the road to a better life.

After meeting with Lucie, Sydney becomes a changed man who is no longer the drunken fool that everyone thinks he is. He actually starts to care about his life and all the people that he shares it with. John Fitzgerald Kennedy said that the courage people exhibit in normal everyday life is often considered to be less significant than acts of courage that are done in the heat of the moment, but actually have the same significance. A Tale of Two Cities, a novel by Charles Dickens agrees with this quote through the use of characterization and theme. This novel has a wonderful variety of characters that make this quote a truthful statement.