A Tale of Two Cities: Tone Analysis

Charles Dickens historical romance A Tale of Two Cities is more than just a novel, it's a tool for social reform. Set in the years leading up to and including the French Revolution, but written in 1859 in short segments for a magazine, this novel calls out to the English society for corrections. He uses imagery and repetition to convey the powerful emotions needed to conjure up such a heartfelt and dramatic tone.

While repetition may not directly show Dickens' disdain for the upper class, it does come into play when Dickens uses it to convey the gravity of the situation and the actions in the novel. The very beginning of the novel sets the mood for the rest of the piece with it was the best of times, it was the worst of times (book I, chapter 1) as well as it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness (book I, chapter 1).

These work to show the reader the great conflicting forces at work in the novel, and that while such great differences exist between peoples, there cannot be peace. It is these opening words that help us to understand why one of the bloodiest events in history came to be. This, however, is not Dickens only reason to use repetition.

At the close of the novel, as Carton is about to be put to death, the repetition of it's a far, far better thing that I do (book III, chapter 15) and It is a far, far better rest that I go to (book III, chapter 15) provide the reader with an almost transcendent feeling of hope, that despite all the evils, there is always a chance for a future peace. It is this feeling of peace and transcendence that Dickens leaves the reader with when he closes the novel. This causes a tragic ending to become a resolved and pleasant touching conclusion.

Dickens is probably more famous for his creative use of imagery than for any of his other literary devices he commonly employed. When the wine barrel was broken in the street the wine that had become a "tigerish smear about the mouth (book I, chapter 5) of the peasants, with one even scrawling the word blood (book I, chapter 5) on the wall in wine.

This wine is a symbol of the blood to be spilled by the revolutionaries in those very streets. What seems to be a simple seen to show the need of the peasantry becomes a deep and thought provoking image of upcoming death. Another recurring symbol is Madame Defarge's knitting.

Her knitting which was put in her own stitches and her own symbols (book II, chapter 15) is a register of all those to die at the hands of the secretive group of Jacques (book II, chapter 15). This register is a symbol of the unforgiving hatred that the lower class has for the aristocrats. It conveys to the reader the finality and decisiveness of the revolutionaries and their decisions of who should die.

While A Tale of Two Cities is a beautiful work of literature, it is also an effective device to educate people about the changes that needed to be made during the time of its writing. It is Dickens' memorable blending of story and editorial that makes this novel such an amazing work