Recalled+to+Life

= =  Chapter 1: The Period Charles Dickens writes, “It was the best of times…” to engage his audience. Dickens assumes the role of a storyteller by setting the scene with, “It was the year of…” He characterizes and personifies the countries of France and England by writing that France “entertained herself.” The Woodman (Fate) and the Farmer (Death) are introduced to foreshadow the events of the revolution. Mrs. Southcot and the Cock-lane ghost symbolize the spiritual and prophetic matters in England. The settings of England and France are compared. This section takes place in 1775 when England and France are each concerned with their own affairs such as religion, crime, and colonization. Yet, it seems that these relatively volatile nations are on the brink of conflict with the Woodsman and the Farmer lurking beneath. Dickens sets the scene of pre-revolutionary France and England. France is ravaged with poverty and violence, and the peasant will soon take charge to revolt against injustice. Dickens makes use of similes such as “clearer than crystal”, as well as imagery including “rude carts, bespattered with rustic mire…” and “his tongue torn out with pincers.”He concludes with “thus did the year…the roads that lay before them” to keep the audience intrigued. -Michelle Akerman

 **Chapter 2: The Mail** Dickens uses mystery to pull the reader into the story. The angle seems to begin as a benign observer The setting is dark, foreshadowing the future of the novel. The fact that the coach men have to get out and assist the carriage shows hardship and the fact that passersby are greeted with revolver displays the universal distrust and unease of the time. Mr. Lorry is presented as a business man he is seen as very serious but not unkind “he may come closer; there’s nothing wrong” A group of men are traveling and having a difficult time making it. While traveling a messenger appears to deliver a message the response seems to be in code. Dickens use the difficulty of the journey as a metaphor for the times the distrust in mankind that is present by as in any journey the tough times have to end eventually which in the novel, the storm ending is a strong theme. Though I would not classify the novel as uplifting the theme seems to be optimistic, there is always a light at the end of a tunnel. This chapter takes place in England before the French Revolution and display social unease. The cliffhanger is the secret of the message that was given. -Grady Ambrose

Within the first sentence, “A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature...” Dickens immediately draws the reader’s attention to human dilemmas in life, especially Doctor Manette’s and Lorry’s who tries to “recall” him to back to life. Dickens explains that Doctor Manette and many other people create their own world of suffering and keep emotions hidden. He also touches on a theme of death and how the secret love Carton has for Lucie ends up killing him. In this chapter there is a mixture between storyteller and observer. For example, in the beginning of the chapter Dickens describes in detail the appearance of the messengers, telling what is happening, and at the end there is a conversation between the two, describing their conversations. The two strangers riding with Lorry are described as having “sinister expression” trusting no one as many did during the French Revolution. Lorry, who is having frightening dreams, contributes to the setting. Dickens imagery contributes to the dark setting because the appearances of the two strangers are very unappealing describing their eyes as “assorted very well with that decoration, being of surface black…” Lorry’s dreams leave readers wondering what is to come in the future. -Meredith Bayer
 * Chapter 3:**

Dickens uses the angle of the benign observer in order to hook the reader using the curiosity of Mr. Lorry’s purpose in his endeavors. Characterizations of him occur in this section speaking of his “habitually suppressed and quieted (face) was still lighted up under the quaint wig by a pair of moist, bright eyes…” The physical setting places a quaint backdrop to the scene that takes place between Miss Manette and him where “The little narrow, crooked town of Dover hid itself away from the beach, and ran its head into the chalk cliffs…” He goes about waiting in Dover in order to receive a client of his whom he must break news to. The client, a Miss Manette, is taken aback upon hearing that her father is still alive and goes into shock about this fact. The author uses vivid imagery in order to describe the planes of her face as she speaks. Thematically, we see the many dimensions of Mr. Lorry come about as well as small character anomalies of Miss Manette such as her fragility. This connects to the French Revolution in that her father was said to be held away in a, presumably wartime, prison, that came about during the French Revolution. Dickens’s cliffhanger is the health of Miss Manette and what will become of her in chapters to come. -Aaron Lee
 * Chapter 4: The Preparation**

“When the mail got successfully to Dover…” Dickens, as a benign observer, draws in his readers into the world of Mr. Lorry. Lorry, a man dressed in shaggy clothes, descends from his equally dirty coach. He is characterized as a man who is work-oriented and describes himself as “a man of business.” Yet, Lorry is also pristine, which is evident in his formal business clothes, “his brown stockings fitted sleek and close, and were of a fine texture; his shoes and buckles, too, though plain, were trim.” Lorry arranges to meet Miss Manette, daughter of Doctor Manette presumed to have died in Bastille, in Lorry’s quiet abode “[hidden] from the beach”. Miss Manette is young lady with a “pretty figure, a quantity of golden hair, a pair of blue eyes that met [Lorry’s] with an inquiring look.” The purpose of this encounter was for Lorry to inform Miss Manette of her father’s survival. Upon hearing this, Miss Manette becomes shocked, revealing her weak emotional strength. Dickens vividly describes her reaction, “a shiver ran through [Miss Manette’s] frame, and from it through his.” The chapter closes with her attendant rushing to her side, attempting to revive her from her emotional trauma. - Carolyn Song (Sorry Aaron. I made an error.)
 * Chapter 4: The Preparation (Alternate Version) **

Told from a story-teller angle, Charles Dickens hooks the reader in the very first sentence stating, “A large cask of wine had been dropped and broken…shattered like a walnut-shell.” The setting is the street outside of a wine shop in Saint Antoine, Paris. It serves as a symbol showing the poor and hungry suffering of the people, when Dickens states “A narrow winding street, full of offence and stench…all peopled by rags and nightcaps…all visible things…looked ill.” This also represents the theme of suffering throughout the chapter. A cask of wine is dropped and broken outside of the wine shop where Miss Manette will see her father with Mr. Lorry and the people outside congregate to the spot to drink the wine off the ground until it’s gone. When the people scramble for the wine it doesn’t only show their hunger for food, it shows their hunger for change. This scene expresses the pain and anger of the French peasants that will lead their revolt. Monsieur DeFarge, master of the wine shop, then takes Mr. Lorry and Miss Manette upstairs in his shop where they see Monsieur Mannette and the chapter ends. - Rachael Brennan
 * Chapter 5: The Wine Shop**

Chapter 6: The Shoemaker Presenting the narrative as a story-teller, Charles Dickens intrigues the reader by providing a description of a mysterious old man, who the reader suspects is Monsieur Manette. The setting, Manette's dingy garret room, represents the solitude of his confinement. When Manette is brought out of his room by Lorry and Lucie to travel back with them, he finds himself in the dead of night, which symbolizes the secrecy surrounding the circumstances of his imprisonment, demonstrated with Dicken's statement appealing to the auditory senses,"An unnatural silence and desertion reigned there." The author uses Manette's newfound freedom as a symbol of the recurring theme, a "recalling to life." Manette's imprisonment also foreshadows Darnay's eventual capture during the French Revolution. The primary characterization in this novel is of Manette's grungy physical appearance; however, Lucie is described as being sympathetic and kind. Dickens ends the chapter with the quote, "I hope you care to be recalled to life?" and the response, "I can't say." This ties in with the underlying theme of the whole first book, but does not provide any new answers to the mysterious question and leaves the reader with a cliffhanger. - Lauren Carter