The+Golden+Thread


 * Chapter 1: Five Years Later **

Charles Dickens chapter “Five Years Later” in //A Tale of Two Cities // begins with detailed description of Tellson’s Bank. Tellson’s Bank and the men who work there like to keep it grungy and dark, they believe the atmosphere adds to the bank’s credibility. The narrator observes in this particular chapter as he describes the bank and Cruncher’s job finding. Jerry Cruncher, an odd job man, argues with his wife before going to work. His son goes with him to Tellson’s Bank to wait for an assigned job, and his son wonders why his hands are always rusty. The physical setting of “Five Years Later” plays a major role, as the reader is introduced to Tellson’s Bank. “Very small, very dark, very ugly, very incommodious…after bursting open a door…with a weak rattle in its throat…your bank-notes had a musty odor,” sums up the atmosphere of Tellson’s Bank. “Five Years Later” illustrates Tellson’s and the Temple Bar, two prominent locations, to the reader. It also introduces Jerry Cruncher. Dickens uses imagery when describing Tellson’s, “dingier by their own iron bars proper, and the heavy shadow of Temple Bar.” The Temple Bar is symbolic of the theme and the French Revolution because it shows the capital punishment that was prevalent at the time. The Temple Bar displays heads cut off in the guillotine. Dickens leaves a cliffhanger when Little Jerry asks, “Where does my father get all that iron rust from? He don’t get no iron rust here!”

~ Sallie Foster


 * Chapter 2: The Sight **

The reader is interested about how much Cruncher will understand in the situation he is going into. The angle the narrator takes is that the system isn’t fair. He paints a sympathetic picture of the prisoner instead of some evil criminal. He suggests that the result of the trial is already forgone conclusion. Darnay is described as a handsome, well-bred young man. Jerry is being described as lower-class and undereducated because of his lack of knowing what is going on. The physical setting shows the contrast between the educated classes and the working class. The summary of the chapter would be: Cruncher is sent into the courtroom as a messenger where he observes the beginnings of the trial of Charles Darnay. Darnay is assumed guilty of treason and there at least 2 witnesses. The courtroom is a metaphor for the ruling class. The trial is a symbol for the unfairness of society. This chapter demonstrates the differences between the working class and the ruling class. In the French Revolution, the working class overturned the aristocracy. The fact that Darnay was seen helping the French, means that he was sympathetic to the worker’s cause. The cliffhanger is what will happen with the trial.

~


 * Chapter 3: A Disappointment **

Dickens immerses the reader into Charles Darnay’s trial for treason. As a benign observer, Dickens watches as Mr. Attorney General, as he “informed the jury” using faulty witnesses, tries to persuade the jury to convict Charles Darnay of treason. After calling and questioning witnesses, Mr. Stryver disproves the witnesses and gets Charles acquitted. The reader is left wondering what Charles and the others will do next. The characters of Mr. Attorney General and the two witnesses, especially Barsad, are characterized as fairly slimy good-for-nothings. Charles is best represented when Lucie says he, “was so good as to beg permission to advise me how I should shelter my father from the wind and weather.”Lucie’s sweetness shows through when she is on the stand and her father is best characterized when he goes sullen after reminders of his imprisonment. Dickens uses irony when the witnesses prove false, the metaphor of the flies for death as well as their sound being strong imagery, and the Attorney General represents British society. Significantly, Dickens presents the theme of a whole mob rallying around an idea, specifically patriotism, because during the French Revolution people rallied around the “patriotic” idea that they deserve more nobility deserve punishment.

~ Stefani Haas


 * Chapter 4: Congratulatory **

“Human stew” and Darnay’s escape from death as minimal hooks precede the major hook wherein Mr. Manette becomes fearful upon seeing something in Darnay, but Dickens doesn’t specify what. Acting as storyteller, Dickens displays the tone of many scenes in this chapter through dialogue and describes emotions rather than just actions. Stryver (“…my best is as good as another man’s”) and Carton (“…there is nothing in you to like; you know that”) are characterized in this chapter, where the setting (“From the dimly-lighted passages of the court…” quote; “…the dismal place as deserted until to-morrow morning’s interest of gallows…” quote) alerts us to the long day that has passed as well as describes a subtle difference between Darnay and Carton (Darnay drinks and eats for his strength, Carton drinks to get drunk – Carton’s “separate bottle of port…” quote). After the trial, the characters gather round and Manette is disturbed by Darnay, who later is harangued by Carton, highlighting the irony of the differences between Carton and Darnay despite their very similar appearances. Dickens’s cliffhanger is the same as his hook, and integrates personal dilemma into the overall theme of the time period, during which many were falsely convicted like Darnay.

~ Mara Kiernan


 * Chapter 5: The Jackal **

In this chapter, Sydney Carton helps his partner Stryver to prepare for cases. The two discuss Lucie, and Carton dismisses her as a “golden-haired doll”; ultimately, Carton feels that his life is worthless. Dickens acts as an observer, describing the two partners and their actions. Stryver provides the hook for the chapter when he describes himself as “bursting out of the bed of wigs, like a great sunflower pushing its way at the sun from among a rank garden.” The partnership between Stryver and Carton is symbolized by the lion and the jackal. Stryvner takes the credit for their achievements, but Carton works behind the scenes. They work in a “dingy room lined with books and littered with papers”; the setting where Carton prepares for cases is run-down and not particularly comfortable. Themes of this chapter include: 1) everyone drinks, and 2) Lucie is pretty and will have many suitors. The chapter’s description of English law connects with the unfairness of French laws that led to the Revolution. Dickens’s cliffhanger describes Carton’s feeling of worthlessness. At the end of the night, Carton “threw himself down in his clothes on a neglected bed, and its pillow was wet with wasted tears.”

~ Jessica Lau


 * Chapter 6: Hundreds of People **

The Mannette home is described as being incredibly quaint and quite beautiful, showing the love and innocence of its inhabitants. Mr. Lorry comes to visit the Manette home and speaks with Miss Pross before Lucie and the Doctor return; he expresses a concern for the Doctor’s mental health (as he still keeps his old shoe-working table in his bedroom). Miss Pross is a good woman but prone to exaggeration. She briefly touches on the subject of Mr. Manette, but then complains of how “hundreds of people” are constantly arriving to court her Ladybird Lucie (because she is quite jealous of the idea of Lucie being taken from her). After Lucie and her father return, the only visitors of the evening are Mr. Lorry, Charles Darnay, and Sydney Carton—not quite the “hundreds” of people Miss Pross originally claimed. Dickens is serving as a benign observer to all of the conversations and responses of the characters, including their emotions and mannerisms.

~ Missa Goodier


 * Chapter 7: Monseigneur in Town **

In this chapter Dickens is sarcastically describing the wealthy and privileged while really revealing all of their flaws and their mistreatment of the peasants. The beginning of this chapter is set in the opulent apartment of a wealthy Frenchman, Monseigneur, where a party filled with other wealthy nobles is being held, thus putting the reader into the polished shoes of the upper class and exposing how they live. After the party, Monsieur the Marquis, another wealthy man, decides to go for a ride in his carriage. Dickens then hurls the reader into the streets of Paris where the peasants live in squalor and reveals the dramatic contrast between rich and poor. The true colors of the privileged are revealed as the Marquis races his carriage through cramped streets with no concern for the well-being of the peasants who are left clinging to the walls, just as the French nobility treated peasants. As the Marquis is racing down the street he inconveniently hits and kills a child. The Marquis tosses a coin to the father of the deceased child and rides off stating, “I would ride over any of you very willingly, and exterminate you from the earth.” (Pg. 118)

~ Kayla Roe


 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Chapter 8: Monseigneur in the Country **<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">

“Patches of poor rye where corn should have been, patches of poor peas and beans…,” serves as the hook in Chapter 8. Dickens is an observer in this chapter, watching the theme Oppression in Revolutionaries. The physical setting takes place in Monsiegneur Marquis’ impoverished city. He shows his demise to rule through the disrespectful way in which he treats the men on the street who admire him and the widow who asks him of a favor. This chapter parallels the French Revolution in that there is great depression in the area and the revolutionaries want to get away from their greedy harsh king, Marquis. Irony seeps through when Monsiegneur rides a nice and elegant carriage, while his personality is evil and nasty. There is personification in the phrase “the red glow departed quickly,” and the “broken country” serves as a symbol of the town’s poverty. The poor men on the roadside are characterized with “submissive faces that drooped merely to suffer and not to propitiate.” The young widowed woman was said to, “looked an old woman, but was young. Her manner was… of passionate grief.” The cliffhanger is when Monsieur Charles is expected by Marquis for a mysterious reason. ~ Becca Leaf


 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Chapter 9: The Gorgon's Head **<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">

In the shadow of the night, at the Marquis’ chateau, Charles Darnay, the nephew of the Marquis, arrives by horse drawn carriage. In describing the chateau of the Marquis, Dickens conveys a strong allusion between the physical appearance of the abode, described as “stone”, and the unyielding, cold, conservative, and amoral nature of the French aristocracy during the time. This is further exemplified through Dickens’s repetition of “stone”, making its effect more lasting and concrete (no pun attended). When the narrator describes the dwelling, he states, “…stone urns, and stone flowers, and stone faces of men, and stone heads of lions, in all directions.” Darnay tells his uncle that he wants to renounce the title and property that he stands to inherit when the Marquis dies. The family’s name, Darnay says, is intertwined with “fear and slavery.” He continues to say that the family has continuously acted amorally, “injuring every human creature who came between us and our pleasure.” The Marquis brushes off these concerns, persuading his nephew to accept his “natural destiny.” The next morning, the Marquis is found dead with a knife through his heart. Attached to the knife is a note that reads: “Drive him fast to his tomb. This, from Jacques.”

~ Will Mason


 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Chapter 10: Two Promises **<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">

“Two Promises” describes the action taken by Charles Darnay to win the hand of Miss Lucie Mannette. But he is not the only man aiming to marry the beautiful Lucie. Mr. Carlton and Mr. Stryver, both suitable mates, also vie for her heart. For which will Lucie fall? Charles Dickens presents this chapter from a simple story teller angle and includes dialogue among the characters to allow the reader to feel experience the story as opposed to simply reading it. From this chapter the reader gathers the personalities of Charles Darnay-a highly respected citizen and tutor-rare and valued for the time because of the lack of education in lower economic classes, and a hardworking man, Dr. Manette-almost fully

~ Chapter 11: A Companion Picture **<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">

Dickens hooks the reader into this chapter by revealing Carton is going to ask Lucie to marry him. Each movement emphasizes the happenings and tension between the two men in the currently awkward situation, therefore Dickens is a storyteller. The setting of this chapter is in the bar as Carton, is making and drinking heavily some punch. Carton, a seemingly insensitive yet emotional man, seems to be bothered by Stryver’s intended proposal and drinks profoundly as he falsely acts excited for his comrade. This chapter is filled with irony! Stryver, an overconfident and selfish man, talks about getting out of this “bum lifestyle”, yet little does he know that it is where he will remain. It relates to the French Revolution because Stryver fights for Lucie’s father who was held captive by the French. The lesson of this chapter is to not be overconfident! Stryver go through with the proposal? Will Carton speak up to Stryver?

~ Kelsey Phillips


 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Chapter 12: A Fellow of Delicacy **<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">

Dickens captures the reader by revealing that Stryver has his eyes set on Lucie, and he is “resolved to make her happiness known to her.” Since Sydney gave Stryver to pursue Lucie in the previous chapter, Dickens leaves the reader in the dark while this chapter reveals Stryver’s intentions. As a benign observer, he simply conveys the conversation between Stryver and Lorry. More is discovered in “A Fellow of Delicacy” when Lorry informs Stryver that proposing to Lucie is not a good idea. Like a child that does not get what he wants, Stryver starts insulting the object in question, and in this case Lucie. Lorry says that he will not take “no disrespectful word of that young lady from any lips.” At the same time, the reader discovers more about Lorry’s role as a mediator. He is always there to give an honest opinion and assist whenever he can. The setting Dickens presents is “musty” and “ancient.” Stryver enters Tellson’s where his intentions to marry Lucie start looking like a business venture. Dickens’s words were not particular spectacular but very concise. “…musty back closet where Mr. lorry sat….with perpendicular iron bars to his window…”

~ TiffanyZhao

**<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Chapter 13: A Fellow of No Delicacy **<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">

Two young lovers are wrenched apart by the expectations of society and the importance of societal status. In this chapter, Dickens plays the part of an observer of the exchange between Sydney and Lucie; however, at times he analyzes the feelings Sydney is pouring out to Lucie. The two of them are alone, hidden in an upstairs room of Lucie’s home. The secluded space creates a safe haven to have their discussion. Sydney was broken with emotion and Lucie was sympathetic to his feelings. Dickens writes: “She had never seen him softened, and was much distressed.” Sydney visits Lucie in an attempt to confess his fragile state. He is miserable and a self-destructed wretch, and that if it were even possible that she could return his love, he would only bring her down with him. He says, “It is too late for that. I will never be better than I am. I shall sink lower and be worse.” Lucie is distraught by his emotion. Dickens uses phrases such as “She was surprised and saddened to see that there were tears in his eyes. There were tears in his voice too.” He creates a raw kind of emotion by displaying the vulnerability of his characters. The moral that Sydney must learn is that love may be more important than a high social status. During the time of the French Revolution, many choices were made based on societal status and honor. Many things were disregarded including previous ambitions and family. Dickens leaves the reade<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">r wanting more because Sydney ultimately chooses his pride and leaves the Manette house with only a farewell and “A last God bless you.”

~ Sarah Boddy

**<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Chapter 14: The Honest Tradesman **<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">

Dickens lures the reader in by revealing Roger Cly’s death and presenting a character who has previously only played a minor role: Jerry Cruncher. Playing the benevolent observer, Dickens describes Jerry Cruncher, Tellman’s odd-jobs man, by juxtaposing Cruncher with his son, a “grisly urchin,” and his religious wife. Jerry beats h is wife for praying, which reveals his superstitious side, abusive attitude, and immoral occupation. Jerry claims to be an “honest tradesman,” but his son’s curiosity reveal that he is a “Resurrection Man” who sells corpses to scientists. The chapter’s setting varies from Jerry’s stool by Tellson’s to his house to a cemetery. Dickens’ vivid imagery appears in many of the settings, like in this scene of Cruncher’s son fleeing the graveyard, afraid a coffin is in pursuit: “It hid in doorways, rubbing its horrible shoulders against doors, and drawing them up to its ears as if laughing.” Dickens’ irony that Roger Cly, the patriotic spy whose death is met with celebration, elaborates upon French-English tensions and the contentment of England’s lower class. As usual, though, Dickens ends with a cliff hanger: Jerry’s recently revealed night job entices the reader to continue to see how it connects with the plot.

~ Quinn Brogan

**<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Chapter 15: Knitting **<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">

In this chapter of Tale of Two Cities, one of the Jacques' tells Defarge about a revolutionary who was hanged and Madame Defarge illustrates her disdain of the aristocracy by knitting the names of people she wants dead into her blanket. Dickens' hook is the mender of roads story about the revolutionary who was hanged. Dickens plays the role of storyteller and uses symbol by describing Madame Defarge's knitting. This is an allsusion to the Fates who were the three sisters of death who spun someone's life thread and then cut it. This chapter relates to the the French Revolution because leaders such as the Defarges were the main reason why the revolution was able to be successful. The theme of this chapter is the necessity of sacrifice for something such as a revolution to be successful. Dickens uses the wine shop setting to portray how a quiet, musty place can be the location where the downfall of a government can be planned. Dickens' cliffhanger is that the Defarges and the mender of roads fool the King and Queen which foreshadows to their ability to overthrow the aristocracy.

~ Alexx Burton

**<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Chapter 16: Still Knitting **<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">

In this installment of //<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">A Tale of Two Cities //<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">, the Defarges return to their home. They receive information about an English spy. The spy later stops by the shop and informs the Defarges of Lucie’s engagement to the Marquis (Charles Darnay). In the opening paragraph, Dickens hooks the audience with the imagery rather than a phrase. Dickens briefly assumes the role of a storyteller and later a philosopher when he discusses how “it’s a small world, after all.” This philosophy also plays into the theme of interconnection between different people. The Defarges are characterized in their dialogue concerning their plot for vengeance and in their interactions with their surroundings. Madame is portrayed as cold, determined, and dominant in comparison to her husband.The physical setting of the chapter amplifies the reader’s sense of foreboding because of the imagery used to describe it. Each description depicts decay and dreariness and reflects France’s depressed economy. In turn, the images and dialogue represent the historical attitude of the French people, who hungry, poor, and angry with their nobility. Dickens’ cliffhanger in this chapter is his last paragraph, which ends with “they were to sit knitting, knitting, counting dropping heads.”

~ Serena L. Smith

**<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Chapter 17: One Night **<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">

“Never did the sun go down with a brighter glory on the quiet corner in Soho, than one memorable evening when the doctor and his daughter sat under the plane-tree together…” pulls the reader in, hook, line, and sinker. In “One Night,” Dickens uses imagery, rather than conversations to grab the reader’s attention. Throughout the chapter, Dickens plays the role of observer- only recounting what was said. The feelings and mood of the situation seep through vivid language such as “He only seemed to contrast his present cheerfulness and felicity with the dire endurance that was over.” The relationship between Lucie and her father further strengthens as he tells of his period of suffering. Speaking of his dreams of his child, whether boy or girl, Dr. Manette stirs a feeling of compassion in Lucie. Her longing, “My father! Even to hear that you had such thoughts of a daughter who never even existed strikes to my heart as if I had been that child…” shows just how much she cares for her dear father. The physical setting of the chapter amplifies the compassionate setting for the conversation. The chapter closes with Lucie praying for her father into the wee hours of morning, though we do not know why.

~ Emily Gunther

**<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Chapter 18: Nine Days **<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">

Dickens manages to snag the readers interest by baiting them with the lure of Darney and Lucie’s marriage which would easily have kept any fan of the weekly series interest to keep reading. Shortly after Darney and Lucies leave for their honeymoon Doctor Manette has a relapse but thankfully Mr. Lorry is around. He becomes an amiable character because he tried to protect the Doctor and guide his through the relapse while keeping the relapse a secret from Lucie. None of Mr. Lorry’s attempts to alleviate the Doctors “ scared lost look” had any effects as he could only sit and watch his friend’s mindless mechanical work. Irony comes into play when the Doctor refuses to go outside and remain inside his workshop which has become his own little prison. Doctor Manette is a man of great sorrow, he constantly cares for his daughter and when he learns of the Darney family history, he is devastated. He knows full well that Darney’s history will bring trouble upon the family for years to come and regeresses into a lifeless state. Dickens delivers the final blow by telling the reader of Manette’s “dreadfully” skillful hands on the evening of the ninth night.

~ Alex Strawhand

**<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Chapter 19: An Opinion **<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">

The plot of “An Opinion” can be simplified; Lorry wakes to find the Dr’s relapse over, he discusses the stimulus behind it and they come to the agreement that the tools can be disposed of. Dicken’s hook is the very first line, “Worn out by anxious watching, Mr. Lorry fell asleep at his post,” drawing the reader in. Dickens is taking the angle of a story-teller because he is relaying factual information about a sequence of events. The philosophy characterizes Mr. Lorry, proving him careful and observant as he is talking with the Dr., “…those delicate and gradual approaches which [he]felt to be the only safe advance.” The physical setting of “behind closed doors” played a role in this chapter. It was the beginning of the Dr’s relapse and then end when Lorry and Pross hacked the shoemaker’s bench to pieces. “Possibility of Resurrection” is a present theme in this chapter. There is always a chance for someone to better themselves. The doctor realized his relapse and opted to prevent it in the future. Relating to the French Revolution, Pross and Lorry could have been the “most prominent citizens” in an autocracy by taking the Dr’s tools away without ever confronting him. Finally, Dickens suspends the audience with the wonder of if the Dr. will regret his decision for the dismantle of his tools.

~ Morgan Stubbe

**<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Chapter 20: A Plea **<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">

Carton, the only character with depth, is himself a general hook. Dickens acts as storyteller, allowing dialogue to speak for itself to reveal the differences between the happy and strong and those whose past has ruined them. Carton (“incapable of all the higher and better flights of men” ; “dissolute dog” - himself; “…he has a heart he very, very seldom reveals…” – Lucie) and Lucie (“…beautiful in her purity of faith…”) are characterized in the home of Darnay, an intimate setting where Lucie feels comfortable revealing the depth of her thoughts. In this chapter, Carton comes as the first man to congratulate Lucie and Darnay in their home and begs forgiveness for his infamous tavern night of Darnay, who Lucie later beseeches to be kind to Carton. The symbol of Lucie’s forehead scrunched up displays her true contemplation of the shadowed side of Carton, adding to the theme of inner conflicts and truth beneath the surface that is also evident in the Revolution itself. Personal life went on despite the revolutionary tendencies, and this chapter glimpses more of the aristocratic life during this time. At the end, we are left to wonder what of Carton’s past Lucie so deeply contemplates.

~

**<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Chapter 21: Echoing Footsteps **<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">

From a wise man’s perspective, Dickens thoughtfully characterizes Lucie and Sydney Carton in this chapter. With an initial angelic description of Lucie and her household, Dickens transitions to Carton through a theme of echoes that foreshadow the French Revolution. Describing Lucie, Dickens writes, “Ever busily winding the golden thread that bound them all together, weaving the service of her happy influence through the tissue of all their lives…” Moreover, Dickens uses similar, heavy language to provide an understanding of Carton’s situation, saying, “No man ever really loved a woman, lost her, and knew her with a blameless though an unchanged mind…but her children had…an instinctive delicacy of pity for him.” While Dickens begins the chapter in London, where the group senses a disturbance in France, he shifts to the pillage of the Bastille to refer to the echoes with which he starts the chapter. There, Defarge finds a note from the Doctor in his old cell. Sharply contrasting with the lovely echoes that described Lucie in the beginning of the chapter, Dickens says, “…’The Prisoners!’ was the cry most taken up by the sea that rushed in…” His cliffhanger is the connection between echoes and their source, the revolution. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> ~ Zach Terner <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">

**<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Chapter 22: The Sea Still Rises **<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">

Dickens opens the passage by introducing us to the Vengence. He speaks as if he is telling a horror story because of all the terrible things the peasants are doing to Foulon. Foulon is a political leader who states that if the peasants are starving, they should eat grass. In response, the peasants find him, hang him, and then fill his mouth with grass. Dickens is describing the peasants as cruel and wicked - especially Madam Defarge and the Vengence. The setting of this chapter takes place in what seems to be a beautiful countryside; however, the mood contradicts the setting because of the terrible actions against Foulon. There is a great deal of iront in this chapter since Foulon told the peasants to eat grass, and then they filled his mouth with grass after his murder. The theme of this chapter is that the peasants are growing angry and restless and are becoming violent and dangerous. The peasants revolting had a great deal to do with the Revolution. This chapter show just how serious they are becoming about revolting. Dickens leaves the readers knowing that France is going crazy and this is just the beginning of the violence.

~

**<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Chapter 23: Fire Rises

Chapter 24: Drawn to the Loadstone Rock **<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">

Three years have passed. Tellson’s bank in London provides a refuge and information hub for the fallen French elite. As Darnay attempts to persuade Mr. Lorry not to go to Paris, a letter is handed to Mr. Lorry addressed to the Marquis St. Evremonde (Darnay’s real name). Mr. Lorry requests that Darnay deliver the letter. Darnay later reads the message. It is from Gabelle, explaining that he has been imprisoned in Paris, standing on charges of treason for acting against them for an emigrant (Darnay). He implores Darnay to come back to Paris to testify for him. Darnay decides that he must travel to Paris despite the dangers to clear Gabelle’s innocent name. He decides that neither Lucie nor his father should know of his departure until he has left. He tells Lorry that he has delivered the letter and asks him to travel to the Abbaye with a response for Gabelle, that the addressed has received the letter and will come. That night, the night before he leaves, he writes to Lucie explaining his obligation to travel to Paris and that he will be safe, and entrusts the letter to a porter to be delivered thirty minutes before midnight.

~ Peter Davis