A Tale of Two Cities ch1-4

11/12/13 A Tale of Two Cities ch1-4

Summary: I don't quite understand what was going on in these chapters, though I seem to have got the main idea. I see that the writer, Charles Dickens, is fusing together the lives of different people from England and Paris. People in Paris seem to be more of the realistic point of view, as in England they believe more in the supernatural occurrences. A man named Lorry fell asleep and  had a dream that he digs someone out of their grave. When he gets off the coach he meets a girl, Lucie Manette; he tells her that her father isn't actually dead.

Quote: “All these things, and a thousand like them, came to pass in and close upon the dear old year one thousand seven in and close upon the dear old

Significance of Quote: This quote sets the time period and the way that Dickens is going to write this story out. Because of this quote we now know that the novel is set during the 1700s.

Reflection: This novel, like Jane Eyre, incorporates both the supernatural and realistic points of view. Because this is a victorian novel, it has a lot more of realistic evidence that I believe will over rule the supernatural ones. Dickens decided to make England the supernatural setting because back then thats what was going on, people had growing suspicions, as we know of after the witch trials in the 1600s. France was most on the idealistic side, as Englands realistic ideas were only growing as this book was written. Also, supernatural stories were known as being the most entertaining back then. But so were realistic novels and such. Thats why Dickens incorporates both these ideas.

Question: What made Lorry think that Lucy's father wasn't really dead? Was it his dream that he had on the coach ride, or was it something else?