Tale of Two Cities ch 1-4

11/18/13       Tale of Two Cities ch 1-4

Summary:  In these chapter we are brought ahead 5 years, and the focus is shifted towards a man named Charles Darnay, who is brought to court for a crime. All the characters from the earlier chapters are all involved in his case, being witnesses. Lucie seems to help with the criminals stance, as her father is very useless. By the last chapter the focus is back on the original group, as they sit in the hallway after the court session.

Quote: “The judge, whose eyes had gone in the general direction, recalled them, leaned back in his seat, and looked steadily at the man whose life was in his hand, as Mr. Attorney-General rose to spin the rope, grind the axe, and hammer the nails into the scaffold.”

Significance of Quote: Dickens quietly tells that the judge is on the criminals side, for he knows he had done nothing wrong. The criminals soft looks and young age make him appear to be innocent, however we cannot truly tell until we are given direct evidence about it.

Reflection:  Now we are given more conflict in this story- the group of travellers encountered a new problem in their journey back to England, however they didn't know it was actually a problem until five years later. Dickens really knows how to create a good story, for already this is gripping. The way he describes the streets of England in chapter 1, being just as sad and gloomy as Paris. But on these streets the roughness is purposely there. As said in the chapter, if the streets didn't look scary and cold, they wouldn't be respected, they would be taken advantage of. Dickens really thinks about how the setting would affect the story and how it makes the tone of the novel sound.

Question: What did Darney do and why wasn't his crime brought up until now?