*extra credit* Luci's Reaction

In book 13 chapter 11, Doctor Manettes letter had just been read and Darneys fate was determined, the way Luci reacted struck me.  I was shocked that she sided with Darney after hearing the horrible story of her father’s imprisonment.  Luci had a huge role in helping with her father’s recovery.  Therefore you would expect her to want revenge on the person responsible.  But instead the sentence of Luci's husband strikes her the most; "The wretched wife of the innocent man thus doomed to die, fell under the sentence, as if she had been mortally stricken. But, she uttered no sound; and so strong was the voice within her, representing that it was she of all the world who must uphold him in his misery and not augment it, that it quickly raised her, even from that shock...'If I might touch him! If I might embrace him once! O, good citizens, if you would have so much compassion for us!' (346).  Throughout the book Dickens has also given us the impression that Luci’s love for Doctor Manette was so strong, and he never elaborated on Luci's love for Darnay, that is why I’m surprised that she reacted stronger to her Darnay's sentence then her fathers letter. 

Dickens Influence

Throughout the discussions of book 3 a recurring question has been; "Why would the Defarges want to imprison Darnay after they had scene the suffering Doctor Manette had to endure"?  This is a fair question to the reader of the first half of book 3.  It makes since that the Defarges would not want anyone else to have to go through the same pain that they watched Doctor Manette go through, but after advancing in book 3 one understands the Defarges point of view.  And one could even argue "Why wouldn’t the Defarges want to imprison Darnay after they had scene the suffering Doctor Manette had to endure".  This may seem harsh or upfront but the reality is that Dannay’s family had directly caused Doctor Manettes imprisonment; "I decided, that day, to write privately to the Minister, stating the nature of the two cases to which I had been summoned, and the place to which I had gone: in effect, stating all the circumstances. I knew what Court influence was, and what the immunities of the Nobles were, and I expected that the matter would never be heard of; but, I wished to relieve my own mind. I had kept the matter a profound secret, even from my wife; and this; too, I resolved to state in my letter. I had no apprehension whatever of my real danger; but I was conscious that there might be danger for others, if others were compromised by possessing the knowledge that I possessed" (335).  Doctor Manette was innocently tying to get the baffling experience off of his chest; little did he know it was leading to the end of his life as he once knew it. The Brothers who Doctor Manette had been working for somehow got a hold of this letter and were deeply angered.  These brothers are special because they are relatives of Darnay! This letter had such an impact on the brothers because it made their family look bad. the way the brothers acted upon the letter was sever and mercy less; "It brought me here, it brought me to my grave. When I was clear of the house, a black muffler was drawn tightly over my mouth from behind, and my arms were pinioned. The two brothers crossed the road from a dark corner, and identified me with a single gesture. The Marquis took from his pocket the letter I had written, showed it me, burnt it in the light of a lantern that was held, and extinguished the ashes with his foot. Not a word was spoken. I was brought here, I was brought to my living grave" (338).  These brothers did this to protect their family name, and also to exercise their power.  As Dickens says; "The two brothers crossed the road from a dark corner, and identified me with a single gesture", these brothers seem casual and calm about the situation clearly with out any sympathy for Doctor Manette's life.  

Its interesting how Dickens writes in a way that makes us quickly shift our own opinion on people due to Dickens words.  Up until now we have had more sympathy and respect for Darnay, and less for Carton.  We recently were against the Defarges due to their strict and unsympathetic ruling.   But this section has shifted all of our opinions.  Now the reader understand where the Defarnges stern rule is rooting from, and now the reader sides with them.  We also no longer think of Darnay as a respectable man because we know what his family is capable of.  And what they have done to Doctor Manette who is a character that Dickens has had us siding with from day one.  It is interesting how Dickens influences the reader so greatly and has such a way with pulling everything together.  

Coping Skills

Mr. Lorry and Mss. Pross kept the news of Doctor Manette’s relapse a secret from Luci. They did this in a sly way; “Miss Pross was to write, describing his (Doctor Manette) having been called away professionally, and referring to an imaginary letter of two or three hurried lines in his own hand, represented to have been addressed to her by the same post” (207).  Should Miss. Pross and Mr. Lorry have done this?  Did they have the right too?  I do not think they had the right to conceal this information from Luci.  Luci had been through so much with her father and had brought him mentally so far that she deserved to know his condition, she deserved to know his mental state especially if she played a role in it.  If Luci had been informed about her Father she may have been able to bring him back by walking up and down the hall with him like she frequently did, or just by her presence. But instead with out Luci’s assistance Doctor Manette reverted to the pointless activity or shoemaking for nine days, which is clearly unhealthy and unproductive.  Miss. Pross and Mr. Lorry ended up destroying Doctor Manette's shoe making tools using a chopper, saw, chisel, and hammer.  They did this only for the wellbeing of Doctor Manette.  But in the long run was this the best thing to do?  Once again I think they made the wrong decision.  We can infer that if Doctor Manette relapses again Mr. Lorry and Mss. Pross will once again keep it a secret from Luci, because they don’t want upset or disappoint her.  Their devotion, admiration and love to her is so strong “Mr. Lorry, who could not sufficiently admire the bride, and who had been moving round her to take in every point of her quiet, pretty dress; “and so it was for this, my sweet Lucie, that I brought you across the Channel, such a baby! Lord bless me!” (199).  In this case Mr. Manette will be without his two essentials to cope with; his beloved daughter and is shoemaking kit.  From this we might infer that he will find a new coping skill but Dickens suggests something else. 

Dickens left us with thick foreshadowing at the end of chapter 19; “while engaged in the commission of their deed and in the removal of its traces, almost felt, and almost looked, like accomplices in a horrible crime” (214).  Dickens doesn’t add this passage in for no reason I think he is giving us insight on what is too come.  I predict that "innocent" Mr. Lorry and Miss. Pross are indeed taking away Doctor Manette's life by destroying his cope. The metaphor Dickens is using is physical death, one might infer that it is being compared to the shoemaking tools, but in reality I believe its being compared to the mental death of Doctor Manette.  

Sentence Translation

         Dickens goes into great detail to captivate and inform the reader.  He puts a helpful image of the text inside our minds.  In part two chapter eight this is displayed perfectly; “A beautiful landscape, with the corn bright in it but not abundant.   Patches of poor rye where corn should have been, patches of poor peas and beans, patches of most coarse vegetable substitutes for wheat.  On inanimate nature, as on the man and woman who cultivated it, a prevalent tendency toward an appearance of vegetating unwillingly- a dejected disposition to give up, and wither away” (118).  At first glance this passage looks overwhelming and nearly impossible to decipher.  But when one looks closer the multiple meanings imbedded in the passage become evident.  Dickens starts out by describing the slim variety of plants, and uses characteristics such as “not abundant” “poor” “most coarse” “dejected disposition” “inanimate” and “wither away”.  These characteristics paint a gray, sorrowful scene inside ones head.  Then Dickens switches gears by saying that these characteristics apply to not only the plants but the people of the village as well; “On inanimate nature, as on the men and women who cultivated it, a prevalent tendency towards an appearance of vegetation unwillingly- a dejected disposition to give up and wither away”. Here Dickens uses the word inanimate to describe the ‘lifeless’ plants.  Then he says‘As on the men and woman who cultivate it’ showing that the men and women who tend to the plants are also lifeless.  The second sentence translates to; “the plants look like they are unwillingly growing, as though they wanted to give up and die”.  We can infer that in the second sentence Dickens is again talking about the farmers of the plants not only the plants themselves. 

             I made sense of these passages by breaking them up and deciphering them little by little.  I looked up vocabulary words in the dictionary and replace them with similar synonyms.  I also moved around the sentence structure so it made more sense.  This enabled me to understand Dickens language and find out the many meanings behind it. 

            It is crucial to take the time to breakdown passages in the book that are challenging because it helps you not only understand the passage, but the book as a whole better.  And more importantly it lets you get out what Dickens wants you to get out of reading instead of being hung up on the text.  

Finding Meaning

            At first glance Charles Dickens language in A Tale Of Two Cities is confusing, and perplexing.  Yet, as one reads on they will discover the significance and beauty his unique voice holds.

Dickens analyzes Doctor Manetts actions; “His eyes came slowly back, at last, to the face from which they had wandered; when they rested on it, he started, and resumed, in the manner of a sleeper that moment awake reverting to a subject of last night” (45).  Dickens uses this passage that captures a moment in time to allow us to understand this character better. We often times think of a “sleeper” as a low energy and gloomy person.  Therefore from reading this passage one will view the character in a new way.  They will think of Doctor Manette as a low-energy man.  The way Dickens can inform us on a character due to a subdue action is remarkable. 

How Dickens shows and not tells us is also remarkable.   In the passage above Dickens could have simply said that Doctor Manette was in daze.  But instead he analyzed his actions, which made the passage not only more interesting but more significant.