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.
I agree, at first I was very confused with the text but as you read on, you begin to understand Dickens' work more. Dickens' is really good at how tired and worn down Dr. Manette is from his time in The Bastille. He is a shell of his former self and has been completely destroyed by his time in the notoriously rutheless prison, The Bastille.
ReplyDeleteGood passage choice, Alana. I particularly like your comments on Dickens' ability to show rather than tell.
ReplyDeleteHere's a suggestion: provide more context before you give the supporting quote. For instance, whom is he looking at here? Whose "face" is this? Why is this face important?