Greatest Sacrifice In A Tale Of Two Cities
The Greatest Sacrifice
Sacrifice is the “surrender of something for the sake of something else”-- this definition of sacrifice implies discomfort and vulnerability seeing as something must be “surrendered” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). In Charles Dickens’ well acclaimed classic, A Tale of Two Cities, multifarious themes are delicately wound throughout the historical narrative set in late eighteenth century Europe, just as a golden thread is laced within a ball of dull yarn. One such theme is the paradox of rebirth found through sacrifice. Doctor Alexandre Manette, of A Tale of Two Cities, experienced tremendous rebirth as he overcame his eighteen years in the Bastille and the effect those years had on him. As he physically escaped the Bastille, …show more content…
“For the first time the Doctor felt, now, that his suffering was strength and power” (Dickens 268). The populace of France saw Alexandre Manette as a hero who escaped the perils of the French aristocracy although his eighteen years were miserable and anything but heroic. Manette was seen as a beau ideal for the French commoner because of the renewed attitude that allowed him approach previously hard topics with ease. Instead of cowering when the Bastille was mentioned, Doctor Manette was able to use his experience within it to, “with the greatest discretion and with the straightforward force of truth and earnestness”, to free his son-in-law, Charles Darnay (Dickens 282). Doctor Manette did not only save Charles through his sacrifice to recount his tale of woe, but he saved himself from the awful emotional and mental death that clouded his previous life.
In the end, Charles Dickens’ inspiring novel, A Tale of Two Cities, delineates events of the French Revolution and effectively carries the theme: rebirth from incredible sacrifice. Doctor Alexandre Manette sacrificed his only anchor in hopes of rejuvenating the person he once was. Being “recalled to life”, albeit simple, can have truly lasting effects when one sacrifices
Sacrifice is the “surrender of something for the sake of something else”-- this definition of sacrifice implies discomfort and vulnerability seeing as something must be “surrendered” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). In Charles Dickens’ well acclaimed classic, A Tale of Two Cities, multifarious themes are delicately wound throughout the historical narrative set in late eighteenth century Europe, just as a golden thread is laced within a ball of dull yarn. One such theme is the paradox of rebirth found through sacrifice. Doctor Alexandre Manette, of A Tale of Two Cities, experienced tremendous rebirth as he overcame his eighteen years in the Bastille and the effect those years had on him. As he physically escaped the Bastille, …show more content…
“For the first time the Doctor felt, now, that his suffering was strength and power” (Dickens 268). The populace of France saw Alexandre Manette as a hero who escaped the perils of the French aristocracy although his eighteen years were miserable and anything but heroic. Manette was seen as a beau ideal for the French commoner because of the renewed attitude that allowed him approach previously hard topics with ease. Instead of cowering when the Bastille was mentioned, Doctor Manette was able to use his experience within it to, “with the greatest discretion and with the straightforward force of truth and earnestness”, to free his son-in-law, Charles Darnay (Dickens 282). Doctor Manette did not only save Charles through his sacrifice to recount his tale of woe, but he saved himself from the awful emotional and mental death that clouded his previous life.
In the end, Charles Dickens’ inspiring novel, A Tale of Two Cities, delineates events of the French Revolution and effectively carries the theme: rebirth from incredible sacrifice. Doctor Alexandre Manette sacrificed his only anchor in hopes of rejuvenating the person he once was. Being “recalled to life”, albeit simple, can have truly lasting effects when one sacrifices