Evil and Perfection in a Tale of Two Cities

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Amanda Bagley English II Pre-AP 31 March 2011 Evil and Perfection in A Tale of Two Cities In Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, some believe that his exaggerated caricature of the characters Marquis Evremonde, Lucie Manette, and Madame Defarge take away the ability for the novel to have a sense of reality. On the contrary, the hyperboles within the characters annex depth and symbolism; therefore Dickens’ true intentions with A Tale of Two Cities were to make indicative characterizations, instead of practical ones. In the novel, the author conveys Marquis Evremonde as a purely evil character. He sees others that are less financially abundant as he “as if they had been mere rats [that had] come out of their holes” (Dickens 129). Dickens’ intentions with Marquis Evremonde was to emblem the symbol of evil, not to create a character that is more in tune with human nature. One begins to contemplate that when he runs over a peasant child and selfishly wonders “what injury [they] have done [his] horses”, that obviously cannot be a real human character (Dickens 129). It is to be perceived by the reader that Marquis Evremonde represents calamity in the novel, yet after further analyzing one could claim that he reflects the corruption in France during the time of revolution. Marquis Evremonde’s want to “exterminate [peasants] from the earth” sums up the argument that he represents evil, and was not meant to have the ability to relate to human nature (Dickens 131). Lucie Manette’s “pretty figure, a quantity of golden hair, [and] a pair of blue eyes” adds to the theme of her character representing good in A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens 25). Dickens caricature of this young woman in the novel exhibits no flaws. As she guides her father out of his dark delirium, she is the symbol of self-sacrifice for a man that has been indefinitely unsupportive of her. It is quite unlike

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