To vary the use of metaphors used Dickens changes to alliteration to stress the power of his sentences. He proves this when reinforcing the imposing strength of the Bastille and relating the castle’s protection, ‘deep ditches, double-drawbridge’. He then follows on by saying ‘repeated banging’. This reflects the prisons resistance to its attackers. His meaningful alliteration links with his political views, relating the un-breach-able Bastille to the unstoppable revolution; he conveys just how violent the attack had to be to succeed. This stressed enormity of the struggle served to urge Victorian readers into action against poverty to get to his principle objective.
Chapter 21 is structured around patterns of tension which produce a subtle powerful effect. Dickens starts the chapter with low tension, leading up to the capture of the Bastille, where the tension rises. It then drops after the capture. His tension in chapter 21 relates how there could be a revolution in London. The fact that every anti-climax is followed by a climax is significant because the chapter ends, calm, in London. This suggests that tension may rise again, this time in Britain. The intended effect on the reader is to persuade them of the imminent peak of violence that Dickens was predicting, hence scaring them into social action.
Dickens uses repetition to dramatically exaggerate sentences with the rise of tension. This is evident when Therese Defarge is staying close to the Governor of the Bastille, ‘she stood immovable to him.’ The word ‘immovable’ shows how she stayed glued to him to prevent his escape. This is repeated five times; with each time the tension rising intensely. The eventual death of the Governor links to Dickens’ political views and gives the message to the reader of what a revolt can result in. This sends out the important message that the anger built up in the revolution which ends in violence and bloodshed.
The death of the governor then scares readers into the thought of a similar revolution happening in London.
Having analysed Dickens’ detailed linguistic and structural devices designed to create a strong impacting effect on the reader. It is clear to see that Dickens was successful in portraying his political message, that if Britain did nothing about the economic differences between poverty and wealth they would end up with another revolution just like the French.
The message would not be so powerful nowadays because we are saturated with more information. In Dickens’ day more people were influenced by his writing because he was one of the few good writers around. Where-as nowardays he would be competing with many other authors to get his point across.
I believe his message is valid; however looking at it from a modern day perspective there is still a very large economic difference between poverty and wealth and there have been no threats for a revolution.