Referring closely to the use of language, show how Charles Dickens examines the tragic consequences of unruly behaviour in Chapter Twenty One of 'A Tale of Two Cities'. How does he bring out the dramatic tension?

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Laura Glenn-Cox                                                                                          10MKY

Referring closely to the use of language, show how Charles Dickens examines the tragic consequences of unruly behaviour in Chapter Twenty One of ‘A Tale of Two Cities’. How does he bring out the dramatic tension?

‘A Tale of Two Cities’ set partly in the Saint Antoine region in the midst of the deadly and brutal French Revolution and partly in the dull and monotonous Restoration Period in England seems to be tale of warning and of social justice. Dickens, born in 1812, held the equality of all social classes close to his heart: lack of funds drove Dickens to work in a blacking factory at the tender age of twelve as well as seeing his father to prison. His intentions of writing ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ were to make everyone aware of the damage and bloodshed that ignorance can cause: if the rich continued to persecute the poor and continued with their luxurious lifestyles, then a social catastrophe would occur. However, if the poor revolted against the upper classes, they needed to be aware of the dangers and problems caused by such hasty actions. Chapter Twenty One seems to be the pivotal point of the novel; it sees the revolt and it’s most dramatic event, the storming of the Bastille, vividly depicting this event in a nightmarish yet moving way. It carries the moral throughout the chapter of the consequences of unruly behaviour. ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ deals with such themes as overthrowing the aristocracy and the influence that rich have over poor. These themes, although placed in the context of France in the Nineteenth Century, were still relevant in England over one hundred years later, and, in fact, today. Even in our present day, we can relate to these atrocities as there are countries struggling under political oppression and wars in places such as Iraq. It is a particularly tense section of the book with very fraught moments. Charles Dickens is likely to have aimed ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ at a more middle than lower class audience, this would have been mainly because they would have been educated therefore able to read and would be able to afford books. Furthermore, middle and upper classes also would be in more positions of power and thus able to preclude the possibility of a resolution of the problems facing Britain.

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 Dickens has used a variety of linguistic techniques to create tension and convey a poignant social message in chapter twenty-one of ‘A Tale of Two Cities’. Throughout the entire chapter, the word “footsteps” is repeated many times. This choice of words has a strong effect on the reader: it firstly creates an eerie and haunting image in the mind of the reader, which helps to convey the tense atmosphere of chapter twenty-one. Furthermore, the word connotes a sense of anonymity between the mob, which successfully disguises their identity. This word could also be interpreted as Dickens attempting to communicate ...

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