How do the "Poor Relation" and "Fireflies" help us to understand how stories help us make sense of the world?
How do the "Poor Relation" and "Fireflies" help us to understand how stories help us make sense of the world? Stories have been told since mankind first developed language. We use stories to communicate our experiences to each other and help the future generation to develop. These two stories the "Poor Relation" and "Fireflies" have many things to help us make sense of the world. There is the creativity and imagination in the stories, entertainment, information about the past, morals, tradition, social behaviour and finally experience. In the Poor Relation a man called Michael has lost almost everything. His hopes of inheritance, his wife, and his business. He deals with his reality by dreaming. He reveals his secret life in a fantasy world where he lives in "my Castle" and enjoys a fulfilling family life, with wife, children and grandchildren. One of Michael's main supports to cope with his life is his companion Little Frank. With Little Frank, Michael believes he is like a father figure to him. He explains to us how somebody said to him "sir, your little son has dropped his glove", and how touched he was which brought the foolish tears into his eyes. Michael tries to warn Little Frank not to follow in his footsteps because he doesn't want him to go through life like he himself has. Maybe because Michael has failed in marriage and business he feels he has succeeded in
Will Charles Ever Be Saved From the Evremonde Name?
Will Charles Ever Be Saved From the Evremonde Name? Charles Dickens narrates his novel called A Tale Of Two Cities in the time of the French Revolution. During this period, Madame Defarge, a lady of lower class seeks revenge on the last surviving Evremonde member, Charles Darnay. Madame Defarge holds Charles Darnay responsible for the terrible events that his relatives engaged in, by using the French Revolution in an attempt to destroy a man of good nature. Charles Darnay`s father and Uncle were wealthy noble men that took liberty in creating poverty for the French peasants. The family name is Evremonde, and the two brothers' were overly self-indulgent and completely indifferent to the lives of the peasants whom they exploited. When Charles was a toddler, his father and uncle abused and killed Madame Defarge`s family, leaving her as the hidden survivor to grow up with hatred and vengeance towards this name. Unfortunately, the Evremonde brothers took a claim to Madame's unwilling sister making her and her family victims to these ruthless men. Tied down and raped, the girl was left distraught and helpless to her dying family. The lady's husband was worked to death and her father died of a broken heart, leaving her brother to hide Madame Defarge and return to fight Charles's father who skillfully killed the young lad. Doctor Manette, who was called to assess these suffering
Atmosphere in the Opening of 'A Tale of Two Cities'
A Tale of Two Cities Essay In ‘A Tale of Two Cities’, Charles Dickens creates a significant atmosphere in every major event of the plot, in several different ways; firstly, the ghostly mood of the messenger’s arrival at the Dover Mail provides strong indications at things of the future. Then, Dickens uses actions of characters to build an atmosphere in Dr Manette’s room in the tower in France. Within this, Dickens attributes these places to different concepts and ideas. When Jerry travels to find the Dover mail so that he can give a message to Mr Lorry, Dickens creates a very mysterious, gloomy atmosphere that seems to allude to a darker end. Firstly, the mist is ‘an evil spirit’, which suggests that it is alive or has ‘unfinished business’ on earth. It suggests that the mist has an agenda, and given that it is ‘trying’ to engulf the carriage in itself, it appears that it has some sort of agenda against something or someone in the carriage. Secondly, everyone on the mail suspects each other of something; they don’t know anything about each other because the passengers feel that that is information that could be used against them. Both of these things don’t necessarily mean anything, but it plants the idea in the reader’s mind that something significant is about to happen, specifically something bad, involving someone on the Dover Mail. In the
A tale of two cities
'A TALE OF TWO CITIES' - CHARLES DICKENS Throughout 'A tale of two cities', Dickens mirrors 17th century France with 19th century Britain. He uses his novel to portray his political views, which have been affected by his own suffering due to poverty in his childhood, with the stirring hate in pre-revolutionary France to warn Britain that there could be another revolution if the plague of poverty in Victorian times was not cured. This essay will explore how chapter 21 of the novel, a pivotal, crucial moment in the narrative where the Bastille is stormed, portrays Dickens' deeply felt convictions on the dangers of widespread social strife. Dickens exploits powerful metaphors to create an impacting atmosphere around the reader. This is evident when he describes the Saint-Antoine crowd as 'the living sea'. This really expresses the crowd as a large, powerful unstoppable force. This style is coupled when he adds, 'rose wave on wave'. The word 'rose' emphasizes the sheer might and sudden increase of the mob and scares readers with how he links it with his political views. This prevailing uprising he talks about is designed to warn the people in Britain how quickly a revolution can start and heighten rapidly. 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
Which character from The Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is the most heroic?
Which character from The Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is the most heroic? Miss Pross was the most heroic character in The Tale of Two Cities, a novel of the French revolution of blood and revenge by Charles Dickens. A hero is a person who is looked up or admired by. A hero also shows a great amount of bravery and not only physical but also a hero has to have strength to endure emotional pain. Her Ladybird Lucie Manette admires Miss Pross because she is the only motherly figure in her life. Miss Pross also endures a lot of emotional pain when her brother Solomon reveals his true identity to her. Finally, Miss Pross´s love and great determination to save Lucie from Madame Defarge makes her one of the most heroic character in this book. While Lucie's father was in jail, (her mother died when she was two), for seventeen years Miss Pross was the only motherly and fatherly figure in Lucie´s life. She took care of Lucie and loved her like her own child. From the site www.angelfire.com, she is called "the guardian and companion of Lucie." Miss Pross is considered a hero because she devoted her whole life to this "orphan". To have a motherly figure when you don't have parents is the reason why Lucie Manette admires and loves her so much. Miss Pross fulfilled a need of parental love to Lucie. Giving Lucie her love and care when she needed the most makes her the hero in this
A Tale of Two Cities Critical Lens
A Tale of Two Cities Critical Lens John Fitzgerald Kennedy said that "The courage of life is often less dramatic than the courage of a final moment; but it is no less a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy." This quote can be interpreted to mean that when it all comes down to the end, courage might seem more significant than the courage of normal everyday life, but really they are both as significant as each other. I do agree with this quote because all forms of courage deserve the same recognition as each other. One work of literature that I feel support this quote are A Tale of Two Cities, a novel by Charles Dickens this work is a prime examples of literature that support this quote. Through the use of characterization Charles Dickens proves this quote. The character Sydney Carton is a man who appears to be not much. He is always drunk and unkept in his appearance. His character appears to be useless to any of the other characters in the story, but he really turns out to be one of the main essential characters in the novel. When Charles Darnay stands trial for being accused of being a spy who is giving English information to the French, Sydney saves Darnay by showing how much they both look alike and thereby making all other evidence admitted obsolete. This is a small everyday act of courage that Sydney commits and shows that he really is a good natured and smart
Tale of Two Cities: Book 2 Chapter 16: Summary and Analysis
Book of Second: The Golden Thread Chapter 16: Still Knitting Summary On their return to Saint Antoine, a policeman tells the Defarges that there is a spy in their neighborhood. He gives them a description of his appearance, as well as his name- John Barsad. Madame Defarge decides to knit his name into the register. When they finally arrive at their home, Madame Defarge counts the money that was made while they were away and Defarge concedes to his fears and doubts about the revolution. Madame Defarge encourages him in her comparison of the revolution to lightning and earthquakes. Lightning storms and earthquakes both take some time to form, but when they are ready, they can destroy anything in their paths. The revolution may take a very long time to begin, but when it does, it would be unstoppable. The next day, Barsad, the spy, comes into the wine-shop looking to glean a little information from the Defarges. As he walks in, however, Madame Defarge recognizes him from the description previously given to her. She picks a up a rose from beside her and casually puts it in her hair. As they notice, customers start to trickle out of the store. Barsad carries the pretense of a friend and advocate to the revolution, comments on the cruelty shown to the peasants, and addresses the “apparent” unrest the area was under following Gaspard’s execution. The Defarges admit to
Comparing France and England at the time of the Revolution.
Infamous among the respected nations of Europe, there exist two neighboring countries, having nothing in common except the hardships that their people suffered on the course of history. This, known to the general public on the basis of each country ruler’s strong belief that they should wash their hands off any other country’s affairs; and thus declaring blatantly: “We are independent and free!” This, in interpretation, signifying freedom from all the bonds that tie us to our human kin and release from all responsibilities concerning what happens to these ‘strangers’; and on no account must it be mistaken for any kind of physical or spiritual alleviation. Nevertheless, though the bonds that connect these two countries were deliberately erased from the pages of history, the chronicles of many smaller men are passed down from one generation to the next to these very times, where they act as fuel that keeps these words flowing.... Many centuries ago, in the year seventeen seventy five, though Paris had still been the capital of France; and though London had, even then, been the capital of England, the two countries and their prime cities could not have undergone a more shocking change when compared to our modern times. At the setting of the eighteenth century, Paris had been engulfed in the bloody conflicts that ensued between its citizens. Muddles of poverty were
A Tale of Two Cities
Tara, Lauren, Elizabeth, Quinton English 10 Honors February 13, 2001 A Tale of Two Cities Reporter: Here at the court house today in ______, Charles Darnay, a (local) French teacher, was sentenced to death when incriminating evidence against his family was found in the Bastille and revealed by Monsieur Defarge, a wine shop owner in Saint Antoine, Paris. Darnay is being punished for the crimes of his father and uncle, the Evremondes, who allegedly raped a young girl, and killed her husband and brother 36 years ago. To my right is Dr. Manette, the man who wrote the account of the Evremondes' sins that was brought to the eyes of the public today. He seems to be having his last words with Darnay now. Let's take a look... Dr. Manette: (on knees to Darnay) Please forgive me! I meant no harm! Please, I am sorry! Darnay: "No, no! What have you done...that you should kneel to us! We know now, what a struggle you made of old. We know now, what you have underwent when you suspected my descent, and when you knew it. We know now, the nayural antipathy you strove against, and conquered, for her dear sake. We thank you with all our hearts, and all our love and duty. Heaven be with you!" (A Tale of Two Cities ) Reporter: Seems as though Darnay is displaying his good character by not blaming Dr. Manette for his death. (Darney is pulled away to his cell) Dr.