《双城记》英文介绍及写作背景

Themes to Look For




Resurrection Honor vs. Dishonor The Effects of Revenge and Violence The Effects of Corruption in the Ruling Class Love and Sacrifice
பைடு நூலகம்


Hard Times in London

In the 1850’s, during the Industrial Revolution. England was full of social and economic inequality. The urban poor was suffering “the worst of times” while the ruling class was enjoying the “best of times” Dickens feared that a revolution such as the one that shook France could not be avoided. During this time, Dickens wrote Bleak House (1852, 53), Hard Times (1854), Little Dorritt (1855-57), and A Tale of Two Cities (1859)
Also pay attention to doubles, foils, and paradoxes. (Ex. “the best and worst of times…” “two cities”)
Parallelism

The balance of two or more words, phrases, or clauses in grammatically similar ways. This shows that each element of the sentence has the same importance.


About the novel

Dickens called it “The best story I have written.” This is a stylistic change from his other novels, which feature comic characters and are set mostly in England during his own time. Many of his characters in this novel are allegorical in nature, representing ideas rather than individuals. A Tale of Two Cities is one of his two historical novels. Like most of his novels, it was published serially, in two-chapter monthly magazine installments, and later as a complete book. Why might this be advantageous to an author? A Tale of Two Cities his twelfth novel of fifteen. Great Expectations was written only a year later.



Setting of A Tale of Two Cities

The action takes place over a period of eighteen years, from 1775 (about ten years before the Revolution) to 1793 (height of Revolution), some of which takes place as a flashback. Novel is set mostly in London and Paris (the “two cities”). For the historical background, Dickens relied on The French Revolution, a History (1837) written by his friend Thomas Carlyle. Carlyle wrote with passion and intensity of the events, which seemed relevant to the political turmoil that was currently occurring across Europe.
EX: “We came, we saw, we conquered.” “We like hiking, swimming, and biking.”
A Tale of Two Cities
~Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens

Born in England in 1812 to a lower-middle class family Moved at age 10 to a poor area of London because of family’s financial trouble Worked in a dirty, rat-infested shoe polish factory at age 12 after his father was imprisoned for debt Acquired a strong sympathy for the poor which is reflected in his novels.