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On Dickens’s Point of society in a tale of two cities

By

Wang Hulan

Under the supervision of

Wang Yong

A Thesis Submitted to

Foreign Languages Department

in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts

Qinghai Normal University

July 13, 2013

Abstract

A tale of two cities is one of Charles Dickens’s important master works, which was published when he was at the age of 47. It is the best product offerings in his old years. Long before he wrote this novel, he paid attention to the French Revolution, and read history of French revolution of Thomas Carlyle and some related books. His keen interest to French Revolution came from the fact that there were lots of serious problems about social crisis in temporal British. It is thus clear that wrote the deeply worried thinking in this novel. A tale of two cities, a historical novel, based on the historical experience of French revolution, was created to use the past to satirize the present. It sounded the alarm to the ruling class of Britain, at the same time, warned the masses who was with anger and tried to resist tyranny by the terrible descriptions of revolution.

Starting from this motivation, this novel exposed the social contradictions deeply, strongly criticized decadent cruelty of nobility, and expressed his deep sympathy for the lowly people. This work sharply pointed out the limited endurance of the masses, it is necessary that masses would vigorous resist the rule of cruelty to survive, and this kind of resistance was justice.

Key words: French revolution, social crisis, contradiction

Table o f Contents Acknowledgments (i)

Abstract (ii)

Table of Contents (iii)

I.Introduction of Author (1)

II.Story lines (2)

A.Recalled to life (2)

B.The Golden Thread (2)

C.The Track of a Storm (2)

III.Analysis (3)

A.Writing style (3)

nguage study (3)

IV.Themes (4)

A.Darkness and light (4)

B. Social justice (4)

C.Personal struggle (4)

D.Love (4)

V.Characteristics (5)

A.Dr Aleixandre Monatee (5)

B.Charles Dannay (5)

C.Sydney Carton (5)

D.Lucie Manatee (5)

Ⅵ.Adaption (6)

A.Films (6)

B.Radio (6)

C.Television programs (6)

D.Stage music (6)

Ⅶ. Conclusion (7)

Ⅷ.Reference (8)

Brief Introduction:

Charles John Huffman Dickens ( 7 February 1812 –9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's most memorable fictional characters and is generally regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian period. During his life, his works enjoyed unprecedented fame, and by the twentieth century his literary genius was broadly acknowledged by critics and scholars. His novels and short stories continue to be widely popular.

Born in Portsmouth, England, Dickens left school to work in a factory after his father was thrown into debtors' prison. Although he had little formal education, his early impoverishment drove him to succeed. Over his career he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, 5 novellas and hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for Childers's rights, education, and other social reforms. Dickens sprang to fame with the 1836 serial publication of The Pickwick Papers. Within a few years he had become an international literary celebrity, famous for his humor, satire, and keen observation of character and society. His novels, most published in monthly or weekly installments, pioneered the serial publication of narrative fiction, which became the dominant Victorian mode for novel publication. The installment format allowed Dickens to evaluate his audience's reaction, and he often modified his plot and character development based on such feedback. For example, when his wife's chiropodist expressed distress at the way Miss Moocher in David Copperfield seemed to reflect her disabilities, Dickens went on to improve the character with positive lineaments. Fagin in Oliver Twist apparently mirrors the famous fence Icky Solomon; His caricature of Leigh Hunt in the figure of Mr Skimpole in Bleak House was likewise toned down on advice from some of his friends, as they read episodes. In the same novel, both Lawrence Boythorne and Mooney the beadle are drawn from real life – Boxthorn from Walter Savage Landor and Mooney from 'Looney', a beadle at Salisbury Square.His plots were carefully constructed, and Dickens often wove in elements from topical events into his narratives. Masses of the illiterate poor chipped in happenings to have each new monthly episode read to them, opening up and inspiring a new class of readers. Dickens was regarded as the literary colossus of his age. His 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, is one of the most influential works ever written, and it remains popular and continues to inspire adaptations in every artistic genre. His creative genius has been praised by fellow writers—from Leo Tolstoy to G. K. Chesterton and George Orwell—for its realism, comedy, prose style, unique characteristics, and social criticism. On the other hand Oscar Wilde, Henry James and Virginia Woolf complained of a lack of psychological depth, loose writing, and a vein of saccharine sentimentalism.