Markus wrote letters to three characters from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens:
1) In his letter to Dr. Manette, he praises the character's courage, forgiveness, and willingness to move forward despite terrible hardship and injustice.
2) In his letter to Sydney Carton, he notes Carton's redemption and heroic sacrifice, which represents the theme of change in the novel.
3) In his letter to Madame Defarge, he acknowledges her embodiment of the rage of the oppressed French people but disagrees with her violent methods of vengeance.
Markus wrote letters to three characters from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens:
1) In his letter to Dr. Manette, he praises the character's courage, forgiveness, and willingness to move forward despite terrible hardship and injustice.
2) In his letter to Sydney Carton, he notes Carton's redemption and heroic sacrifice, which represents the theme of change in the novel.
3) In his letter to Madame Defarge, he acknowledges her embodiment of the rage of the oppressed French people but disagrees with her violent methods of vengeance.
Markus wrote letters to three characters from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens:
1) In his letter to Dr. Manette, he praises the character's courage, forgiveness, and willingness to move forward despite terrible hardship and injustice.
2) In his letter to Sydney Carton, he notes Carton's redemption and heroic sacrifice, which represents the theme of change in the novel.
3) In his letter to Madame Defarge, he acknowledges her embodiment of the rage of the oppressed French people but disagrees with her violent methods of vengeance.
Markus wrote letters to three characters from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens:
1) In his letter to Dr. Manette, he praises the character's courage, forgiveness, and willingness to move forward despite terrible hardship and injustice.
2) In his letter to Sydney Carton, he notes Carton's redemption and heroic sacrifice, which represents the theme of change in the novel.
3) In his letter to Madame Defarge, he acknowledges her embodiment of the rage of the oppressed French people but disagrees with her violent methods of vengeance.
I am sorry for the continuously unfortunate circumstances that you find yourself in, in Charles Dickens’ book A Tale of Two Cities. After being wrongly imprisoned in the Bastille for so many years to be plunged into the French Revolution with your daughter’s life at stake it is remarkable you found the courage to go on.
Often it seems that you act with heroism only to have your actions go unrewarded. For example when you attempt to save the young woman’s life who had been raped by the Everemonde Twins you see the unjustice done to her family and you “decided, that day, to write privately to the Minister, stating the nature of the two cases to which I had been summoned, and the place to which I had gone: in effect, stating all the circumstances.”(289) I believe that you have a good heart and an inclination to do good which unfortunately often lands you in terrible situations.
This particular instance led you to be incarcerated for 18 years, during which time you sank into a sort of insanity, cobbling shoes nonstop. I find that Mr. Dickens was very effective in using your character as an illustration of the injustice of society and of the effect of having a loving family. At the beginning of the novel you are described as “pitiable and dreadful”. (35) However as you care for your daughter and her beloved throughout the novel you become a strong willed human being defending Charles Darnay, the relative of the men who put you in prison in the first place.
When reading what Charles Dickens wrote about your character I always found a sense of forgiveness and the willingness to go on emanating from you. You were always trying to move forward and choosing not to dwell on the past and to not blame Darnay for the actions of his family was a very selfless and noble thing. You add that sense of humanity to the book through your words and deeds which sometimes take on quite heroic proportions like speaking for Darnay in front of a wild mob putting yourself in danger similar to that of many historically great speakers such as Abraham Lincoln and Dr Martin Luther King Jr.
Sincerely,
Markus Hammer Markus 2
Dear Sydney Carton
Firstly I would like to thank you for the sacrifice you made to protect the people you loved. I believe that throughout the book you signify one of the great themes of the book: change. Whether by the overthrowing of the aristocracy in France or the change of character by none other than you, A Tale of Two Cities’ whole setting is greatly defined by change and the impacts that come with. Some of these changes are good, like the heroic bravery you display at the end of the book, however some of them are bad such as the slaughter of hundreds of people in the revolution in Paris and the subsequent executions.
Your tale ultimately is a tragic one. You are introduced as a man full of contradictions. At the beginning of the book you are described as “the idlest and most unpromising of men” (75) despite the fact that you have a good education and are a brilliant lawyer. Indeed you are quite representative of certain aspects of the aristocracy in France that so angers the common people, a good for nothing layabout content to let the world pass them by while they indulge themselves with alcohol and the like. However your spark is rekindled when you meet Dr. Manette’s daughter, Lucy Manette and her soon to be fiance Charles Darnay.
You and Charles Darnay are said to look alike however it is you that point out that Charles Darnay reminds you of, “ what you had fallen away from and what you might have been”(74). This along with your love for Lucy Manette seem to push you into motion to reform yourself and change for the better. In a way this is linked to the struggles of France where the common people are trying to rouse it out of its decadence into a great reform, however for them it goes horribly wrong. Unlike the French, your reform is something to be admired, as you sacrifice yourself to save the people you love.
Sincerely,
Markus Markus 3
Dear Madame Defarge
I would be lying if I said I agreed with your methods or your way of doing things. Mr. Dickens, in my opinion, does an excellent job of portraying you as a mascot of the French Revolution. You embody the rage of the French people at the aristocracy, which for so long has oppressed you. Acting as a leader of the revolution you cause the deaths of many people, watching intently while knitting a tapestry of death.
In you Madame Defarge I see reflected the attitudes of the French people. It is not that you have some sort of inborn flaw of character of nature that causes you to act with such cruelty and vengeance, rather you are the result of years of oppression and abuse. Throughout history it has been common for people to rise up when pushed to the limits. The American Revolution was the cause of mistreatment by the British when they decided to add one to many taxes to the list. Your entire family was murdered by the aristocratic Evremonde family and the pain of this loss shines through you whenever you speak. It seems as though all your actions are dictated by a simple rule: “ Vengeance and retribution require a long time; it is the rule”(155). You lie in wait, preparing to strike, and when Charles Darnay crosses your path you pounce attempting to exact revenge for deeds done by another and long ago. However your actions, unintentionally of course, bring out the best in Dickens' cast of characters.
Mr Dickens enhances his story through you and the revolution by making us sorry for you and sympathize with you. To make one feel sorry for the antagonist in a love story is a truly notable feat. In a revolution so driven by hate, the love triangle formed by Lucie, Charles, and Sydney shines brighter than it would in most other settings.
I truly feel sorry for the losses you have endured and the anguish you have gone through, but I hope you have come to the realization that you have brought the same pain to countless people through your words and actions. I hope that you find peace, wherever you are.
Sincerely,
Markus Markus 4
Bibliography
Dickens, Charles, and Grace Moore. A Tale of Two Cities. Union Square & Co., 2022.
