“The storming of the Bastille…the death carts with their doomed human cargo…the swift drop of the guillotine blade-this is the French revolution that Charles Dickens vividly captures in his famous work “A Tale of two cities”. With dramatic eloquence, he brings to life a time of terror and treason, a starving people rising in frenzy and the to overthrow a corrupt and decadent regime. With insight and compassion, he casts his novel of unforgettable scenes with unforgettable characters: the sinister Madame defarge, knitting her patterns of death, the gentle lucie manette, unswerving in her devotion to her broken father: the heroic Sydney Carton, who gives his life for the love of a girl who will never be his.”That is what is on the back of this book…Sounds interesting huh? “Yeh sure” you say…WRONG!Upon reading “A tale of two cities” and studying the characterization, and writing techniques I have come to the conclusion that it is entirely over rated. Character development and portrayal is idealistic and clichd, the ending is incredibly predictable and it is rife with unfeasible coincidences, mainly centering about the character of Charles Darnay. Also Dickens’s uses the tale to express his often-bias views on France and the French people as a whole.A skeptic, like myself can see this novel as an unbelievable, idealistic and overrated. An unbiased reader however can see this novel as inspiring, a tale of love, hate and the human spirit. Love and Hate play a constant role, as does the underlying historical event of the French revolution. These factors make up the bare bones of the novel so that one must look closely to see Dickens’s Biases, attempts at persuasion and unbelievable plot lines, some of which are spawned from the authors own views of the two cities involved.Over time many people have grown fond of the story involving Darnay, a former French ...
