Revolution

Revolution


Defiance. Destruction. Revolution. These are just a few of the catalysts that when combined, form the perfect formula for the tide of the peasants to rise and come crashing down on the powerful and corrupt people who had underestimated their will to survive for far too long. The empowering yet ruthless theme of Revolution presents itself on numerous occasions within the novel, //A Tale of Two Cities.//

A dark foreshadowing of the terrible revolt to come is presented when a wine cask is spilled into the streets, causing dozens of poor, emaciated people to flock to the streets in an effort to desperately lap up every drop of the liquid. As this incident takes place, it is told that there would soon be a time in the future when “…that wine too would be spilled on the street-stones, and when the stain of it would be red upon many there,” (p. 30). In addition, a man writes the word, “BLOOD,” upon the wall in wine. This is significant as a result of the fact that it is one of the very first indicators that would direct the reader to the knowledge of the awaiting chaos later in the novel.

As the story progresses and the force under the mighty wave of secret revolutionaries builds, the peasants begin to show direct defiance in plain view of the wealthy. When the Marquis de Evrémonte recklessly rides through town and ends up killing a baby, he does not even take a moment to apologize to those mourning over the baby’s death, and instead drives “…away with the air of a gentleman who had accidentally broken some common thing, and paid for it, and could afford to pay for it,” (p. 122). He proceeds to toss one coin in the man’s (who happens to be Gaspard) general direction, and drives off. Gaspard is so angered that when the Marquis is riding away in the carriage, “…his ease was suddenly disturbed by a coin flying into his carriage, and ringing on the floor,” (p. 112). This holds substantial significance because it indicates that the peasant throws the Marquis’s coin back at him, sending him a message that he has no need for pity money, and he shows a great amount of disrespect to a man of higher status than him. He does not know of the possible outcomes of his actions, but he demonstrates great bravery, which in turn heightens the power of the impending wave of revolutionaries to come, while also giving them even more reason and heart behind what they are fighting for.

Finally, perhaps the most obvious example of Revolution is shown in the Storming of the Bastille, when the tide transforms into a raging tsunami, and engulfs the entire city in hectic confusion. Led by the Defarges and other revolutionaries, the insurgents mercilessly attack the mighty fortress, slaughtering all who stand in their way. The ferocity of the revolution is again demonstrated when Madame Defarge gets to a governor who had shot many rebels, and seeks revenge when she “put her foot upon his neck, and with her cruel knife – long ready – hews off his head,” (p. 222). This quote shows all of Madame Defarge’s hatred against the upper class exploding in acts of rage and barbarity. Also, the words “long ready” indicate the long period of time in which Madame Defarge was desperately eager to seek her hevenge on the class of people that had done her family wrong so many years ago.

In conclusion, the theme of Revolution often presents itself in the many times in which the weak and poor are able to send clear messages of intimidation to the strong and powerful. A small stone of discontent can in fact send a ripple that can build and build into a great tidal wave of REVOLUTION.

===NOTE: for grading purposes, when editing this page, the format would not allow me to indent at the beginning of each paragraph. So whenever there is a line of writing that is not completely filled up, the next line begins another paragraph. I also tried to add topic sentences to make this easier to identify.===