Tale of Two Cities

¶ … Tale of Two Cities

The opening sentences of Charles Dickens's novel A Tale of Two Cities is famous because its writing draws the reader into the world depicted in the novel with gripping imagery and remarkable writing. The novel was written during a time of great change, and rather than just telling us "this story takes time during a period of great change," Dickens shows us all the conflicts going on. While the first image, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...," is the most well-known the first paragraph contains seven such opposites. While the writing is beautiful and well-crafted, the words say less than they seem: what does it mean to be the "best" or "worst" of times? Without the beautiful writing, the paragraph would open with a string of cliches.

Dickens then goes on to note other parallels, such as superficial similarities between rulers of countries. The parallels, however, make important points about the two countries in which the story is set, England and France. They also serve to remind the reader of the great philosophical turmoil going on at the time. This was the Age of Enlightenment, a time that set not only philosophies but views about how people should be governed in opposition to each other. In such a time, the newer ways of thinking were diametrically opposed to what had come before it. The opposites in the opening of the book set the reader up to read about a period of turmoil and change.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" is true on several levels. For those who were moving into the growing middle class, it may have been the best of times, but for those who remained impoverished, life was still grinding and difficult. It was both the age of wisdom and the age of foolishness. Some philosophers brought brilliant new ideas out of the Age of Enlightment, ideas that would transform the Western world, but some people only had a passing familiarity with the new ideas and only used them for glib or superficial conversation. To them, the new ideas were just another fad.

It was both "the epoch of belief" and "the epoch of incredulity." Some people remained devoted to religious beliefs, while others were openly questioning the nature not only of God but of existence itself. "The season of Light" and "the season of Darkness" may have referred to the stirrings of democracy, a shift that would bring great turmoil to France. France would not achieve democracy easily, and many people would suffer along the way. With all these changes going on, it was the spring of hope for those who embraced all the new changes, sometimes naively thinking that great ideas would be easily adopted, but the season of despair for many whose lives had no hope of improving.