The Illusion of Similarity between Darnay and Carton in A Tale of Two Cities - Research Paper Example

The Illusion of Similarity Between Darnay and Carton in “A Tale of Two Cities” Introduction Charles Dickens' novel “A Taleof Two Cities” presents a variety of characters to readers, but the two most important, and probably most interesting, characters in the novel are seen in Book 2 (Bloom 17). These two characters, Charles Darnay and Sidney Carton, have strikingly similar physical features. This has been established right at the beginning of Book 2. However, as the story progresses, one would see how different these two people are. Still, they are both considered protagonists in the novel (Bloom 21). Their stark similarities and interesting differences play important roles in the story plot (Cotsell 193). This brings the discussion to one of the striking themes of the novel --- the concept of doubles. The Concept of Doubles The novel opens with these lines: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only. (Dickens 13) These opening lines immediately tells the readers the central plot of the story. It is about doubles, and all the similarities and differences of those doubles (Nardo 73). Even the title itself gives away the idea that the events in the story happens in two separate cities. While Dickens uses the theme of doubles to highlight several oppositions in the story, he also utilizes it to reveal similarities (Bloom 23), whether real or illusion. On a personal standpoint, one of the most interesting role of the technique of using doubles in the novel is the way the concept of how one thing could really be another is presented. One of the best examples here is the story surrounding Darnay and Carton. Darnay and Carton can easily be thought as one person due to their physical traits. Yet upon a closer look, one can see how Darnay is actually the embodiment of Carton's possibilities (Hutter 451). As the story progresses, it is easy to feel more positive towards Darnay, and just a bit sympathetic towards Carton. This style brings about what can be called a turning of tables in the end, which is the story's climax, when the good-for-nothing Carton surpasses the heroic image of Darnay (Nardo 74-5). This concept will be discussed further in the next paragraphs. Overview of the Two Characters During the trial in England, Carton brings up the idea that Darnay and he have very similar appearances. He says, “My lord being prayed to bid my learned friend lay aside his wig, and giving no very gracious consent, the likeness became much more remarkable” (Dickens 82). This strategy helps Carton in Darnay's acquittal from the treason charge, thus helping Darnay to wiggle out of a sticky situation. However, one striking fact here is how Dickens shows that no matter how similar they can seem to be, they can also physically look different at times. This is where the differences despite the similarities between the two protagonists start. Darnay is always well-groomed and neat, while Carton is almost always looking drunk and not very presentable (Page 121). This is just one similarity and difference between the two men. Darnay and Carton also share similar beliefs. Both men try to make the most out of life by working for what they believe in and for what they want. Still, despite this another similarity, they have differences as well. While Darnay tries hard to be noble and to keep his dignity and honor clean, Carton sometimes uses misrepresentation and blackmail to get what he needs and wants (Page 124-5). While Darnay may be considered to have achieved what he wants in life, Carton believes that a big part of his life is put to waste due to lack of drive and ambition (Sims 220). Carton says that he is “self-flung away, wasted, drunken, poor creature of misuse” (Dickens 154). Aside from beliefs, their social statuses can also be compared. Darnay is an aristocrat --- successful and wealthy. Carton is a lawyer --- shrewd and uncaring about anyone else (Page 27-8). Their vast differences meet together when they both fall in love with Lucie Manette. Darnay and Carton get attracted to Ms. Manette, who serves then as a witness for the prosecution against Darnay. Carton notices the resemblance of his own features with Darnay, and so presents this to Darnay's lawyer, who in turn uses this as an argument to prove the possibilities of a case of mistaken identity. Darnay is acquitted and it is easy to see that Carton saved him. After the trial, both men fall in love with Lucie, and despite the similarities of their nice feelings towards one specific person, they never liked each other (Sims 221). Towards the end of Book 2, Dickens narrates how the two men declares their feelings for Lucie. Even on this matter, the two men have different ways of showing their love and intentions. Darnay does what one would see as a very gentlemanly act of going straight to Lucie's father, Dr. Manette, and asks him if he would allow Lucie's marriage to him in case Lucie shares the same feelings that he has. Darnay gets a positive reply from Dr. Manette. Carton, on the other hand, goes straight to Lucie and declares his love for her. He tells Lucie that, “[he] does not have to live with her to love her” (Dickens 144). This shows that Carton understands that Lucie deserves the best she can get, and thus does not offer himself as a husband for her. He tells her that he is willing to do anything to ensure that she will be happy even if it means he needs to give up his own life for anything that will make her happy (Dickens 145). This sounds like a big statement coming from a man with such character as Carton. However, this will create a big impact on how readers views Carton towards the end of the story. Brief Discourse on Darnay and Carton Darnay's character may be considered as a protagonist, but the development is “flat.” This does not mean that it is the author's fault that the character development is flat. On the contrary, this serves well the purpose of the story's moral that not all that appears to be is all they are or what they are. Darnay may have the typical characteristics of a hero --- a man of nobility, honor, dignity, intelligence, and wealth. He seems to be a perfect match for Lucie, another “flat” character. Lucie is the perfect wife --- virtuous, compassionate, and devoted. However, these characteristics, no matter how positive, appear to lack the complexities of struggle that pushes one's development. It is rare to find a normal reader to be able to relate so much with Darnay, or even Lucie. Yet, readers will see them as the perfect match --- a perfect hero and a perfect heroine. Sadly, they do not really mirror the essence of human nature (Swisher 154-6). Furthermore, their presence in the story seems to merely highlight Carton's hidden qualities that are neglected because he seems to fall short in comparison to the perfect hero Darnay. On the other hand, Carton may not be the typical hero, but he is the more dynamic character compared to Darnay. His life seems to be a total waste, which is ironic with how the novel ends. He is alcoholic and lazy, but he does show at least full devotion to things he believes in (Swisher 157). For one, despite Stryver's questionable character, Carton sticks it out with him. It may be hard for one to understand his devotion to such a man, but it is easy to realize that people usually do those things for reasons which are also hard to understand (Priti 79). For this, readers can somewhat relate to Carton. Two, Carton is devoted to give anything for Lucie's happiness. This one is easier to understand. This sense of worthlessness and this devotion for the people he cares about lies the foundation for the ultimate self-sacrifice that Carton does at the end of the story (Swisher 160-1). Towards the Ultimate Sacrifice After Darnay and Lucie's wedding, Carton still remains faithful to his love for Lucie. He is able to get a permission to visit as often as he can, and Carton remains to be a part of Lucie's life --- if not the Darnay's (Weigel and Dickens 34). Even after giving birth, Carton is the only non-relative who becomes close to Lucie (Dickens 201). Aside from his love for Lucie, Carton sees the Darnay family as his because he has no family of his own. The Darnays seems to give him something to look forward to and to live for. In Book 3, Darnay goes through a trial again, and this time, he is sentenced to death. It is here that Carton remembers his promise to Lucie. Their similarities in physical appearance provide a way for Carton to be able to switch places with Darnay, thus saving him from his death sentence. However, this means Carton's own death. As he sends himself to the guillotine, he says “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest I go to than I have ever known” (Dickens 355). Through this act, Carton is finally able to see the meaning of his life, and actually feel it despite the fact that he is about to lose it. Redemption Carton's sacrifice may only be a singular event, but it provided the much needed redemption for Carton's character (Weigel and Dickens 43). At the onset, he is just the protagonist who is good towards the perfect hero and heroine of the story. However, all the misdeeds he did before are surpassed by this one great act of self-sacrifice. Not even the perfect hero Darnay can be imagined doing this. It is said that this ending is quite inevitable due to the qualities of Carton's character. Since his life is worthless, and he deems it as worthless, it is easy for him to give it up to redeem his image, or even his life. Does it make the sacrifice insignificant? On a personal viewpoint, no it does not. Since Carton became close to Lucie already, it would have been easy for him to grab this chance to have Lucie for him, without the competition with Darnay's exemplary qualities. Yet, he still decided to let Lucie go on with her calm, perfect life in exchange of his own. With his cunning nature, it would have been understandable of Carton's character to just let Darnay die so Carton can grab the ultimate prize of finally winning Lucie. But instead, Carton decides to do something that appears to be way out of his character to do. This event marks a strong point in the story and provides a moral that readers could not help but be moved by. As Carton is about to die, he says: I see a beautiful city and a brilliant people rising from this abyss, and, in their struggles to be truly free, in their triumphs and defeats, through long years to come, I see the evil of this time and of the previous time of which this is the natural birth, gradually making expiation for itself and wearing out...I see that child who lay upon her bosom and who bore my name, a man winning his way up in that path of life which once was mine. I see him winning it so well, that my name is made illustrious there by the light of his...” (Dickens 355) Carton here reveals an inner character he kept hidden throughout the story. He shows here that somehow, he truly wanted to be something that he was not able to be. Through this sacrifice, he is able to bring new meaning to his life, and to the life of the people he cares about. Conclusion Darnay and Carton are so much alike in several ways. The similarities are not illusions, they are real (Bloom 47). They only appear to be illusions due to the stark differences between these two characters. The differences are plenty, yet, just like the similarities, they seem to be the string that connects the events and characters that will eventually lead to a moral that one can learn from the story (Cotsell 197). Every individual has a role that needs to be played. Just because something appears to be such means that is it all that it can be (Hutter 453). The most suitable example for this is Carton's character. At first, it is easy to disregard him as something that yes, people can relate to, but not as exemplary as Darnay. Come to think of it, Darnay did not do much in the novel aside from being the “perfect image” of a “perfect hero.” What Carton did at the end of the story is both humbling and moving --- humbling because he is already pre-judged according to what he is not able to become, and moved because he does something that is way out of what is expected of him (Lambert 9). Still, it does not mean that Darnay's character is unimportant, for it is Darnay and Carton's similarities and differences that brought about the story's ending (Lambert 9-10). Darnay is the family man, needed and deemed important by his family. Carton is a drunk good-for-nothing shrewd lawyer who, not only does not have a family, but whose life, when sacrificed, not only brings good to the people around him, but redeems his character too. Despite their differences, it appears that both men know they have roles to play and fulfill in order to give more meaning to their lives and to those around them (Weisbach et al. 447). Their similarities therefore not only lies in the basic beliefs that they stand up for, nor in the physical features that they have. They both know what needs to be done, and therefore, their similarity is not an illusion (Bloom 46-8). Works Cited Bloom, Harold. Charles Dickens's a Tale of Two Cities. New York: Chelsea House, 2007. Print. Cotsell, Michael. Critical Essays on Charles Dickens's a Tale of Two Cities. New York: Hall [u.a., 1998. Print. Dickens, Charles. A Tale of Two Cities. New York: Vintage, 2012. Print. Hutter, Albert D. "Nation and Generation in a Tale of Two Cities." Publications of the Modern Language Association of America. 93.3 (1978): 448-462. Print. JOSHI, PRITI. "Mutiny Echoes: India, Britons, and Charles Dickens's a Tale of Two Cities." Nineteenth-century Literature. 62.1 (2007): 48-87. Print. Lambert, Michele. "It Was the Most Confusing to Read; It Became Easier to Understand." Exercise Exchange. 44.2 (1999): 9-10. Print. Nardo, Don. Readings on a Tale of Two Cities. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1997. Print. Page, Norman. A Dickens Companion. Houndsmills: Macmillan, 1995. Print. Sims, Jennifer. "Dickens's a Tale of Two Cities." The Explicator. 63.4 (2005): 219-222. Print. Swisher, Clarice. Readings on Charles Dickens. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1998. Print. Weigel, James, and Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities: Notes. Lincoln (Nebraska: Cliffs Notes, 1996. Print. Weisbach, Arthur, Charles Dickens, Helen J. Estes, and Lee Wyndham. "Review of a Tale of Two Cities." English Journal. 51.6 (1962). Print. Read More