Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities - Book Report/Review Example

Paper The Tale of Two Cities: A Summary The book en d “The Tale of Two Cities” is all about a man who spent significant amount of time in jail without any apparent reason. He was put into a small room in the most notorious jail of Paris without a trial and he is now released from his imprisonment suddenly. However, he is still a prisoner of the past and because of this reason, he cannot think and consider the possibility of leaving the room. He is apparently unaware of the reality and fact that he has a daughter who is the most beautiful girl in town.

She was left alone by the father eighteen years and those years had been nice to her. She is a perfect girl and she is the one who can help her father in the process of recovery (Dickens, 34). The book encompasses the description of differences which are present in the conditions of Paris and London. The formerly mentioned city is falling apart and the latter is blooming. A historical insight into the conditions of these cities is an added benefit of this work. The character of Dr. Manette plays a notable role in terms of keeping things together in the suffering city with the help of his image as a prisoner of the past.

Nevertheless, the main characters of the story are Dr. Manette and her daughter Lucie. Lucie is a protagonist and her father is an antagonist of the story. The broader plot of the story entailed the divergent environments of Paris and London. The former locality is going through an extremely rough time as there is hunger, poverty and brutality in the city. The people on the other hand, are getting more and unhappy with the government and the condition got worse when the ruler of Evremondes was killed and people are thinking about throwing the steward in jail to rot and the desperate man has written a letter to new ruler but it may be too late for him.

Luckily, Manette and his daughter moved to Paris and the prisoner of the past has realized the fact that he is greatly respected in the city. Everything is started to become normal. Other major characters of the story include Charles Darnay who was a ruler of the city in the era of aristocrats but he had a conscious and therefore, he has to start a new life with the help of opening a shop in downtown France. Another prominent character is Sydney Carton who is a lazy youngster with the degree in law.

However, he also has a striking resemblance with Charles which saved former ruler’s life eventually. Dr. Manette intervened in the trial of Charles and impressed the court towards releasing but the suspect got arrested for the second time but this time, Manette was unable to do anything except watching the sidelines. Charles remained lucky even the second time and he revitalized his freedom with the help of Sydney Carton who sacrificed himself in order to save the convicted. His sacrifice is much heroic to say the least.

The key message of the story emphasizes on the fact that once pained human can be a source of inspiration for others. The leader should not be a great man but he or she is needed to be an exceptional legend. The history of Mandela is the perfect example of the above rule because he was nothing but a political prisoner who suffered a lot during the apartheid which made him a great influence on the local population that followed his instructions out of respect. Conclusively, the story told the reader that a leader should be a great symbol if he needs to be effective in the business of leadership and this way of life requires very notable degree of pain and the characters of Mandela and Manette went through hardships in order to become leaders in the real and fictional world respectively.

I liked the book because it told the story of a past sufferer who healed those in the present by blessing them with his charm and leadership. Works Cited Dickens, Charles. A Tale of Two Cities . London: Chapman & Hall, 1859 Online.