When the courts serve justice in England, they serve it indiscriminately, with murderers and petty thieves alike receiving the death penalty.Ī king with a large jaw and a queen with a plain face on the throne of England King George III and Queen Charlotte Sophia.Ī king with a large jaw and a queen with a fair face on the throne of France King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. Criminals overrun England: Highwaymen rob seemingly at will, prisoners revolt against their jailers, and violence is answered with more violence. Dickens contrasts France's harsh justice system to England's lax one. A man neglecting to kneel to a distant procession of monks may be condemned to a torturous death for his transgression. In France, though, people pay attention to religious leaders out of fear rather than fascination. In England, people are enthralled with the supernatural, especially with visionaries and ghosts that communicate mystical messages. The differences between the two countries become more pronounced when Dickens compares the concepts of spirituality and justice in each country. However, while their attitudes will result in revolutions for both countries, the American revolution occurs an ocean away, leaving the British infrastructure unscathed and saving the British population from the massive loss of life and the horrors that will take place during the French revolution. For example, both the English and French monarchs - George III and Louis XVI, respectively - seem indifferent to the plight of their people and cannot comprehend any power being great enough to eclipse their divine right to rule. Both countries are simultaneously experiencing very similar and very different situations. His pairings of contrasting concepts such as the "best"and "worst"of times, "Light"and "Darkness,"and "hope"and "despair"reflect the mirror images of good and evil that will recur in characters and situations throughout the novel.Įngland and France in 1775 embody the concept of duality that Dickens outlines in the first paragraph. From the first paragraph, Dickens begins developing the central theme of duality. This first chapter presents the sweeping backdrop of forces and events that will shape the lives of the novel's characters. While the English and French kings and queens carelessly ignore the unrest and misery prevalent in their countries, silent forces guide the rulers and their people toward fate and death. Meanwhile, in England, people give spiritualists and the supernatural more attention than the revolutionary rumblings from American colonists, and an ineffective justice system leads to widespread violence and crime. The breaking point - riotous rebellion - is near, and the populace of France secretly but steadily moves toward revolution. In France, inflation is out of control and an oppressive social system results in intolerable and extreme injustices being committed against average citizens, who believe they have the worst of life. The rulers and ruling classes of both countries may have the best of life, but they are out of touch with the common people and believe that the status quo will continue forever. The year is 1775, and life in England and France seems paradoxically the best and the worst that it can be.
0 kommentar(er)
