

Essay by veronique03High School, 10th gradeA+, January 2004

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A Tale of Two Cities is a book inspired by the time period right before the beginning of the French Revolution that began in 1789. When the story begins, it is a dark, cold, and foggy night in late November of 1775. Mr. Jarvis Lorry, the main character, is leaving London for Paris in a coach for a business trip when he is approached by a ghastly, indefinite figure. This unidentified person turns out to be man named Jerry with a message for Jarvis. The message informs Lorry that Lucie's, his adopted daughter's, father is alive and in Paris. This mysterious and frightening setting prepares you for the confusing and appealing introduction to the main characters and the plot. This setting is important because it reveals what life was like in this time period like in the beginning line, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" (ch1).

There was a humungous gap between the lower, poor class and the upper, wealthy class. The bigger class, the lower class, suffered from many problems. Some of these problems were hunger, unemployment, too much work, and it was overcrowding in their living areas. During this depressing time, poor people were mistreated if they were found guilty of or suspected of revolt.

In the beginning of the novel, Mr. Jarvis Lorry is on his way to reunite Dr. Manette and his daughter Lucie. Dr. Manette has never known his daughter or anything about her due to his wrongful imprisonment for eighteen long, lonely years. He spent most of his daughter's life in an attic producing shoes. Then, five years after the reunion of Dr. Manette and Lucie, Lucie marries Charles Darnay. Sydney Carton, the defense lawyer that is drunk often, secret loves Lucie too. The night before...