How many words are in the first sentence of a tale of two cities?

How many words are in the first sentence of a tale of two cities?

119 words
A Tale of Two Cities turns 160 this November, but though its first sentence – all 119 words of it – is by far and away its most celebrated feature, beginnings weren’t much dwelled upon when Dickens penned it.

What does the first paragraph of Tale of Two Cities mean?

(A Tale of Two Cities, Para.1, Line, 1) It tells about a time of chaos, conflicts, and despair, as well as happiness. It in fact tells us about the time of extreme opposites without any in-betweens.

How is the first sentence in a tale of two cities an example of parallelism?

The first line of The Tale of Two Cities is an example of parallelism because it contains clauses that are nearly identical in structure. Also, each pair of clauses contains contrasting content. Within each couplet, the meaning of the first clause opposes the meaning of the second clause.

What is the last sentence in a tale of two cities?

The last line of the novel is spoken by Sydney Carton before he is executed at 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 that I go to than I have ever known.” This is another iconic line from the book that is loved by many.

Is a tale of two cities?

A Tale of Two Cities is an 1859 historical novel by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution….A Tale of Two Cities.

Cover of serial Vol. V, 1859
Author Charles Dickens
Set in London and Paris, 1775–93
Published Weekly serial April – November 1859 Book 1859
Publisher London: Chapman & Hall

What is the first line in a Christmas carol?

Marley was dead
A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens “Marley was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner.

Why is the first paragraph of the tale of two cities important?

From the first paragraph, Dickens begins developing the central theme of duality. 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.

What does the phrase a tale of two cities mean?

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” is the opening line of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. That book was probably a required reading for most of us in our adolescence that went over our heads at the time. The phrase suggests an age of radical opposites taking place at the same time.

How does the opening paragraph of A Tale of Two Cities reflect the historical era?

The opening two paragraphs describe the condition in England and France in 1775, the year the novel begins, establishing this as a historical novel (it was published in 1859). Dickens points out that the condition he describes is very much like the “present period,” or his own times, too, universalizing his theme.

Is Lucie Manette too good to be true?

She’s already on her way to England when Miss Pross acts as her proxy in killing Madame Defarge. For contemporary readers, however, Lucie may seem just a little too good to be true. Lucie’s deep sympathy for Carton’s pain doesn’t cloud her realism: she couldn’t ever marry the man herself.

What book ends mid sentence?

Score

1 Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol 3.96 avg rating — 73,983 ratings score: 893, and 9 people voted
3 The Castle by Franz Kafka 3.95 avg rating — 49,734 ratings score: 595, and 6 people voted
4 Finnegans Wake by James Joyce 3.67 avg rating — 11,972 ratings score: 487, and 5 people voted

What is the moral lesson of A Tale of Two Cities?

The two main moral themes in A Tale of Two Cities are the possibility of redemption and the importance of compassion. The redemption theme is most obvious in the arc of Sydney Carton, whose love for Lucie Manette is entirely selfless.

What is the setting of A Tale of Two Cities?

A Tale of Two Cities Book Summary The novel opens in the year 1775 during exceptional social unrest in both England and France. A man named Jerry Cruncher, who is working for Tellson’s Bank, intercepts the mail coach with a message for Jarvis Lorry. The message simply reads “Wait at Dover for Mam’selle.”

Why did Charles Dickens write A Tale of Two Cities?

As you’ll have noticed from the opening sentence to A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens was certainly not afraid of piling on the words at times. Brevity and simplicity are the hallmarks of many great authors, but not him. There is a bit of an urban myth that this was due to money: that Dickens was paid by the word and so wrote more.

Why does A Tale of Two Cities end with a cliffhanger?

A Tale of Two Cities was produced in serial form, so it was in Dickens’s interest to end each chapter with a cliffhanger so that his readers would purchase the next installment.

How is Death personified in A Tale of Two Cities?

Death is personified as a Farmer and Fate as a Woodman, powers who silently work their way through the French countryside. The distance provided by the tone of a fable was desirable for Dickens since his novel followed the historical events so closely in time. A Tale of Two Cities was published just 67 years after the events it describes.