Darnay Essay
Darnay Essay
Sometimes one must make a decision that will change his life or lives of the people around him. Few people are given the opportunity to make as dramatic a decision as our protagonist, Charles Darnay, in Charles Dickens’, A Tale of Two Cities. Darnay is faced with a life or death decision that could leave his children fatherless, and his wife alone. He could also easily meet his own demise upon his return to France. If he remains in England, with his family intact, can he live with himself? If Gabelle is executed at the hands of the revolutionaries in his place, will Darnay be able to live out his chosen life as husband and father? Darnay needs to weigh these decisions wisely because the lives of so many others hang in the balance.
As Darnay receives the letter from Gabelle, his sense of Honor and conscience comes into play. It was “The peril of an old servant and a good one”(267) with all of the things that Gabelle has done for him, he owes it to him to save him. Gabelle is like family to Darnay, and to leave him there to die, would be wrong. Gabelle was not only put in Darnay's place, but Gabele, “He had oppressed no man, he had imprisoned no man; he was so far from having harshly exacted payment of his dues”(269). Gabelle is wrongly imprisoned and he cannot escape without the help of Darnay. Eventually Charles “had been brought to the pointed comparison of himself with the brave old gentleman in whom duty was so strong”(270). Darnay is comparing himself to Mr. Lorry who even when he was old, decided he too would go on a journey, not nearly as perilous of course, but he figures if Mr Lorry is brave enough in his old age, so is he. Darnay owes a great debt to Gabelle even if it results in both of their deaths.
On the other hand, when Darnay reads the letter written from Gabelle, he realizes that Gabelle is in prison. When Darnay learns of this,”there was a latent uneasiness in Darnay’s mind was roused vigorously to life by this letter”(266). It
Sometimes one must make a decision that will change his life or lives of the people around him. Few people are given the opportunity to make as dramatic a decision as our protagonist, Charles Darnay, in Charles Dickens’, A Tale of Two Cities. Darnay is faced with a life or death decision that could leave his children fatherless, and his wife alone. He could also easily meet his own demise upon his return to France. If he remains in England, with his family intact, can he live with himself? If Gabelle is executed at the hands of the revolutionaries in his place, will Darnay be able to live out his chosen life as husband and father? Darnay needs to weigh these decisions wisely because the lives of so many others hang in the balance.
As Darnay receives the letter from Gabelle, his sense of Honor and conscience comes into play. It was “The peril of an old servant and a good one”(267) with all of the things that Gabelle has done for him, he owes it to him to save him. Gabelle is like family to Darnay, and to leave him there to die, would be wrong. Gabelle was not only put in Darnay's place, but Gabele, “He had oppressed no man, he had imprisoned no man; he was so far from having harshly exacted payment of his dues”(269). Gabelle is wrongly imprisoned and he cannot escape without the help of Darnay. Eventually Charles “had been brought to the pointed comparison of himself with the brave old gentleman in whom duty was so strong”(270). Darnay is comparing himself to Mr. Lorry who even when he was old, decided he too would go on a journey, not nearly as perilous of course, but he figures if Mr Lorry is brave enough in his old age, so is he. Darnay owes a great debt to Gabelle even if it results in both of their deaths.
On the other hand, when Darnay reads the letter written from Gabelle, he realizes that Gabelle is in prison. When Darnay learns of this,”there was a latent uneasiness in Darnay’s mind was roused vigorously to life by this letter”(266). It