A Tale of Two Cities - First Chapter Analysis
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”, this is the opening sentence of “A Tale of Two Cities” of Charles Dickens and it refers to the time of the French Revolution, this is a well known sentence that is meant to start the description of the period and this assignment is about the description of the settings in which the following stories contained in the book will take place, there is more than one setting in the story (London and Paris), but along the story we will see the comparison and similarities of this settings.
Chapter 1
The Period.
1. Chronological setting of the chapter.
The chronological setting of the chapter is the year 1775, a few years before the French Revolution, this period of time could be considered the time when the factors leading to the French Revolution began to emerge, by that time France was ruled by Louis XVI, who later was executed for treason, and England was ruled by George III.
2. Explain how the severity of social conditions in England and France is.
During that time the social conditions in England and France were harsh and the difference between the upper and lower classes was great, in England there were many burglaries every day and while the Royalty remained powerful people in the cities suffered.
3. How the writer satirized the Nature of English Traditions.
We can see how the writer satirizes the nature of English traditions by the way it criticizes the lack of a legal system, about England it is told that while the King and Queen stand powerful in their mighty thrones, there is scarcely order in the city, while in Paris a youth is tortured for not kneeling when a procession of monks was passing by, in London hundreds of crimes were committed daily, there was a disturbing lack of order and respect for the law, and you couldn’t go out to the city unarmed, at that time England was considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest, nation of the world, however it suffered of great domestic issues
Chapter 1
The Period.
1. Chronological setting of the chapter.
The chronological setting of the chapter is the year 1775, a few years before the French Revolution, this period of time could be considered the time when the factors leading to the French Revolution began to emerge, by that time France was ruled by Louis XVI, who later was executed for treason, and England was ruled by George III.
2. Explain how the severity of social conditions in England and France is.
During that time the social conditions in England and France were harsh and the difference between the upper and lower classes was great, in England there were many burglaries every day and while the Royalty remained powerful people in the cities suffered.
3. How the writer satirized the Nature of English Traditions.
We can see how the writer satirizes the nature of English traditions by the way it criticizes the lack of a legal system, about England it is told that while the King and Queen stand powerful in their mighty thrones, there is scarcely order in the city, while in Paris a youth is tortured for not kneeling when a procession of monks was passing by, in London hundreds of crimes were committed daily, there was a disturbing lack of order and respect for the law, and you couldn’t go out to the city unarmed, at that time England was considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest, nation of the world, however it suffered of great domestic issues