双城记论文

Great love in A Tale of Two Cities 孙艳杰 Honestly speaking, this is the first time that I read Dickens’s novel. And I found it boring when I read the first dozens of pages, and I didn’t pay much more attention about the title. But things changed as I read more. “It was the best of times, and it was the worst of times. It was the age of wisdom, and it was the age of foolishness. It was the epoch of belief, and it was the epoch of incredulity. It was the season of light, and it was the season of darkness.” These are the beginning words of A Tale of Two Cities. When I read these words, the first idea that came into my mind was “There are so many contrast sentences here”. And I thought these sentences were contradictory. How can the times both be the best and the worst at the same time? How can the both be wisdom and foolishness? But, as I read this book in depth, I know that the two “it”s have different meanings –the first it represents the city of London; the latter represents the Paris city. Now I can understand better the title of this book. Personally, I think it is a story about love – a kind of great love. This story happened against the background of the French Revolution. Dickens used some writing skills – flashback and narration interspersed with flashbacks to unfold this story. Love can cure one of his/her disease. Doctor Manette was imprisoned for the length of nearly 20 years, so that he becomes mentally disordered. He forgot everything – his ex-servant, the old banker – Mr. Lorry, the old business, and even his own name. It was his daughter who took care of him and helped him with love. Then he returned to normal. Love can make an indifferent person become kind-hearted. Mr. Lorry was a man of business, an old banker. He had been trustee of one kind or other for scores of their customers. Doctor Manette was one of the customers. There was no friendship between Mr. Lorry and Doctor Manette, but merely business relations. In short, he had no feelings; he was a mere machine doing business for Tellson’s Bank. He came to Dover to visit Lucie just because it is the requirement of business. But after seeing Lucie – the charming, kind and pitiful girl, Mr. Lorry changed gradually. He was deeply sympathetic to Doctor Manette and Lucie. Also, he was moved by the love between Lucie and her father, and he became their best friend. In the following years, he became the protector of their family. Love can make one forgo his /her profound hatred. Doctor Manette was put to prison by Marquis of Evermonde for nearly 20 years. During this period of time, his wife died two years after he was imprisoned, left little poor Lucie. He even got mental disease because of losing freedom for such long time. All of this was caused by Marquis of Evermonde – the cruel and sinister nobleman. When he was in jail, he wrote the crimes that Evermonde brothers committed, and his strong complaint against them. However, when Charles Darney told him that he was in deep love with Lucie, Doctor Manette even put his hatred aside, saying that he would respect Lucie’s choice. At last, Lucie married Charles Darney. Doctor Manette accepted Darney as his son-in-law although he knew that Darney was the nephew of the man who threw him into prison two decades ago. When Charles was thrown into prison the prison of La Force, and had the danger of being killed, Doctor Manette even did his best to save him. How great he was! Love can give one much more strength to fight against the evil. After knowing that they would be in trouble if continuing to stay in Paris, they planed to leave there. But considering the situation, Mr. Lorry proposed that Miss Pross and Jerry should leave it at 3 o’clock – slightly later than the time they leaved. Here is an extraordinary coincidence. Madame Defarge who only had a desire for vengeance was on the way to visit Lucie and his father. When she arrived there, only Miss Pross was there. She realized that there must be something wrong. So she wanted to open the door of every room to make sure that they were still at home. But , Miss Pross, a straightforward and loyal friend, knew that she must stop the cruel woman, and strike every minute for their running away. So she hugged Madame Defarge tightly so that she was unable to move to check Lucie’s room. They grappled with each other. We all know that the strength of love is far bigger than that of hatred. I n the end, love defeated hatred. There is an old saying which can best describe the situation: People who commit too many crimes will kill themselves. Love can make one become selfless. Sydney Carton fell in love with Lucie at the first sight. But he thought he was not qualified to get Lucie’s love. He was just a little lawyer; he had many bad habits and his life was in a mess. When he knew that Lucie and Charles were in love with each other, what he only would do was to bless her. Even though they were married, Carton didn’t give up this love. Many years passed, Lucie became a mother, and Charles was in great trouble. Lucie’s face was full of anxiety. He cannot bear to see his beloved suffer sadness. So he made up his mind to fulfill his promises. “I told you once, for you I would do anything, I will.” “Remember always there’s a man who could give his life to you, or anyone you love.” Carton left with these words. These words are the sweetest words I ever heard. From these words, I can guess what he would do. And, indeed, he did. He went to prison and exchanged with Charles. The same face helped them. Carton fulfilled his promise to Lucie at the price of his own life. I came to realize how profound his love was. What a selfless person he is! His action is beyond words. Frome this book, I realized that love is the most powerful weapon the evil. Love is the key to for a nation to prosper and last forever!