A Tale of Two CitiesCharles Dickens

• Born February 7, _____________

• Died June 9, ________________

• Famous writer and _____________________

________________________

Charles Dickens

• Dickens was raised in _____________________.

• His ___________________was in debtor’s prison.

• His _____________ and _________________________

eventually joined their father in debtor’s prison.

Charles DickensCHILDHOOD

• At the age of ______, he was forced to drop out of school

to work.

• He was sent to Warren’s Blacking Factory, where he

worked _________ hour shifts.

• His job was to paste labels on pots of ____________________

____________________ _______________________.

“The blacking-warehouse …was a crazy, tumble-down old house, abutting of course on the river, and literally overrun with rats. Its wainscoted rooms, and its rotten floors and staircase, and the old grey rats swarming down in the cellars, and the sound of their

squeaking and scuffling coming up the stairs at all times, and the dirt and decay of the place, rise up visibly before me, as if I were there again.” –Charles Dickens

Charles DickensFACTORY WORK

• Dickens’ family received an ________________________,

allowing his family to leave debtor’s prison.

• However, his mother did not __________________________

remove him from the factory. She fought to send him back.

• Later, he worked for a lawyer and as a _________________.

"I never afterwards forgot, I never shall forget, I never can forget, that my mother was warm for my being sent back.“ –Charles Dickens

Charles DickensHIS MOTHER, LATER WORK

• These experiences never left Dickens.

• His novels include depictions of ____________________,

debtor’s prison, cruel adults, ______________________,

courtrooms, and ______________________________.

• His sympathy toward the ___________________, especially

poor ______________________ is a strong theme in his writings.

"I had no advice, no counsel, no encouragement, no consolation, no assistance, no support, of any kind, from anyone, that I can call to mind, as I hope to go to heaven!“

–from David Copperfield, Dickens’ most autobiographical novel

Charles DickensWRITING INFLUENCES

A Tale of Two CitiesHistorical Background

The Reign of Terror

Estates of the Realm• First Estate

o __________________________

o __________________________

• Second Estate

o __________________________

o __________________________

• Third Estate

o __________________________

o __________________________

Leading to Revolution

• Third Estate

o Heavily ______________(only estate that was taxed)

o Politically under-represented

o The _________________were devastated by

__________shortages

• The Third Estate grew discontent with the

______________lifestyle of ________________.

Revolution Begins - 1789Significant Historical Events

• Tennis Court Oath (June)

• Storming of the Bastille(July)

• Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (August)

• Women’s March on Versailles (October)

Tennis Court Oath - June• Members of the Third Estate were locked out

of the Estates-General meeting

• 576 of the 577 members signed a pledge in

an indoor tennis court

• They took an oath "not to separate, and to

reassemble wherever circumstances require, until the constitution of the kingdom is

established.“

• Renamed themselves the National Assembly

Storming the Bastille - July

• The Bastille was a ____________in the center of Paris.

• Symbol of royal _______________________and the

________________ of monarchy.

• A mob of citizens stormed the Bastille.

• Only 7 prisoners, but a lot of _____________________.

(_____ tons)

After the Bastille• The king was informed of the storming the next

morning by one of his dukes.

"Is it a ____________?" asked Louis XVI.

The duke replied: "No sire, it is a

________________________.”

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen - August

• Fundamental document of the Revolution

• First step toward writing constitution

• Defines individual human rights

• Collective rights of all estates of the realm as universal

• Adopted by the National Assembly (political leaders of Third Realm) after the Tennis Court Oath

March on Versailles - Oct• Women in a Paris marketplace were angered

by the high price and scarcity of bread

• Grew into a mob of thousands

• Ransacked the city armory for weapons

• Marched to Versailles to confront the King

The Revolutionaries

• ______________________________________

• ______________________________________

• ______________________________________

• ______________________________________

The Red Cap• A Red Cap, also known as ______________________cap

or ____________________cap

• Brimless felt cap, conical with the tip pulled forward

• Alludes to ________________manumission of slaves

o Freed slave receives the cap as symbol of liberty

• French revolutionaries wore it at the _________________.

The “Jacques”• “Jacques” was a ______________ _____________

used by the revolutionaries to identify other

revolutionaries

• Common name representing

the common citizen

• Provided ________________________

Reign of Terror

• The most __________________period of the Revolution.

• Lasted approximately one year:

Sept ___________ to July ____________

• Mass _________________ of “enemies of the revolution”

o 16,594 executed by guillotine in France

o 2,639 by guillotine in Paris

• Another _________________ executions across France.

Madame Guillotine

• A __________________ of the revolution

• Many nobles (_____________________)

_______________ France.

Tumbril• “Rude carts, bespattered with rustic mire…the Farmer, Death,

had already set apart to be his tumbrils of the Revolution.”

• “The tumbrils now jolted heavily, filled with Condemned…all red wine for La Guillotine, all daily brought into light from the dark

cellars of the loathsome prisons, and carried to her through the streets to slake her devouring thirst. Liberty, equality, fraternity,

or death;—the last, much the easiest to bestow, O Guillotine!”

Tricoteuse

• French for “________________ ______________.”

• Nickname for the women who

regularly attended executions.

• Sat beside the ___________________.

• They were morbidly calm, knitting

between executions.

A Tale of Two CitiesAbout

Structure

Unpacking Book the First

About A Tale of Two Cities• ______________, A Tale of Two Cities published

• __________ – __________, Setting of the book

• ______ chapters

• Published in _________ weekly installments (see p. 19)

from April1859 to November1859

• Novel format: ______ Books (see p. 5)

o Book the _________________ (6 chapters)

o Book the _________________ (24 chapters)

o Book the _________________ (15 chapters)

Dover Mail

White Cliffs of Dover

Recalled to Life: to remember something from the past

: to order someone to return

: to ask people to return a product with a defect or problem

Temple Bar

Tellson’s Bank

Characters

• Jarvis Lorry—Banker at Tellson’s Bank of London, trusted friend of the Manettes

• Jerry Cruncher—“odd job man” for Tellson’s

• Lucie Manette—Dr. Manette’s daughter

• Miss Pross—Lucie’s servant who cared for her during Dr. Manette’s imprisonment

• Dr. Manette—Lucie’s father who was imprisoned for eighteen years in Paris

• The Marquis St. Evermonde—Cruel member of French aristocracy

• Mr. Stryver—London trial lawyer

• Sydney Carton—Drunken lawyer, works for Stryver

• Ernest Defarge—Paris wine shop owner, former servant of Dr. Manette

• Madame Defarge—Wife of Ernest Defarge

1. The Period: In the year 1775 conditions were brutal for the people of England and France. Both were ruled by a king and queen and the times were often violent and terrible. In France, the nobles lived in luxury and were sure that they and the king ruled by divine right and that nothing would ever change. The general public suffered from starvation, disease, and deprivation and were growing impatient for change.

2. The Mail: While in route from London to Paris by way of Dover, Mr. Lorry of Tellson’s Bank receives a cryptic message from the bank’s messenger, Jerry Cruncher. Mr. Lorry responds to the message, “Wait at Dover for Mam’selle,” with his own cryptic reply, “RECALLED TO LIFE.”

3. The Night Shadows: Continuing his journey, Lorry holds imagined conversations with someone (Dr. Manette) about this person’s feelings and future hopes after being buried for eighteen years.