|
When creating a story many authors, like Charles Dickens, show and express
their feelings on certain topics through their writings. Charles Dickens uses
this technique as a universal translator for all of his writings for his readers
as he expresses his disgusted views on the judicial system in a Tale of Two
Cities. Through literary devices Dickens is able to show us the unfairness of
the judicial system, during the French revolution as he creates this disgust
tone in chapter three of book two. During this time the independence that is so
renown in the United States in the 20th century, was revoked from most citizens
during the 1700’s. Charles Dickens felt that everyone should be treated equal
and receive fair trials for the acts they are accused of. The rest of France
however thought differently. In chapter three book two, Charles Dickens uses the
blue flies as symbolism for the courtroom. Excluding Mr. Darnay, the people of
the court were deceitful and untrustworthy. Even the judge in this chapter was
accusing the innocent individual, creating an unfair trial. This corruption
disgusted Dickens so bad that he would compare the people in the courtroom to an
item so revolting that flies would gather around them as they spoke of their
evasiveness and favoritism. This represented a symbol of squalor and waste as
Dickens describes it.
His thought went so far into detail that he was able to
give the readers a perception of this destructive justice called a courtroom.
Another way Dickens adequately conveys his feelings toward the system is how the
people in the courtroom perceived about Mr. Darnay and his punishment. Dickens
helps us to see the coldness in the court when he says: “The accused who was
--and knew he was-being mentally hanged, beheaded and quartered by everybody
there, neither flinched at the situation, nor assumed any theatrical air in it.”
Dickens explains to the reader that the people in the courtroom were aware of
his punishment and did not concern themselves that he would be put to death in
such a cruel manner. It would be just a normal day for the townspeople. In fact,
they would pay for the hanging of the man and cheer afterwards. This sickened
Dickens to see such barbaric acts towards another member of the community, that
he would expose the court so bluntly. The feeling of the court was diminutive of
heart that Dickens would reveal, to the last detail, of cruelty for the readers
to vision. During a time of so called “creative differences” of people and a
time of “barbaric humanitarians,” it could be assumed that Charles Dickens
seemed advanced in his way of pondering the way a society should live. He was
able to see past social differences between people and live different than the
world around him. He accomplished this task so well that even an average
individual of the 20th century would not be able to perceive nor consider.
|
