The Tale of Two Cities Book the Third Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Tale of Two Cities Book the Third - Essay Example Dickens brings both his beginning and ending together in this way, making the entire novel itself a double. Carlton, who himself is a double with Darnay, recognizes that his sacrifice is far, far better than the selfish life he has led, and that it provides him with a chance at resurrection, another theme of the novel. Darnay is what Carlton has failed to become, but by the end of the novel, Carlton’s goodness has surpassed Darnay’s. Dickens continues this particular double with the prophecy that Darnay and Lucie will have another child—a son, whom they will name after Carlton and whom will become the kind of person Carlton did not become in his lifetime. Their daughter, â€Å"Little Lucie,† is also a double, of her mother. Darnay is arrested not once, but twice, before Carlton is executed in his place. Other characters in this novel are also doubles: the loving and nurturing Lucie as opposed to the hateful and murderous Madame Defarge, for example, which underscores his themes. It can be said, with good evidence, that doubles is Dickens’ main motif he uses in this novel. The entire novel is constructed as one big double, making the emotional impact even more powerful. Dickens is a genius, both in the way he constructs this novel, and in the way he presents his characters and themes, throughout the entire novel and especially in the third and final part.