The Metamorphosis of Sydney Carton - 1458 Words

Sydney Carton, â€Å"one of Dickens’s most loved and best-remembered characters† (Stout 29), is not just another two-dimensional character; he seems to fly off the pages and into real life throughout all the trials and tribulations he experiences. He touches many hearts, and he even saves the life of Charles Darnay, a man who looks surprisingly similar to him. In Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities, Sydney Carton is a selfish man of habit, a cynic, a self-loathing drunk, and an incorrigible barrister until he meets Lucie Manette; throughout the novel Sydney is overcome by his noble love for Lucie and transforms from a cynic to a hero as he accomplishes one of the most selfless acts a man can carry out. The elusive Sydney Carton is depicted as a†¦show more content†¦Carton is â€Å"the jackal† to Stryver’s lion. According to Darwin, a jackal is â€Å"an animal not destined by nature to exist, and carrying with it the provisions for deathâ₠¬  (Petch 28). Sydney accepts that he will never rise from his position as â€Å"the jackal†. He assumes he has no more chance of standing up to Stryver than a â€Å"real jackal may† have â€Å"of rising to be a lion† (Dickens 203). Sydney’s position as a lawyer persuades his feelings of service. He fully shows the â€Å"ideology of service† as he gives his life to the service of his clients. To serve others, a person must have a sense of self-sacrifice; therefore, his profession as a lawyer â€Å"supplies a professional context for Carton’s self-sacrifice† (Petch 38). If not for Sydney’s profession and his self-sacrificial sense of duty, the end of the novel may have been extremely different. While Sydney struggles with his drinking and depression, he finds comfort in one person: Lucie Manette. At night, as he is stumbling drunkenly down the streets, he unconsciously winds up in front of the Manette household (Dickens 144). Why does he do this? He does this because he is in love with Miss Lucie Manette. As much as he wants to act on his feelings for her, he feels as if he is not honorable, and he believes he would bring her down with him. If it had been possible, Miss Manette, that you could have returned the love of the man you see before you—self-flung away, wasted, drunken, poor creatureShow MoreRelatedChristianity in a Tale of Two Cities Essay1701 Words   |  7 Pagesvalues are threatened and sometimes completely overlooked. In this essay, I will show how Dickens interweaves his moral agenda of Christian values into the novel by using contrasts, symbols, and the motif of doubles as well as the evolution of Sydney Carton into a Christ-like figure with the goal of inspiring the reader to the point of evolving into an ethically good human being. The Motif of Doubles: Darkness and Light as Symbols of Good and Evil ...it was the season of Light, it wasRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book David Copper Field By Charles Dickens Essay2026 Words   |  9 Pagesscintillating love story of selfless devotion. Even after we have turned the last page these line stay with us forever, haunting and beautiful at the same time. I will be ready to give my life to keep a life you love. â€Æ' CHAPTER 2 METAMORPHOSIS IN A TALE OF TWO CITIESâ€Æ' METAMORPHOSIS IN A TALE OF TWO CITIES It was the best of times it was the worst of times. The story begins in the streets of Paris which echoes with the wails of the hungry and the poor. A young girl has come to take her father home. In anRead MoreThe French Revolution2967 Words   |  12 Pageshandsome man by the name of Charles Darnay is under trial for treason, and Dr. Manette and Lucie are witnesses. The case is going badly for Darnay, despite the efforts of his lawyer Mr. Stryver. However, he is saved after Stryver’s colleague, Sydney Carton, identifies the uncanny physical likeness between the two men, impairing the ability of the court to reasonably convict Darney as a spy. He is acquitted, and the Manette family celebrates. Lucie’s beauty attracts the three men as suitors, and overRead MoreFundamentals of Hrm263904 Words   |  1056 Pages after filing her complaint, Shaub was subjected to even more abuse, this time including the sabotage of the brakes of her truck. Moreover, as a general rule, when a package is over a certain weight, two FedEx emp loyees are expected to handle the carton. When Shaub had such a package, she found that no one would help her. 82 Chapter 3 Equal Employment Opportunity monies for her lost wages, for the pain and suffering she endured, and $2.5 million in punitive damages as punishment because FedEx