Redemtion and salvation in a t
Redemtion and salvation in a tA inspiration in life that many people cling to is, that no matter how rough
and demoralizing things get, there is always a possibility of redemption and
salvation. Many characters in the novel, A Tale Of Two Cities, are sure that their own death or mental destruction is at hand but somehow they escape the grasp of death. Dr. Manette who has been imprisoned for eighteen years is completely insane and is lovingly nursed back to health. Characters such as Charles Darnay slip through the fingers of death more than once. Redemption and salvation do not always come in the form of being saved from death. Sydney Carton, a man of great potential, has wasted his life and ends up giving his life, in an act of redemption. Dickens, in A Tale Of Two Cities, shows that no matter how bleak a person's life might seem, redemption and salvation are always possible.
Dickens develops the theme of redemption and salvation through Dr.
Manette's painful experience in prison and his resurrection back into society. The famous quote, "Recalled to life" (Dickens page 8), is used many times in A Tale Of Two Cities to describe Dr. Manette's escape from sure death in the Bastille. Dr. Manette's story begins when he is imprisoned unjustly for eighteen years. The solitary time spent in the prison waiting for his certain death is so excruciating it makes Manette go insane. When Dr. Manette is finally released he does not even know his own name: "one hundred and five north tower" (Dickens p 37) is all he says when asked. Mr. Lorry and Lucie Manette have the emotional stressful task of restoring Dr. Manette back to health: "to restore him to life, love, duty, rest, comfort" (Dickens p 22). It took more than five years for Mr. Lorry and Lucie to reinstate Dr. Manette's health and even still he has a lot of trouble dealing with flashbacks of his agonizing years in prison: "old air of avoidance and dread had lately passed over him, like a cold wind" (Dickens p 178). The redemption and salvation barely attained by Dr. Manette left deep emotional scars and whenever they are jolted Dr. Manette goes back to his deranged state of mind. The shoemaker bench, Dr. Manette used in prison, has immense psychological effect on him. It helps the reader understand Dr. Manettes state of mind before he is saved and nursed back to health. The bench represents how insane Dr. Manette has become. Even though he is a man of great intelligence, he worked day after day for eighteen years on one shoe maker's bench. He has been forced to give up on
life and wait in his cell, "on hundred and five north tower" (Dickens p 37), for his certain death. The redemption and salvation of Dr. Manettes body, mind and soul...
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