Tale of 2 Cities

In A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens the theme of resurrection, returning from the dead, is a central theme that runs throughout the plot of the novel. As the plot unfolds the main characters of Dr. Manette, Charles Darnay, and Sydney Carton all make sacrifices’ to achieve true resurrection on a physical, social, and spiritual basis for themselves and the ones whom they love.

The first book of the novel is entitled “Recalled to Life” an appropriate title because it is the initial example of rebirth and sacrifice. Jarvis Lorry must journey to France to “recall to life” his once dear friend Dr. Alexandre Mannette who was wrongly put in the Bastille for 18 years. The political climate in France at the time of this trip wasn’t the best for a foreigner to make the trip. But regardless of the risk Mr. Lorry is willing to sacrifice his important standing at Tellson’s in order to retrieve his friend. When Mr . Lorry arrives he finds Dr. Mannette as a soul-less shell of his former self. Over the years his condition worsens till he forgets his own name and can only create shoes to fill his time. While he is now free, Dr. Mannette’s complete resurrection doesn’t take place till he is reunited with his daughter. It is Lucie who takes on the task of nursing her father back to health. It is through her love and care that Dr. Mannette is able to come out of the “One Hundred and Five North Tower” mentality into a new life . Lucie promises her father that "you learn that I have to kneel to my honored father, and implore his pardon for never having for his sake striven all day and lain awake and wept all night...weep for it, weep for it!”(57). For five years Lucie sacrifices her life to resurrect her father on a mental level. At the beginning of Book the Second when Dr. Mannette is called to the stand to testify at Charles Darnay’s trial he asserts that he had become familiar to his daughter, when god restored his faculties().

In the second book, The Golden Thread, the...