Summer Reading: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

In the novel, A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens, Dickens raises many important lessons throughout the novel. In Book I Chapter III, this incredible passage spoke to me immensely:

"A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other. A solemn consideration, when I enter a great big city by night, that every one of those darkly clustered houses encloses its own secret; that every room in every one of them encloses its own secret; that every beating heart in the hundreds of thousands of breasts there, is, in some of its imaginings, a secret to the heart nearest it! Something of the awfulness, even of Death itself, is referable to this" (p. 14-15).

Doctor Alexandre Manette went through personal sufferings and has been imprisoned for eighteen years. Long-time business partner, Mr. Jarvis Lorry, constructed a mission to bring him back to the real world. Mr. Lorry brought along Dr. Manette's daughter, Lucie Manette, to the destination. In Saint Antoine, he was trapped in a small room above a wine shop owned by Monsieur and Madame Defarge. He sat in a small room, making shoes and unaware of the outside world of social unrest. Dr. Manette slowly returns to a normal lifestyle with Lucie, who is devoted to him and is very compassionate, which helped him raise his self esteem. However, just as many people who have developed and are used to one way of living, find it difficult to adjust. Numerous times, Dr. Manette returned to his once mindless state, making shoes and falling into depression. It was only a mystery as to why he acted that way at times, and it made it very difficult for those closest  to his heart to reach to him. This upset Lucie many times, which forced Mr. Lorry and many more of Lucie's colleagues to keep Dr. Manette's points of mentally returning to prison away from her. After the day of Lucie's wedding, Dr. Manette returned to shoe making for nine nights, by inferring what the trigger was, Mr. Lorry decided to free Dr. Manette by burning all of his shoe making tools.


There were many sacrificial acts throughout the novel, especially of the unexpected hero, Sydney Carton. He is a shrewd man; however, he is also an alcoholic who wasted away his life, then turns to others to pity him. Carton speaks of self- loathe often, making it known that everybody else is better than him. Eventually, his personality takes a turn after he met the empathetic Lucie. She helped him understand that he has the ability to make a change for himself. Little did she know that Carton will change her life forever, as well.

Alexandre Manette and Sydney Carton are significant characters who demonstrate how they are a mystery to others within their lives. They have somehow locked themselves from others' reach, but those closest to their hearts have become an aid for their search for freedom. I can relate this quote to life because humans live in unity. We have our families and friends; however, each and every one of us are unique. Even though we may live among each other, it should not be concluded that we understand a person thoroughly. Everybody has an untold secret, which makes them a mystery to others. Certain things we deem unnecessary to share with those surrounding us, and that's why we define another being for how they act during present experiences. Only time and company determines when a mind opens up.