There are two cities in life, and one lives in death. A person lives forever.
"This is the best time and the worst time." The first sentence at the beginning of A Tale of Two Cities has been quoted countless times. But I guess people who know this sentence don't know what kind of story A Tale of Two Cities is about, and they don't know why they say this sentence. If you want to understand the original meaning of this sentence and why you said you wrote this classic sentence, you should naturally look at the original text.
"-in short, that era is too similar to today's era." This sentence actually explains the two classic questions above: why do you say this and to whom. This is also one of the reasons why the novel was born. Dickens hopes to describe the disaster brought by the French Revolution through such a novel, so as to express his worries and warn Britain of the dangerous situation. A revolutionary history, representing two cities in two countries and several turbulent people, constitutes the main element of the novel.
Although A Tale of Two Cities is a classic novel, because it clearly points out that the background of this revolution is the French Revolution, the expression of the revolution is regarded as the author's historical view. This is the focus of many controversies about this novel. In his novels, Dickens not only shows the cruelty of the nobility with exquisite pen and ink, but also shows the irrational destruction of the revolutionary masses. In his view, the revolution is an oppression, not another oppression, and a direct and heavy bloody riot replaces another bloody riot. A series of descriptions of the storming of the Bastille and the rioting people-bloody, cruel, cunning and vicious-are the most striking places in the novel.
Dickens used a lot of pen and ink to describe the evil of the mob, showing his hatred of the mob, which can be said to be hatred of the revolution to some extent. Of course, as a humanist, Dickens also pointed out the good medicine to save the world: love. This kind of love is reflected in the novel, which includes personal feelings such as affection, love and friendship, as well as the kind of fraternity that abandons the nobility and saves the people. Among them, the most brilliant is the description of Caton's love.
I like Caton very much. In fact, Caton is the embodiment of Dickens. He first thought of Caton and some spirit in him, and then conceived the novel. So, what kind of person is Caton? The novel describes: "The sun shows compassion for the people, and the compassionate Ran Ran rises, and the scenery it sees is no worse than this person. He is brilliant and emotionally noble, but he has no chance to display his talents, express his feelings, make a difference or seek his own happiness. He knows his crux, but he resigned himself to his fate and let himself waste his time year after year. "
This is a self-indulgent young man who has lost his talent and youth. Why does he indulge himself? There seems to be no explanation in the novel. Since he appeared, there is no description of his family background. Personally, I think this man represents Dickens himself and does not need to be described too much-Caton's fall stems from his disappointment with the deteriorating society. Before going to the guillotine, he said, "I saw the evil of this era and the evil of the previous era that caused this evil result, and gradually atoned and disappeared."
Caton, a pessimist abandoned by himself, suddenly appeared when his friend was in trouble and the husband of his beloved woman was about to be guillotined. He saved the husband of his beloved woman at the critical moment at the cost of his own life.
Isn't this the love of Christ, atoning for death? In fact, Caton in the novel did say in a biblical tone before he died, "Resurrection is in me, life is in me, and those who believe in me will be resurrected even if they die;" Whoever lives and believes in me will never die. " This is Dickens' prescription for the "worst times", but it is an ideal after all. Some people say that without the existence and action of Sidney Caton, A Tale of Two Cities, as an immortal work, would lose its value and brilliance. I totally agree.
Perhaps, everyone has two cities in his life, and one of them lives in death. A person lives forever.