A Tale of Two Cities

A Tale of Two Cities is a novel by Charles Dickens about the French Revolution. The plot constantly switches between the two cities of London and Paris, showing the contrast between the two. While London is very orderly and prosperous, Paris is in turmoil and poverty stricken. Themes reflected within this work are the need for sacrifice and the possibility for growth and rebirth. Both themes are tied together in proving that however difficult and destructive revolutions and sacrifice may be, they result in positive change for society and the individual. A strong example of this theme is Sydney Carton. At the beginning of the novel Carton is seen by others as a lazy, alcoholic attorney with no interest in his activities or life. The only interest he develops is in his love for Lucie, which leads to a dynamic transformation of character. Both Darnay and Carton are in love with Lucie; even though Lucie decides to marry Darnay, Carton still acts towards Darnay to save his life. By dressing as Darnay and essentially sacrificing his life for him proves the change in which Carton undergoes by valuing life another's life. By using Carton as well as the contrast between the two cities of Paris and France, Dickens shows his belief in rebirth being possible for everyone as well as the belief that while revolutions involve death and losses, the result of change is worth the hard times.

"'It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest I go to than I have ever known'" (293).

This passage, spoken by Carton before dying on the Guillotine, is in a way his revelation and realization of his drastic character change. Living a life of being undetermined, lazy, drunk, and many other unattractive traits, Carton's end is a drastic turnaround. Giving the ultimate sacrifice of death for another and a society is better than he has ever done. He has learned the importance of being a good person, however, unfortunately this realization has taken place at the event of his death. This realization makes it a far better rest than he has ever known. Carton was dying at the Guillotine is for Darnay, Lucie, and the good of society. Carton sees the city of Paris as a "beautiful city and a brilliant people from this abyss" and makes this one of his drives for sacrifice. This final sentence illustrates Cartons final transformation and good intentions in result of his death.

Personally, I found A Tale of Two Cities a very difficult novel to get through. I am unfortunately not accustomed to reading aged literature and find it a very trying process. While I tried very hard to understand this novel, the writing style and detail lost me at times. The many different characters being randomly introduced along with the constant change of cities also added to my confusion. With many key events occurring, the over development and description caused me to lose sight of what was going on at times. For example, the explanation of the mail getting to Mr. Lorry went on and on. Overall, I found the plot a very good one that portrayed a very good message. Had it not been for the writing style and constant detail throughout the novel, I would have most likely enjoyed this novel because of the great plot and lesson in the end.

The Importance of Being Earnest

Oscar Wilde's play, The Importance of Being Earnest is a "trivial comedy for serious people". This play is filled with humor and meaningless fights over unimportant matters, which Wilde uses to mock the characters, or the rich Victorian society. It truly reflects the real importance of being earnest. Earnest is a word that means honest and sincere. One thinks of a person as being earnest when they are selfless, humble, thoughtful, and overall good people. In contrast, the characters in this work are vastly opposite. They are obsessed with appearance and status, fake, dishonest people who care only about trivial matters when there are real problems in life. Arguments over food, objects with nothing other than material value, and many other things shows how immature and ridiculous these people really are. The obsession with appearance and status is constantly seen. Cecily and Gwendolen are only concerned with marrying Ernest because of his name, and Lady Bracknell cannot accept Ernest because he does not have ancestors of prestige. Wilde uses events such as these in the play to show how wrong this kind of behavior is, and how people show be earnest and true rather than life a life full of idiocy and pettiness.

"GWENDOLEN. You have filled my tea with lumps of sugar, and though I asked most distinctly for bread and butter, you have given me cake. I am known for the gentleness of my disposition, and the extraordinary sweetness of my nature, but I warn you, Miss Cardew, you may go too far.
CECILY. To save my poor, innocent, trusting boy from the machinations of any other girl there are no lengths to which I would go" (38).

This is one of the passages that I found completely ridiculous. Two women have just found out that they are engaged to the same man, and are arguing over one giving the other cake rather than bread and butter and sugar in her tea. This just points out how idiotic their manners are. To be fighting over something so meaningless instead of saying what is on their minds shows how obsessed they are with appearance and how materialistic their lives are. Also, Miss Cardew might be going to far by doing that? If she is going too far then, how would a severe offense be viewed as? This passage just baffles me and reflects how immature and superficial these two women are.

I enjoyed this play. It was great to read and laugh at the ridiculous things the characters said and did. I also thought it carried a great message. The importance of being earnest so huge because it is being a better person then the characters in the work are. Wilde mocks these characters to show how wrong it is to be materialistic, dishonest, and to obsess over meaningless things and how people view you. It is wrong and can end in confusion and deception, which is what ultimately happens in end of the play. This can open the eyes of some that live in this way, and I'm sure it was controversial in the era that it was written in. I thought the play was great and a really entertaining read.

Cat's Cradle

Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut is a satirical novel portraying tension between two main ideas: science and religion. Science and religion have always been to extremely conflicting things today in our world. People have always questioned to what extent which is true or right. Most people have found a happy medium between the two, but there are others that take each idea to the extreme. Vonnegut, however, reflects a totally different idea. On the island of San Lorenzo, both religion and science are important to the people and leaders of the country. Bokonism, "a religion of lies", is the belief of virtually everyone. Everyone believes in these lies even when they know what they are. However, in the town of Illium people take religious concepts and try to justify the meaning with science. For example, the meaning in life being related to protein (???). To me, Bokonism and trying to find meaning of things through science is Kurt Vonnegut's social commentary on his view of religion. Something tells me that he believes that religion is made up of some lies and has no meaning at times. It portrays the main idea of the novel, which is that many things in our life are based upon lies, and it is at times impossible to find meaning in them.

"To whom it may concern: These people around you are almost all of the survivors on San Lorenzo of the winds that followed the freezing of the sea. These people made a captive of the spurious holy man named Bokonon. They brought him here, placed him at their center, and commanded him to tell them exactly what God Almighty was up to and what they should now do. The mountebank told them, possible because He was through with them, and that they should have the good manners to die. This, as you can see, they did" (182).

I found this passage a very powerful one. John and Mona find many survivors frozen, with their fingers to their mouths. They find this note from Bokonon, stating what he told the people and how they immediately obeyed. This shows how so many people view their faith with such importance, and I could not believe that so many would die because they thought that God had meant them to. This obviously serves as social commentary by Vonnegut, showing his views in religion based upon lies.

I had many mixed feelings about this novel. I found it difficult to follow at first, with the switching of events and so many different characters. However, I think it was written brilliantly. Vonnegut adds so much imagination to this novel, creating Bokonon and the Book of Bokonism containing many poems and views of that religion, making so many different words pertaining to Bokonism such as karass, wampeter, sin-wat, etc, and the deadly weapon of ice-nine. To create an entire religion in a novel as well as an item to end the world really added to the book, and I commend Vonnegut for that.

I also enjoyed the end of the book. The end of the world came in an accident; Papa's body falling into the ocean destroyed mankind. Such a significant event such as the end of the world happened so quickly and in a way that is so insignificant. This adds to the idea of how the arms race really is dangerous, and that when something like ice-nine is found we have to be extremely careful. The ending of the book was so disastrous, yet it added to the meaning so well that it made the novel so much better. I would say that Cat's Cradle is a great novel once you finish it and reflect upon the things that I just did. It was so well written and had the perfect ending to prove one of Vonnegut's many points.

The Handmaid's Tale

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is a story that takes place in the society of Gilead. In this society ways of life are strict and there is a strong restriction upon women. The way the society has been constructed reflects its sole concentration: reproduction. This purpose for life restricts virtually every woman to certain roles along with activities, duties, etc. In every household, there is a Commander (the man who controls it), a Wife (the commander's wife), a Handmaid (a woman to have the Commander's child), and Marthas (women to take care of the Handmaid). The "Ceremony" in which the Commander tries to impregnate the Handmaid is a duty for both of them, rather than a connection between the two. No trace of love has been found in sex anymore. Throughout the novel, the idea of sex has been changed to just reproduction rather than a sign of love. This has devalued life for many others, and made women devices for the government. The sexual obsession and treatment of women as objects is a reoccurring theme throughout the novel.

"There is more than one kind of freedom, said Aunt Lydia. Freedom to and freedom from. In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from. Don't underrate it" (24).

I chose this passage because it reflects the restriction upon women and even men in the society of Gilead. In the world we know today and the citizens of Gilead knew, we have freedom to do things we please such as freedom of speech, worship, and basically the freedom of living our own lives. These freedoms we have and sometimes take for granted were instantly taken away from them. Now they are given "freedom from", no longer having any freedom to. Aunt Lydia speaks of this as a good freedom to have and advises the girls not to underrate it. I see this freedom as negative; it is freedom from choices, individuality, and living your life however you may choose.

Margaret Atwood did a wonderful job in writing The Handmaid's Tale. She portrayed the perfect tone and point of view through Offred and how she had to live her life. However, it was not a read I enjoyed. I found it boring and hard to follow at times. Offred's life was very dull so it was necessary for Atwood to write it in the way that she did. This writing style added to the message of the book, and it was very well written considering how truly uneventful a Handmaid's life was.

Although I did not like reading the book, I liked the message it sent to its readers. There is a constant religious aspect in the story. The soldiers, or "Angels", "Guardians of the Faith", and "Eyes" ran much of this society. Such religious terms used in powerful positions has a deeper meaning that added to the novel. I believe that it makes readers wonder about how much religion should influence our lives, and the extent to which too much religion is used for power.