Inhumanity In A Tale Of Two Cities

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The French Revolution was a period in history notorious for dehumanization and inhumanity between opposing classes. A Tale of Two Cities is a book written by Charles Dickens set in the late 1700s in England and France. In the novel, Dickens exemplifies lifestyles of the different classes but reveals deep down they are all based upon the same principles and themes. Charles Dickens illustrates the difficulty for man to escape the cycle of inhumanity proven by the abused becoming the abuser in the relationships of the aristocrats to the peasants, Jacques Three and the Vengeance to the nobles, and Madame Defarge to the Evrémondes.
The inhumanity of the aristocrats to the peasants is a frequently used example throughout A Tale of Two Cities, because …show more content…
Jacques Three is a character that has been wronged by the aristocrats and is going to continue the cycle of the abused becoming the abuser by aiding in the murdering of numerous guilty and innocent prisoners. He is one of the revolutionaries who helped Ernest Defarge and also sat on the jury. He is always described as “hungry” or “croaking” because of his craving for revenge and blood (132). He shows no compassion or sympathy for the victims of the revenge on the aristocrats and does not see them as people. He considers it “magnificent” that all of the guilty and innocent are going to die, and he feels no remorse (132). Another unsympathetic revolutionary like Jacques Three is The Vengeance. Dickens describes her as “the short, rather plump wife of a starved grocer, and the mother of two children” (171). Waiting to see Charles Darnay among the fifty-two prisoners to be executed, The Vengeance stands waiting faithfully for Madame Defarge to arrive. She knows the death of Darnay is one Madame Defarge has been waiting for forever and she will do anything to make sure Madame Defarge is there to see Darnay’s life ended. As the lieutenant of the revolutionaries, The Vengeance is a friend and follower of the Defarges, and will do anything they say. Sitting among the “knitting-women of the sisterhood,” The Vengeance watches the executions of the prisoners and does not flinch when the axe drops (290). Both Jacques Three and the Vengeance are alike in that they enjoy killing for its own sake, not for the political purposes the revolution made possible. They were wronged by the aristocrats, and are now taking it out on all of the prisoners they proclaim guilty and
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