A Tale of Two Cities

Dickens concludes his book with the reiteration of several important themes. First, he emphasizes that the French Revolution is the natural result of years of oppression and extravagance on the part of the aristocracy. The carts carrying the fifty-two prisoners to their deaths parallel "the carriages of absolute monarchs, the equipages of feudal nobles."Additionally, Dickens describes the wheels of the carts as "ploughing up a long crooked furrow among the populace in the streets."This imagery recalls the personification of Death as a farmer in the first chapter of the book. In A Tale of Two Cities, however, death often leads to resurrection, and Dickens uses this theme to conclude the book in a tone of hope. Carton's final vision indicates that the evil inherent in the previous regime and the current Revolution will eventually wear itself out and Paris and the people of France will be resurrected, "rising from this abyss."For those dying in the Revolution, Carton assures the seamstress that they will find everlasting life "in the better land"of heaven and will reunite with their loved ones there. Finally, Carton himself finds both resurrection and redemption through his death. He not only has the comfort of being reborn into the afterlife, but is also uplifted at the thought of being resurrected, in a sense, through his namesake. In dying, Carton restores meaning to his life and the lives of those he loves.