A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens

A foil is a minor character in a literary work that compliments the main character through similarities and differences in personality and plot. In William Shakespeare's play "Hamlet", the main character, Hamlet, has three major foils. These foils are his close friend Horatio, Fortinbras, Prince of Norway, and the brother of his love, Laertes. These three characters contradict and enhance Hamlet's major characteristics.

British Literature contains literary foils. Foils serve as a contrast to the characters. Foils are usually the antagonists and protagonists of stories. Literary foils are evident throughout British literature in the stories of Beowulf, Julius Caesar, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

      A foil is a minor character that helps develop a major character by sharing similarities and differences with the main character. This is a common practice Shakespeare uses within many of his plays. The use of

A foil character contrasts the personalities of another character, which particularly enlightens certain characteristics of the individual. This element portrays these characteristics in an obvious manner, as it benefits the reader or audience. By showing the characteristics of one, it directly heightens the character traits of the other, creating a foil illustration of an individual. Nowhere is this element of literature more prudent than in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, as he effectively engages the use of foil characters. In the play, two lovers from opposing, and hateful families fall in love, but the hatred between households lead to their downfall. Characters in the immoral city of Verona are set to represent key themes and

When Lucie gave birth and named their first daughter “Little Lucie”, Little Lucie become closed to Sydney Carton. Carton enjoys hanging out with the family and felt worthy around Darnay’s family. Later in the 3rd Book, once Charles is tried once more then sentenced to death, Carton remembers his promise to Lucie. He realizes that he will most likely escape with shift places with Charles and nobody can notice due to their similar look. He devises and carries out a thought to save lots of Charles. As he's progressing to the scaffold to die, he is bothered however this is often the foremost worthy issue he has ever wiped out his life (Dickens 55). He is aware of that his life currently has that means even supposing he's close to behave.

“The character of a man is known from his conversations.” This quote from famed Greek dramatist, Menander, clearly illustrates the reason foils are used in literature. A pair of foils are two characters who compliment each other through contrast; each one helps exaggerate the other's personality. To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, has many excellently executed examples of this foil technique. Weather the foils appear only for a mere chapter, like that of Calpurnia and Lula, or is segmented throughout the entire book, like that of Miss Maudie Atkinson and Miss Stephanie Crawford, their contrast resonates throughout the entire experience. In the case of Walter Cunningham Sr. And Bob Ewell, it even has a major impact on the plot.

The world says that all people have a character foil. A character foil is a character or person that serve to highlight the contrasts between each other. There are many characters that are character foils, like Mickey and Goofy, Lieutenant Dan and Forrest Gump. In stories, there will always be someone who highlights the good and bad of another. In The Crucible , written by Arthur Miller Elizabeth Proctor is a character foil to Abigail Williams, because Elizabeth highlights the difference in honesty, she highlights the difference in love and she also highlights the differences each of them have in in their Puritan lifestyle.

A foil is a minor character that helps the audience better understand a major character. A foil may exist as a comparison character, with similarities between the two, as well as differences that bring to light an important contrast between the foil and the main character. A foil may also just be someone for the main character to talk to, so we can know and understand their thoughts and feelings. Foils help us understand the obvious as well as the arcane. In the classic tragedy Hamlet, we see William Shakespeare employ foils to illustrate both examples. They become important literary tools that help the reader rationalize the concurrent theme of the play -

In Charles Dickens’s historical fiction, A Tale of Two Cities, set prior to and during the French Revolution, Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay look almost identical and even share a few characteristics, such as their love for one Lucie Manette and their being orphans, but overall they are opposites of each other. The former is an alcoholic, aimless man, while the latter is more ambitious. Despite these similarities and obvious differences, Sydney Carton’s foil is not Charles Darnay, but rather Madame Defarge, the wife of a wine-shop owner in Saint Antoine, a suburb outside of Paris. Like Carton and Darnay, the two share similarities and differences. While Sydney Carton and Madame Defarge share the ability to go unnoticed while taking charge

Sydney Carton is another ambiguous character compelled by his passion. In the beginning of the novel he is an isolated and depressed alcoholic. He is nicknamed memory because he acts as the brain of his boss, Stryver. He has no confidence in himself: “I am a disappointed drudge, sir. I care for no man on earth, and no man on earth cares for me” (Dickens 85). Carton never puts too much pressure on himself because he knows he is a failure. He seems to be a guy who floats through life along with the current. When he meets Lucie, he begins to change. He falls in love with her and even expresses his feelings. He promises he will do anything for her: “I would embrace any sacrifice for you and those dear to you” (Dickens 154). This is the complete opposite of the reserved Carton from the start of the novel because now he finally has someone he cares about. This brings up a new,

In A Tale of Two Cities, written by Charles Dickens, Sydney Carton is introduced as a lethargic alcoholic that has little interest in living. As the story progresses, however, Dickens shows Sydney’s interest in another character named Lucie. Later, Sydney even announces his love to her before she weds another man, Charles Darnay, yet he still continues to speak of the worthlessness of his life as the story continues. It becomes very obvious to the reader that Lucie is the focal point of Sydney’s life, and that he lives primarily in the light of her happiness. Towards the end of the novel, Darnay is in prison and soon facing the guillotine. Sydney, who looks stunningly similar to Darnay, takes his place and dies to ensure Lucie’s happiness with Darnay in their future. From the time he announced his love to Lucie until his death, Sydney showed his passionate interest and care for Lucie while showing apathy for his own life. It is clear that Sydney valued Lucie and her happiness more than his own life. Therefore, by

In the historical fiction novel A Tale of Two Cities, a lawyer named Sydney Carton falls in love with a woman named Lucie whom becomes married to a different man. In the earlier parts of the novel, Carton was a drunkard. He describes himself as, “self-flung away, wasted, drunken, poor creature of misuse,” (156) and says, “I am a disappointed drudge, sir. I care for no man on earth and no man on earth cares for me,” (86) showing that he believes his life is meaningless. Through the development of Sydney Carton, Charles Dickens demonstrates the ability of love to bring positive personal transformation.

Sydney Carton is a courageous character, he helps out Lucie in a tremendous way. Dickens has Carton save Darnay so that Lucie and her family will have a better future. Carton is taking his life so that Lucie and her family can successfully escape back to England. When Darnay is writing his letters, in his jail cell, he looks up and sees, “The door was quickly opened and closed, and there stood before him face to face, quiet, intent upon him, with the light of a smile on his feature, and a cautionary finger on his lip, Sydney Carton” (Dickens 355). Carton loves Lucie so much that he will do anything to make her happy, even if it means death for him. Since Carton’s

Many characters have foils. A foil is a character that opposes another character, quite often the protagonist. Character foils are similar to the main character in some ways but often have one key difference. Sometimes, at some point the foils develop traits characteristic to the other. Often times, there is a factor, whether it be physical or psychological, which aids in the apparentness of the foils. In Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, Marlow and Kurtz represent foils driven by the wilderness.

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is one of the most memorable novels in the history of English Literature. The novel starts with the famous lines “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” ( Dickens 11). The novel depicts London, England and Paris, France in later years of the seventeenth century. It presents to us the confusion, the political one that surrounded the two nations during that period of time. The novel is rich in meaning and significance and Dickens has very skilfully integrated various themes. Dickens’ genius of characterisation is fully evident in this novel. In this paper, an attempt has been made to analyse the character of Sidney Carton in the light of the observation that he has been used by Dickens to bring out the theme of Resurrection in the novel.