This chapter begins with Darnay, encumbered by the various patriot patrols and barriers, traveling through France. Along his journey, he is woken in the middle of the night by a band of patriots who require that he be "escorted" by them to Paris. When they stop in Beauvais, Darnay is confronted by a crowd who brand him as a "cursed emigrant... and a cursed aristocrat." When he finally reaches Paris, Darnay is met by Defarge, who explains to him his position as a prisoner. Then Darnay is taken to the prison of La Force.
What is Dickens' opinion of the justification of the patriots who man the barriers? On his journey, what conclusion does Darnay come to regarding his future in Paris? Why was Darnay forced to take an escort? What was the postmaster's opinion of decrees? How does Dickens show the respectability and good-naturedness of the patriot guards? What does Defarge mean when he asks Darnay, "In the name of that sharp female newly-born, and called La Guillotine, why did you come to France?"What mannerism defines Defarge's attitude as he talks to Darnay? What did you think of the ghost metaphor on Pg. 260? What does Dickens mean when he writes, "The ghost of beauty, the ghost of stateliness, the ghost of elegance, the ghost of pride, the ghost of frivolity, the ghost of wit, the ghost of youth, the ghost of age, all waiting their dismissal from the desolate shore, all turning on him eyes that were changed by the death they had died in coming there?" Do you think Darnay deserves the treatment he receives in France, or is being unjustly imprisoned based only on his lineage? What is "in secret?" To whom does Darnay identify now that he has been placed "in secret?"
Feel free to answer all of these questions, none of these questions, any assortment of these questions, or any questions that you pose yourself. Cheers!
Defarge says, "In the name of that sharp female newly-born, and called La Guillotine, why did you come to France?" What he means by this is, why did you abandon your family at home. Also, a Guillotine is something used for beheading people, so that suggests that Darnay is going to be put to death.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the ghost metaphor on 260. I think Dickens was trying to illustrate the greatness that France, and the prisoners in La Force, used to have; now those qualities are just ghosts of their former selves.
Obviously we sympathize with Darnay, because we have gotten to know him throughout the book. The revolutionaries, however, see him as a bloated aristocrat. It is not fair that he is being imprisoned based on his lineage, but to the revolutionaries there is no such thing as a good aristocrat. I think it is kind of ironic that he is in secret, or solitary confinement. The book started with Manette imprisoned by the hand of Marquis de St. Evremonde, and now the tides have turned.
This chapter was a remarkable turning point in the book. It marks the start of Darnay and company's involvement in the revolution. The action that has been foreshadowed for the past 230 pages is finally coming to pass.
ReplyDeleteOn to the questions. Dickens has a visibly disapproving view of all of the stops on the way to Paris, but more specifically, the men who man these stops and their shocking prowess new-found talent in the field of judging.
"The patriot...stopped all comers and goers, cross-questioned them, inspected their papers, looked for their names in lists of their own, turned them back, or sent them on, or stopped them and laid them in hold, as their capricious judgment or fancy deemed best." (P 251)
Not only this, but Darnay sees dark days ahead for Paris. It is anarchy at its best. The postmaster along with the rest of the escort seem good natured, as shown through their lack of gravity in speech and manner. The reference to the Guillotine was rather humorous, due to the personification. Defarge is clearly disturbed that Darnay returned to France. He still feels loyalties to Manette. As for all of the ghosts, it is just Dickens reflecting on the savagery of the mob and how they are destroying all things elegant or just. (at least more just than the current system) Darnay doesn't necessarily deserve the treatment he deserves, but the Marquis was so horrible, and people want revenge in the form of a public execution. "In secret" means solitary confinement, one of the worst punishments ever.
I think Darnay thought this trip to Paris was going to be very easy, but as we can see it did not turn out that way. He believed he would make his way into the city, do what he had to do, and then leave, this was not at all what happened. He was taken prisoner. The reason Darnay was forced to have an escort was because Dickens needed a way to get him into the La Force. When the escorts first saw him, they knew they needed to bring him to jail because he seemed to be an aristocrat. If Darnay did not come across the escorts he would've never gotten jailed. One thing I found strange was that Darnay was placed in a cell alone. I think they did this because when they found out his name, they new he was the Marquis heir. So they brought him to his own place which I think is far worse then being with strangers.
ReplyDeleteWhen Darnay is brought into this cell he starts to go crazy. I noticed how he was turning into Doctor Manette. He also kept saying, "He made shoes, he made shoes." I think this symbolizes how Darnay has no idea what to do with himself while he is trapped inside here so he is thinking what other people have done while they were in the same situation. Darnay kept repeating the dimensions of the room. I didn't understand why he would do this. Maybe it was to keep stressing the fact that he was trapped and going insane. I predict that Darnay is going to write back to England and tell the characters there what has happened to him. Lucie is going to be so upset that Carton is going to travel to Paris and take Darnays place in jail.
From the beginning of this chapter, we can already tell Darnay’s trip has taken a detour. He thought the trip would completely easy, as Maggie said, but he learned the hard way that it wouldn’t. By going to Paris, he kind of set himself up for disaster walking straight into danger, and realizes he may not accomplish what he came to Paris for.
ReplyDeleteI thought when Defarge said, "In the name of that sharp female newly-born, and called La Guillotine, why did you come to France?" he meant multiple things. For one, he probably wondered why he traveled all the way to France, to save Gabelle and leave loved ones behind, without even a proper goodbye. I thought Defarge’s attitude, resembled the relationship between common English and French. Although this was one of the main reasons, it also may have been because of the background information he was told about Darnay. On the other hand, I think Darnay deserves some of the treatment he receives. He did abandon his family, and he also had the mindset of going to Paris and fixing everyone’s problems, thinking it would be easy. I’m not sure if he thought because of his background and being the Marquis, that he would get special treatment when his name was revealed, or figure his way out of things. Being in a cell alone has many disadvantages, but at the same time, it will give him a chance to settle his thoughts and realize what has actually happened to him.
On his way into the city, Darnay is not hopeful of France's future. It became clear to him and everyone in the country now, that the sea is rising and there isn't much of a way to stop it. But there isn't much good in Darnay's future either. In this chapter, he is taken by the revolutionaries and imprisoned in La Force. Even worse, he seems to have agitated Defarge and no one wants to be on his bad side. As he says to Darnay, "In the name of that sharp female newly-born, and called La Guillotine, why did you come to France? "As we have seen before, Dickens is personifying the Guillotine. Dickens has made the guillotine more than an instrument for execution; he has made it a symbol. It represents the revolution and everything the revolution stands for, especially the brutality and violence committed against the aristocracy.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, I don't think Darnay's imprisonment is just. As we know, he is being imprisoned because of his title as the Marquis. However, he is not like his tyrannical uncle and thereforeI don't think he should be imprisoned. On the other hand, the revolutionaries don't want to take any chances and it wouldn't mean much to them if he were killed. On that point, Darnay should be happy is still alive.
Towards the end of the chapter when Darnay is brought to the prison, another prisoner tells him that hopefully he (Darnay) won’t have to be kept “in secret.” But Darnay is kept “in secret” and imprisoned in a tiny box. Things are not looking good for Charles Darnay.
Darnay has chosen a foolish path. He has come to France in the age of the guillotine. Defarge still has loyalty towards the Manette family and therefore Darnay so he is now put in a difficult position. He has conflicting interests however he seems to be more loyal to the revolutionary cause than to Darnay and the Manettes, but he still wishes Darnay never came to France.
ReplyDeleteNow Darnay has been imprisoned in the same unjust way that Doctor Manette was. Despite the shift in power the same corruption and maltreatment occurs. Currently the justice system seems as corrupt as ever and things are looing bad for Darnay.
"In Secret" seems to mean in solitary confinement away from the other prisoners. That fact that Darnay is "In Secret" suggests that the revolutionaries have special plans for him as ordered by Madame Defarge whose vengence is relentlessly merciless.
Charles Darnay's trip to France turned out to be exactly the opposite of what he expected. He assumed an easy trip there to save his name and make the guilt disappear in his life. Little did he know that he was going to be forced into being escorted straight to prison. He was awoken in the middle of the night, compelled to be escorted by revolutionaries thinking that he was going to make it to Paris with no issues. However, he led himself straight into peril and ended up in La Force.
ReplyDeleteWhile Defarge is speaking with Darnay, he talks to him like he is more superior than him the whole time. Whenever Darnay asks a question for freedom, Defarge just replies, "You will see" or "Maybe." I imagine Defarge with a smirk on his face while answering Darnay. When Defarge says "In the name of that sharp female newly-born, and called La Guillotine, why did you come to France?" to Darnay, he is asking him how in the world did he drop everything at home and make the quick decision of coming all the way to Paris? Also, not even knowing the person who sent him the letter in the first place and trusting him right away is another question. I believe that Darnay has a lot to think over before he makes more quick decisions like this because he clearly did not see this coming his way as he left England.
I think Darnay partially deserves to be treated like this and partially doesn't. First, he should have expected to be questioned and treated without respect because of the mark that his uncle has left on these people. The revolutionaries in Paris have no idea that he brings no harm and just wants to help his innocent servant, Gabelle, and finally be freed from the guilt of this unfinished business.
Darnay's journey so far has turned out to be harder than he expected. Defarge is unwilling to help, and he seems to have few allies in the revolutionary world of France. Darnay is still committed though, as he has a moral obligation, as we discussed in class. Darnay was imprisoned in La Force, and for good reason in my opinion. If I was a guard, and I knew all the horrible things the now dead Marquis had done, I wouldn't just let the heir walk on by. Obviously it is not the best thing to judge people based on their family, but precautions need to be made. I can just hope that he doesn't go crazy in his "five paces by four and a half"(262) size cell.
ReplyDeleteJust as Maggie said, Darnay was under the impression that his trip to Paris would be easy and uneventful. He thought that he could make it to the city without a problem. However, he was greatly mistaken. Right as he arrived in Paris he was taken prisoner almost immediately. Also I agree with James when he said that we sympathize for Darnay, but the others that do not know him automatically assume that he is some bloated aristocrat.
ReplyDeleteAlso Maggie brings up a great point when she says that when he is locked in his cell that he starts to crazy. When Darnay is in that cell alone, all he can think about is Manette and what happened to him when he was in a jail cell. He also kept repeating the dimensions of the room which at first was kind of odd, but then I thought that maybe that was a way for him to keep himself occupied and not fall into delirium like Manette did. It will be interesting to see if Darnay ends up turning up like Manette, but in my view I don't think he will, he is too much of an important character.