It has been a long time since Darnay was imprisoned in La Force. How
much time exactly? It has also been a long time waiting for the Manettes.
Surprisingly, they still remain hopeful that Charles will survive even though
"Every day...the tumbrils now jolted heavily, filled with the condemned,"(page 279). Also on this page (279) Dickens refers to the blood
of the victims of the guillotine as "...red wine for La
guillotine..." What do you think of this? This isn't Dickens' first time
substituting red wine for blood (Book 1, chap 5: the Wine Shop; Book 3, chap 2:
the Grindstone).
Later, on page 280, how does Dickens describe the guillotine? What
do you think of the personification? "She was truest to them in the season
of trial, as all the quietly loyal and good will always be,"(page 280).
Also in this chapter, Lucie finds a way for her husband to see her. What does
she do? On her way back from this, Lucie comes across a man. What is he called?
What does he call his saw? Why? What do you think of this one encounter?
"[The Wood Sawyer] cast a glance at the prison, pointed at the
prison, and putting his ten fingers before his face to represent bars, peeped
through them jocosely. 'But it’s not my business,' said he. And went on
sawing his wood." On page 283 and 284, what did Lucie see happening
in the streets? Finally, the Manettes hear the news they have been waiting
for. What is the news? Respond to any of the questions; feel free to go into
other topics.
Darnay has been imprisoned now for one year and three months. Dickens frequently writes continuous metaphors. The substitution of red wine for blood has been brought up since the very beginning of the book, when the cask of wine breaks in St. Antoine. Then a joker writes blood in this wine, not knowing just how accurate his prediction was.
ReplyDeleteDickens' personification of the Guillotine reflects the truth of the revolution, while those in power may be replaced and the former aristocracy exterminated, the Guillotine was the most loyal of patriots. She could always be counted on to do her job.
It has been one year and three months since Darnay was imprisoned, and the Manettes are waiting for him to go on trial. I thought it was interesting that Dickens compared red wine to blood. I think that this is a biblical reference; Christians drink red wine at church to represent the blood of Christ. Also, it is no coincidence that the Defarges run a wine shop. I think this shows that the Defarges, and the wine shop, are the center of the bloody revolution.
ReplyDelete"Liberty, equality, fraternity, or death;-the last, much the easiest to bestow, O guillotine!" (p. 280). I really liked this line about the guillotine, i think that this is Dickens poking fun at the motto of France, while simultaneously showing how bloody the revolution was. Also, I found it interesting that the guillotine was compared to a woman. I am not sure why Dickens did this, but I'm sure it was significant.
Later in the chapter, Lucie stands outside of a La Force window. On her way back she meets the wood-sawyer. He calls his saw Little Sainte Guillotine, and pretends that every piece of wood he cuts is a person. I think that that encounter shows the blood lust of everyone in France, and reiterates the point that the revolutionaries were normal people.
Lucie sees a dance in the streets. It is a very violent dance. The Manettes hear that Darnay is going to go on trial.
It has been 1 year and 3 months since the original incarceration of Darnay. As for the wine reference, it is making the Guillotine seem even more human and personified than it was before, due to the vast amount of men with a great fondness and ever insatiable thirst wine. It is also slightly ironic because Defarge owns a wine shop, and thus feeds this great machine. As for some adjectives, it is often described as sharp-tongued.
ReplyDeleteWhen Lucie finds out about the spot in which Darnay can see her from at around 3:00, she always attends it early. "As the clock struck two, she was there, and at four she turned resignedly away." Lucie is a very devoted wife.
While pursuing this hobby, of hers, Lucie begins to strike up conversation with the Wood Sawyer, previously known as the mender of roads. He calls his saw "the little Guillotine" and when he cuts off planks with it, he compares them to heads. This particular encounter was rather gruesome and reminded Lucie of her husbands peril in the unlikely chance she could get it off of her mind. He begins to inquire why Lucie stares so intently upon the prison, but rejects it. After a while of this, a dance comes around, and it was a terrifying experience. Finally, they get the news that Darnay has been given a trial.
As James and Will said, it has been 1 year and 3 months, since Darnay has been imprisoned. This must have been really hard on Darnay’s family, especially missing out on part of his daughter’s life. It was also interesting to notice Darnay missed out on a year of little Lucie’s life, similar to Manette missing a longer period of time of Lucie’s life. The cycle still continued, which was captivating, yet expected.
ReplyDeleteLuckily on the other hand, Lucie is told where she can be with Darnay for a short period of time everyday. Although she can’t see him, being in his presence is good enough for her. Sometimes she brings little Lucie along, even though it is dangerous. Everyday she visits, a man who refers to himself as “The Wood Sawyer”, is there. Every time he cuts a piece of wood, he imagines cutting off the head of a human. Later on Lucie also witnesses a dance by the revolutionaries, which was confusing.
It has been one year and a few months since Darnay was imprisoned in La Force. I think the way Dickens has been comparing red wine to blood is interesting. When he brought it up in this chapter it reminded me of the scene Dickens shows us about the women drinking the wine when they are sharpening their swords. In this chapter blood and wine were also compared like many times before in this book. On page 279 there is a quote about La Guillotine and wine. "Lovely girls; bright women, brown-haired, black-haired, and grey; youths; stalwart men and old; gentle born and peasant born; all red wine for La Guillotine, all daily brought into this light from the dark cellars of the loathsome prisons, and carried to her through the streets to slake her devouring thirst." Dickens is using personification in this sentence to make La Guillotine seem lifelike. I thought the image that was put into my head about this death trap was very cool. How it is thirsting for more and more blood which is represented by red wine. The way Dickens names all the people that will be killed from this machine was very interesting and I love the way he stressed all the individual types of people.
ReplyDeleteThe way Darnay is able to see Lucie is if she stands in this one spot at a certain time. If he is lucky he will spot her, but on some day he does not. After days and days of waiting for hours for him to see her, Manette announces he can save Darnay. I thought this was strange how it was brought up because it was out of the blue. if Manette could have saved Darnay so easily why didn't he do it earlier. I think that there is something going on between Defrage and Manette that we do not know about, but will find out soon.
It has been 1 year and 3 months since Darnay was imprisoned in La Force. I also think that they way that Dickens compared red wine to blood. When he brought this up it kind of reminded of the very beginning of the novel, when wine is spilled on the streets and someone uses it to write blood on the walls. I think Dickens is trying to say that there will be a huge battle coming and the Defarges will play a very pivotal role in it.
ReplyDeleteAlso just as Jack said, Lucie Manette is a very devoted wife. She stands at the very spot everyday just to talk to her husband. She even made sure that she arrived there early. It was very interesting to see how much she really lover her husband.
The wood-sawyer character is a very interesting one. He compares his saw to a Guillotine and every time he cuts a plank, he pretends its a prisoners head. I found this very gruesome and disturbing. When she watches this happen it reminds her of her husbands fate and she cannot get him out of her mind. However, at the end of the chapter we find out that Darnay has been given a trial.
The wood-sawyer is the former mender of roads. He has become increasingly loyal to the revolution and his participation in the dance is evidence of that. The Dance itself is a triumphant celebration of the revolution and the defeat of the upper class. It shocks lucie and she requires comforting after. The Wood-Sawyer/Mender of Roads still embodies the everyman of France and Dickens included this to show the attitude of commonman in France.
ReplyDeleteThe guillotine has replaced God. Symbols of the cross have been replaced by symbols of the guillotine. It is worshipped as a deliverance and a savior. "Of the Revolution’s slogan, “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, or Death,” the last one, “death,” was the easiest to impart. O guillotine!" This quote might be ended with the phrase "Oh Lord" "Oh Holy Spirit" or some other christian exclamation but instead the guillotine is the heavenly lord.
As a year and a couple months have passed, Charles Darnay has remained in prison. As in the previous chapter, Dickens personifies La Guillotine as a very "lifelike" character just like Maggie already mentioned. Dickens uses wine to refer to victim's blood of the guillotine. Everyday prisoners are beheaded from the guillotine and it is being fed by their blood that they shed. This personifies the guillotine as a living character.
ReplyDeleteIn order for Lucie to find a way for her husband to see her, she is able to stand in one position in a corner of a street. From this, it shows that Lucie will do anything to have some sort of contact with her husband even though she has no way of seeing Charles herself. In the same place, there is a man who is a former mender of roads. He is called the wood-sawyer who saws wood for a living. He calls his saw the “Little Saint Guillotine” and acts like he is beheading a prisoner when he cuts off a piece of wood. These parts of the chapter were confusing and if I were Lucie, I would be frightened of this man.
Later, Lucie watches a dance in the middle of the street that symbolizes the revolution and the deaths. Experiencing a type of dance like this would be terrifying and the way that it was described was quite disturbing. Finally, at the end of the chapter, the Manettes find out that Charles is going to go on trial the next day.
Darnay has been imprisoned for quite some time, a year and three months to be exact. The red wine reference is interesting. The connection may be that the blood of others is like red wine for the Guillotine.
ReplyDeleteMannette has told Lucie of a window that she can see through to see Darnay, and she does this every day. While she is by the window, she speaks to a wood-sawyer, who wields a saw that he pretends is the Guillotine, chopping the heads of prisoners one by one. there is a crowd of people that come down the street, and dance. After the commotion subsides, Mannette reveals the news that Darnay will stand trial tomorrow. (!!!)