Although sparknotes has a reputation for being the best way to escape a dreaded reading assignment and still get a satisfactory grade, it offers much more. It can be used as a tool to further your understanding of the book you just read and learn about the themes, symbolism, or motifs you might have missed on your first read. I recently finished A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens and enjoyed the read. However, there were many aspects of the novel that went unnoticed to me that I was able to discover because of Sparknotes.
A Tale of Two Cities takes place during the French Revolution, which occurred in the 18th century. The story follows characters such as Dr Manette, a man imprisoned for 18 years, Charles Darnay, an ancestor of French noblemen who married Dr Manette’s daughter Lucie and was eventually convicted for his father’s crimes, and Sidney Carlton, the alcoholic attorney that would save Charles. These are just a couple of the many characters Dickens creates in his novel.
According to sparknotes, there are three major themes within A Tale of Two Cities. The first is the possibility of resurrection and transformation. According to sparknotes, “The narrative suggests that Sydney Carton’s death secures a new, peaceful life for Lucie Manette, Charles Darnay, and even Carton himself.” It also suggests Sidney Carlton had a “christ like” death and would be resurrected according to the book. I did notice that Sidney sacrificing himself in turn would save Charles and Lucie as that being the whole ending as well as Sidney becoming at peace with himself because of it. However, I did not notice to Dickens alluding to him being resurrected. After rereading the final chapter of the book, I was able to pick up some hints of this when Carlton exclaimed on the final page “I see my dear friends for whom I am giving my life living peaceful, useful, happy lives. I see them holding a special place for me in their hearts, remembering me with love, as no one ever did before.” (Dickens, 238) Although this quote isn’t referring to Sidney Carlton being physically resurrected, it does suggest that his memory will live on as him being a hero, that his name changed from nothing to a great man. I believe this is Dickens’s intention of resurrecting Carlton in the story. My first interpretation of these events was that Carlton’s actions weren’t for the good of his friends rather for his own well being, that he couldn’t live on with his disappointing life and Darnay’s execution would be the only way to get wort from his life. The sparknotes take does fit better with the story however and makes the death viewed as more of a heroic action.
One of the symbols from the story that is talked about on sparknotes is the broken wine cask. According to sparknotes, “Dickens creates a symbol for the desperate quality of the people’s hunger.” Here, Dickens is displaying the peasants of France’s craving for political freedoms. They have been denied these freedoms all their life and now they are desperate for them, willing to take extreme measures in order to achieve them. I did not make this connection when reading for the first time. I just assumed the peasant’s dash for the cask to be a demonstration of hunger rather than symbolizing their motivation for the revolution itself. However, after reading the later chapters in the novel, these hints are magnified, especially in Madame Defarge’s change in character. She transforms from one with little attention into a vicious fighter hungry for vengeance.
Going off what I said above about Madame Defarge, she was probably my favorite character. The change is one that is unexpected and gives her character depth. She is also connected to Charles Darnay through the backstory (where Charles’s father and uncle killed her brother and sister), which connects the two characters while creating tension between them. Also, according to sparknotes, what Madame Defarge is knitting throughout the story is a list of all the people who must die because of the revolution. I find this interesting suggesting that the French Revolution involved many layers and planning. I saw her as a symbol of the revolution as a whole because of her secretive beginning and dynamic end. This wasn’t mentioned as a symbol on sparknotes, but that goes to show how we interpret literature differently than others. Even though it is possible that the author had no intentions with this when writing the story, it can still be argued as a potential symbol. Overall, Madame Defarge is an interesting character whose character offers an interesting dynamic to the story.
In conclusion, sparknotes offers additional insight to a book to certain aspects that often go unnoticed with the first read. Although it definitely shouldn’t be a primary way for experiencing a story, it can be an effective way to further one’s understanding and learning more of the deeper elements from the author. My interpretations were definitely different than what sparknotes suggested, which goes to show how we all conceptualize writing in our own ways.
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