A Tale of Two Cities

PART A

Near the end of the novel, I found that Carton seemed to take on the properties of a Christ figure. He doomed himself by delivered himself to the guillotine in order to make sure that the person he cared for- Lucie- was able to stay happy, even though this cost him his own life. Christ also delivered himself to death in order for the people he and his father cared for were able to stay happy.

PART B

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way...(page 1)

This quote, for me, was a great example of foreshadowing for the rest of the novel. There are so many parallels drawn throughout the novel- Darnay and Carton, London and Paris, blood and wine, just to name a few- that the first half of the first sentence having seven parallels (repitition!) really set the tone for the rest of the novel, and let me know to look for more parallels in the future.

PART C

I liked A Tale of Two Cities. It was dense and difficult to get through at times, but it was interesting and my attention was held to the very end. I especially liked the opening paragraph, where all the contrasting forces were compared. Even though it was a sentence to rival Hawthorne's, it gave me a good idea of the overall feelings of the books- positives and negatives, all wrapped up together.

The Importance of Being Earnest

PART A

In The Importance of Being Earnest, the title holds great significance. "Earnest" is defined as serious in intention, purpose, or effort. The characters believe that they are earnest, but in truth they are the opposite. They believe themselves to be so serious that they become comically ridiculous. At the end, when Jack claims he has learned the importance of being earnest, he really has learned nothing- throughout the novel, he and the other characters are perfectly silly.

PART B

LADY BRACKNELL: I am pleased to hear it. I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance. Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone. The whole theory of modern education is radically unsound. Fortunately in England, at any rate, education produces no effect whatsoever. (page 13)

This quote shows just how ignorant the characters are- specifically, in this case, Lady Bracknell. Education is always better than ignorance, for innumerable reasons. However, Lady Bracknell seems convinced that ignorance is better, likely because she herself is ignorant. Her own stupidity leaves her convinced that she is perfect and everyone else should remain unintelligent so that they can be ‘perfect’ too.

PART C

I enjoyed The Importance of Being Earnest. It was entertaining, and the characters were a never-ending source of amusement. They took themselves so seriously, but the things that came out of their mouths were absolute nonsense. They didn’t see their own ridiculousness, which it made it even more hilarious.