A Tale of Two Cities Minor Characters Essay - 644 Words

A Tale of Two Cities: Roles of Minor Characters Every story in the history of literature has one or more characters that are not as significant as other characters. Although these characters aren’t as important, they serve to advance the plot or are symbolically important. There are definitely numerous depictions of these characters in A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens. Two examples are Lucie Manette Darnay and Miss Pross. Both of these flat characters are important in the development of the story. Lucie Manette Darnay played an important and symbolic role in the novel. Dickens described her as â€Å"the golden thread† of the novel, weaving its good throughout the plot. Along with her good nature, she was also young and attractive.†¦show more content†¦(272) Lucie is obviously a symbol for good and righteousness. She is â€Å"the golden thread† that binds the other characters together. She is protected by Miss Pross, devoted to her father, Doctor Manette, loved by Sydney Carton, a friend of Mr. Lorry, and was married to Charles Darnay. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Another minor character significant to the story is Madame Defarge. Defarge is the antithesis of Lucie. Defarge’s entire family perished when she was a young girl. She possesses an extreme vengeance towards the people who killed them. She condemned not only the people that did it, but also the entire Evremonde family line to which the murderers were from. She would inscribe the names into her knitting registry of people she doomed to death. Her drive to attain retribution drove her to commit horrible acts. Her evil mind set is exemplified in the following: â€Å" When the time comes, let loose a tiger and a devil; but wait for the time with the tiger and the devil chained—not shown, yet always ready. (Dickens 165) Her hatred and sense of revenge have evoked evil thoughts and actions in Defarge. Symbolically, Madame Defarge stands for the intensity and bloodthirst behind the Revolution. Her views of the optimal course of the Revolution are revealed in a dialogue between her, her husband, and the Jacques Three: ‘It is true what Madame says,’ observed Jacques Three. ‘Why stop? There is great force in that. Why stop?’Show MoreRelatedMinor and Major Characters in A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens650 Words   |  3 Pages A Tale of Two Cities In the book A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, he compares many characters by including similar and contrasting characteristics between a minor character and a major character. Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton are characters who exemplify this comparison because at the beginning of the novel Carton is portrayed as a drunken, careless man while Darnay on the other hand is the example of what Carton should to be, successful, polite and respectable. 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