Tale of Two Cities Essay Two

(Briana's essay is here)

In lieu of a review of The Tale of Two Cities by Dickens, I am instead sharing the essays Briana and Destry wrote as we studied this novel and the time period in which it was set.  Here is Destry's essay.

                In the 18^th century, France was ruled by a self-absorbed aristocracy. The nobility had no concern for the citizens and taxed them mercilessly in order to support their own luxurious lifestyles. The citizens pleaded with them, then protested, then warned, but the nobility disregarded every complaint. The people’s vexation turned to anger and vehement wrath. Starting in July of 1789, the people of France began overthrowing the government. This uncontrollable mob of angry vengeance in motion claimed to be the new Republic of France. The motto shouted in the streets was “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, or Death.” The French’s anger was understandable, and the nobility did need overthrown, but they got carried away. The French patriots forgot and forsook the true meaning of liberty, equality, and fraternity, making death their sole maxim.

            The French people had been deprived of liberty under the nobility and they were willing to stop at nothing to regain it. The Republic wanted to be free to live as they chose and to govern themselves. They wanted to be free from aristocratic oppression and excessive taxes. The Republic’s desire for liberty was a good thing, but their view of liberty was not. The French patriots wanted a liberty that was void of all morality. True liberty is freedom within the boundaries of right and wrong. The Republic’s motivation for liberty was selfish. They wanted what they wanted and didn’t care about anyone else. In their struggle for freedom, the Republic only created more bondage. They imprisoned, enslaved, and slaughtered those who had done the very same to them. Essentially, the scenario wasn’t changed at all. There was still a leadership which oppressed its subjects. This was not true liberty. It was simply the justification for vengeance. The Republic did not pursue true liberty, they were only interested in selfish gain.

            The people of France were fed up with the nobility’s self-elevation, so they attempted to produce equality in the Republic, but had their focus in the wrong place. During their reign, the nobility generally considered themselves better than the peasants. They thought of themselves as higher, more important, and more deserving beings than the lower class. In their opinion, the people were meant for their use. The French people wanted to be on an equal basis with the nobility, but the Republic’s view of equality was wrong. True equality evaluates people’s rights while the Republic evaluated possession. In the people’s eyes, if you were wealthy, you were bad. The Republic demanded that the rich be torn down and everyone basically be poor. France neglected to respect the equality of each person. Their lack of respect for the natural rights of humanity resulted in a new aristocracy similar to the previous one. The Republics false view of equality resulted in a whole new age of oppression, fear, and poverty. 

            The respect of equal rights produces a sense of fraternity. To the patriots, the Republic was like a big family, a brotherhood. The people were united under a common characteristic: they had all been oppressed by the nobility. This drew them together under one purpose: to get revenge. Fraternity in and of itself is a wonderful thing. Christianity for that matter is a fraternity. But Republic fraternity was based on hate; the basis of Christian fraternity is love. In creating this fraternity, the Republic disowned and estranged fellow humans from our common brotherhood by killing them. Rather than being a fraternity of humanity, the French people were a brotherhood of blood.

            The Republic bathed itself in wrathful malice and became intoxicated with murderous revenge. Most people would consider the ruthless actions taken during the French Revolution to be repulsive. The French may have been justified in overthrowing their government, but by no means were they justified in slaughtering so many people. The Republic’s basic intention was to overthrow tyranny, but once they began basking in limitless power, they became intoxicated with self. It’s almost as though they started out with Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity, then decided “if someone tries to keep me from being happy, I’m just going to kill them.” As soon as the people got that first taste of limitless freedom, they became engulfed in self-absorption. This made death a means rather than an alternative to Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity.  A country without these key elements paves the way for a reign of terror and a road to death.