them Dickens shows the fall of the aristocracy and the rise of mob violence Dickens Source and Aim Dickens read Thomas Carlyle s The French Revolution as his main source Carlyle s book gave him details of mobs tribunals and the Terror Dickens wanted not just facts but moral lessons He used history to show love sacrifice and human struggle So the novel is more a historical romance than a strict history Social Conditions The novel shows the huge gap between the rich and the poor The Marquis runs over a child with his carriage and gives a coin as payment He says Repression is the only lasting philosophy This cruelty explains why the poor hated the nobles In Book One Chapter V the wine-cask breaks in Saint Antoine People drink the wine from the street Dickens uses this to foreshadow bloodshed in the Revolution Powerful Symbols of History The guillotine is the main symbol Dickens calls it the National Razor He even writes It superseded the Cross Book Three Chapter IV This shows how the guillotine became a new religion of death In Book Three Chapter II Dickens shows the Grindstone scene The mob sharpens weapons at midnight in a hellish picture Historical Settings The novel moves between London and Paris London is calm and peaceful Paris is violent and full of unrest In the Defarges wine shop revolutionaries meet and plan On the street we see signs Liberty Equality Fraternity or Death These settings show the two cities as opposites safety versus terror Historical Figures through Characters Dickens avoids real leaders like Robespierre or Danton Instead he shows how ordinary people lived history Dr Manette suffers as a prisoner in the Bastille Lucie is the golden thread who gives him new life Madame Defarge represents the revenge and bitterness of the oppressed She says Is it likely that the trouble of one wife and mother would be much to us now Her cold heart shows how private pain turned into national revenge Limitations of Historical Accuracy Dickens takes some liberties with dates and details He shows events more for drama than accuracy But his goal was not a textbook His aim was to show moral truth in history So the novel belongs to the Scott tradition of historical fiction In conclusion A Tale of Two Cities is a true historical novel It mixes real events social conditions and symbols with touching human stories Dickens uses the Revolution to teach lessons of justice sacrifice and love Through Dr Manette Madame Defarge and Sydney Carton we see how history changes lives