A Tale of Two Cities: Lesson 3

Contributor: Melissa Kowalski. Lesson ID: 11370

Things are about to heat up in France! The French Revolution was real, but some events in ATOTC are fictional. Study a timeline of the Revolution and compare it to the novel to see how they match up!

categories

Literary Studies

subject
Reading
learning style
Visual
personality style
Beaver
Grade Level
High School (9-12)
Lesson Type
Dig Deeper

Lesson Plan - Get It!

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The French Revolution finally descends upon Paris in this section of A Tale of Two Cities.

  • Do you think the French Revolution made positive changes in France?

In the second Related Lesson from A Tale of Two Cities, you read about the quiet life Dr. Manette and Lucie lead in London after Dr. Manette's release from prison.

During this time, Lucie became the romantic interest for three men: Mr. Stryver, Sydney Carton, and Charles Darnay. While Stryver decided against proposing to Lucie, Sydney would not even consider the idea.

  • Do you think either of the two lawyers should have proposed to her?
  • What do you think Lucie's life would have been like if she married either Stryver or Carton?

In the chapters you will read in this lesson, you will discover who does marry Lucie, and witness the outbreak of the French Revolution with the storming of the Bastille, one of the most secretive prisons in France, considered a symbol of the nobility's corruption.


To understand the historical context of the French Revolution, read the History.com article, French Revolution, from A&E Television Networks.

In the previous chapters, Dickens has foreshadowed the coming of the French Revolution through the unrest in the Saint Antoine neighborhood of Paris, and the village outside the Marquis's chateau. As you read the chapters for this lesson, consider whether the French lower classes were justified in their reaction during the beginning of the revolution.

  • Should they have acted in the ways Dickens described?
  • Why or why not?

French Revolution, 1789

Image by unknown author, via Wikimedia Commons, is in the public domain.

You are now ready to read Chapters 14-23 in "Book the Second." If you do not have access to A Tale of Two Cities book, you may use this Planet Publish PDF.

When you have finished reading Chapters 14-23, move on to the Got It? section to check your reading comprehension.

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