A Tale of Two Cities blog #1

Charles Dickens writes that Lorry is on his way to dig someone out of a grave. Lorry however, is not digging up a dead person in the literal sense but in a figurative sense. He is on his way to meet Dr. Manette, who was a political prisoner for many years and now doesn’t remember a thing, not even his own name. Dickens refers to Dr. Manette’s loss of memory as him being buried in a grave. In this passage Lorry remembers a conversation that he had with Dr. Manette where Lorry is asking him if he wants to be dug up from this grave. Dr. Manette responds by saying that he had abandoned all hope of being dug up, and when Lorry asks him if he cares to live, he replies by saying that he can’t say. In this conversation Lorry asks Dr. Manette if he wants to see “her.” At this point in the book we can only guess who this could be, but we find out that it is Dr. Manette’s Daughter. After Lorry asks Dr. Manette this question, Dr. Manette replies differently each time he is asked this. These varied responses show the reader just how out of it Dr. Manette is at the time. When asked this question Dr. Manette will either not remember his child, ask to see her, or ask to not see her, that he isn’t ready to see her yet. This passage in A Tale of Two Cities is an extremely important one and being “recalled to life” as Dr. Manette is being here, is one of the main themes of this book.