Wednesday, November 21, 2012

With which side of the revolution does Dickens side?

I think it's a testament to Dickens' style and insight to not
make any quick or arbitrary judgments when it comes to the French Revolution.  He is able to
depict the aristocracy as guilty of rapes, violations of the public trust, outward cruelty, and
the most intense of disrespect to its people.  Yet, he is also able to depict the revolutionaries
as possessing a blood lust that is limitless, complete with bizarre dances and an almost orgasmic
release at the guillotine and the abuse (once again) of public trust.  I think that Dickens'
ambiguity with whom he "sides" helps to bring out a statement about the French Revolution's
failure to understand that the spirit in declaring and obtaining independence and the need to
maintain it are two different realities.  Within both different realities, different skill sets
are required.  Dickens' notes this in his depiction of both pre and post French Revolution
reality.  In it, we see a strong statement about political history in the work of a
literature.

No comments:

Post a Comment

How is Anne's goal of wanting "to go on living even after my death" fulfilled in Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl?I didn't get how it was...

I think you are right! I don't believe that many of the Jews who were herded into the concentration camps actually understood the eno...