The Wood-Sawyer

In Book Three we are introduced to a “new” character. Formerly known as “The Mender of the Roads”, we meet “The Wood-Sawyer”.  The transition between the two characters seems to be quite drastic in my opinion. To the innocent follower of the Defarges, to the bloodthirsty creep, there has been a change.

“Ah! But it’s not my business. My work is my business. See my saw! I call it my Little Guillotine. La, la, la; La, la, la! And off his head comes!” The billet fell as he spoke, and he threw it into a basket. “I call myself the Samson of the firewood guillotine. See here again! Loo, loo, loo; Loo, loo, loo! And off her head comes! Now, a child. Tickle, tickle; Pickle, pickle! And off its head comes. All the family!” (287).

This quote shows how different the wood sawyer is from the mender of roads. Now he is creepy and is there every day to watch Lucy, but he says “it’s not his business”. In another chapter he mentions how many the Guillotine has killed; apparently he keeps track of that now. The mender of the roads seemed to be more of an innocent follower to Defarge, especially the way he was with the King and Queen earlier in the book; he was a nobody who finally did something helpful in his boring life. I don’t see how this character is playing two different personalities since they are so opposite from one another.

A big question I ask is: why have we never known this characters actual name? All of Dickens other characters have been named, or in the case of Solomon Pross, had a fake name. Why does Dickens not want us to know his actual name? I’m very curious as to why he hasn’t revealed the truth behind this person. I have reasons to believe that this person is an undercover spy. I think that he works for Defarge. In the beginning of the book his job as the mender roads was to spy on Marquis and now it is to follow Lucy and the Manette's. Since this person is the same but both have been mender of roads and wood sawyer, he must be a fantastic actor because the change in personalities is quite different. In both instances this character always seems to be the eye witness, he discovered the man underneath the Marquis, helped to plot the death of Marquis, and now is creepily watching Lucy each day as she stands outside of the prison. After analysis I think it is safe to say that he is a spy. Since Roger Cly faked his death and we haven’t heard from him since, and he is a spy, maybe it’s him? As the book winds down, I think that the true identity of this character will be revealed. Otherwise I will be disappointed.

The Red Stain

In Chapter 21 Book 2, I had confusion as to what was going on with Defarge and finding out about One Hundred and Five North Tower. Him and Jacques Three stormed into the cell and were searching all over for something. What were they looking for? Why is it so important that they find something? I thought that Defarge was through with talking to the Manette’s and didn’t seem to care about Mr. Manette, only the fact that Lucy had married Darnay. That was the one confusion I had with chapter 21. All the ideas previously mentioned ideas or symbolisms seem to really fall into place during this chapter.

Switching to Saint Antoine where we see Defarge and his revolutionists, it read, “Headlong, mad, and dangerous footsteps to force their way into anybody’s life, footsteps not easily made clean again if once stained red, and footsteps raging in Saint Antoine afar off, as the little circle sat in the dark London window.” (222).

At very end of the chapter after all the chaos it refers back to the “red stain”, “Now, Heaven defeat the fancy of Lucie Darnay, and keep these feet far out of her life! For, they are headlong, mad, and dangerous; and in the years so long after the breaking of the cask at Defarge’s wine-shop door, they are not easily purified once stained red.” (230).

There is a lot going on in these two paragraphs, and they are both very insightful and similar. The second paragraph means that Lucy will be attacked, and Dickens clearly sees that as a bad thing because he says, “keep these feet far out of her life!” Dickens also repeated “headlong, mad, and dangerous” in both of the quotes. I think that Defarge and his men will find a reason to come after Doctor Manette as well as revenge on Darnay because of his family. I looked up the definition of cask: A large barrel like container, used for storing liquids, typically alcoholic drinks. The red stain is now being brought back from the first book, how the wine was spilled; I now I think it is more of a reference to blood. Now that Defarge and everyone who was with him have left the red stain, and it cannot be removed. The damage is done. And the same thing is going to happen to Lucy.

Photo Credit: http://howtoreuseitcreatively.com/quick-tip/quick-tip-natural-stain-remover/

Footsteps and Echoes

In Chapter 6 of Book the Second, one word was mentioned several times that snapped my attention. Lucie Manette, Monseniour Manette, Charles Darnay, Sydney Carton, and Jarvis Lorry are all at the Manette's house and they kept talking about these echoes that they heard in the streets. The reason I am curious about this is because they kept mentioning how these unknown footsteps were echoing and drawing closer to the house:

“‘There is a great crowd coming into our lives, if that be so,’ Sydney Carton struck in his moody way.

The footsteps were incessant, and the hurry of them became more and more rapid. The corner echoed and re-echoed with the tread of feet; some, as it seemed, under the windows; some, as It seemed, in the room; some coming, some going, some breaking off, some stopping altogether; all in the distant streets, and not one within sight ….

‘Are all these footsteps destined to come to all of us, Miss Manette, or are we to divide them among us?’

‘I don’t know, Mr. Darnay; I told you it was a foolish fancy, but you asked for it. When I have yielded myself to it, I have been alone, and then I have imagined them the footsteps of the people who are to come into my life, and my fathers.”

‘I take them into mine!’ said Carton. ‘I ask no questions and make no stipulations. There is a great crowd bearing down upon us, Miss Manette, and I see them! – by the Lightening.’ He added…And I hear them!’ he [Carton] added again, after a peal of thunder. ‘Here they come, fast, fierce, and furious!’” (107).

            This passage definitely has the foreshadowing element within it. I was still confused whether or not these echoing footsteps were being metaphorically spoken, or if there were actually many footsteps coming towards the Manette household. If they are metaphorically spoken, I think that it is foreshadow for many new characters coming into each person’s life. Each person is uncertain about their fate with the new footsteps hurrying into their life. Darnay seems to be puzzled about the footsteps, Miss Manette has experience with letting new people walk into her life by accepting her dad, Darnay, and Carton, so she is a little worn, and Carton is strongly for letting these footsteps come into his life because his life doesn’t seem like it could get worse.

There are several things that the characters said that confused me. I didn’t understand what Carton was saying about the “Lightening” and why was it capitalized? Carton also said this, “...added again, after a peal of thunder.” Why is Carton using storm words? Why do they have anything to do with the footsteps and echoes? I’m skeptical of Carton because earlier in the passage is states that there was no one in sight, yet he said that he can see them…? Weird.

I’m excited to keep reading on to find whether or not these footsteps are really walking into the characters life, and if I was right on my foreshadowing prediction.

Voices

For my first blog post I wanted to post about Dickens' extremely descriptive writing. Only about six chapters in and my head is already spinning. He paints the most beautiful images in his readers minds that are only about bread, someones voice, wine, and a cobblestone road. Out of all the books I've read, Dickens' is probably the best descriptive writer I have come across thus far.

On page 42, Dickens' describes the voice of Doctor Beauvais, whom we meet for the first time in chapter 6. "After a long silence, the head was lifted for another moment, and the voice replied, 'Yes- I am working.' This time, a pair of haggard eyes had looked at the questioner, before the face had dropped again.
The faintness of the voice was pitiable and dreadful. It was not no doubt had their part in it. Its deplorable peculiarity was, that it was the faintness of solitude and disuse. It was like the last feeble echo of a sound made long and long ago. So entirely had it lost the once beautiful colour, faded away into a poor weak stain. So sunken and suppressed it was, that it was like a voice underground. So expressive it was, of a hopeless and lost creature, that a famished traveller, wearied out by lonely wandering in a wilderness, would have remembered home and friends in such a tone before lying down to die." (42)

I had to reread this a couple of times just to make sure that this was only describing a voice. It's still crazy to me that Dickens' could go so far with so little. I know so much about this character and even how he is feeling just by the descriptiveness of his voice! After reading this passage, I pictured a bent over man, in a dull setting, with his head down and defeated. A person with lost hope. Out of four words that one man said, Dickens' created a whole paragraph. It says a lot about Dickens and his ability. These type of passages that we come across as readers are important for our learning because it shows that there really is no limit to creativity and description for something. This book is considered a "classic" because Dickens is an extraordinary writer, if anything he should be considered a "classic". This moved me as a reader and a writer because now I feel empowered to write as much as I can to create a picture so detailed like the one I created in my head from Dickens.

*Website for the picture that I found: http://lokimars.wordpress.com/tag/male-depression/