"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way..."
2007-01-20 07:37:31 · 9 answers · asked by chic! 2 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
i agree that it is one of the best lines. im going to read this book this year sometime.. i bet its very good
2007-01-20 08:36:22 · update #1
Dickens uses this literary and literal phenomena of paradox to demonstrate the complicity of life. Think about the happiest moments of your life, if you look hard enough they are tinged with a bit of sadness. Maybe sadness because of the fleeting nature of that moment or for other reasons. This is an example of the contradiction of life that Dickens refers to.
2007-01-20 07:59:09 · answer #1 · answered by bluesbrother74 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have. Actually, it's one of my very favorite books. The author is trying to combine the story of the French revolution and what England was like at the time with a personal story including a romantic love story of love and loss. It's a very good book. You have to be philosophical to get it all. Have you read anything for Charles Dickens before? Try to read his easier boos first, like Oliver Twist and David Copperfield. Happy reading!
2016-03-29 06:26:17 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Dickens opens with this line to draw the reader immediately into an age of contradictions.
2007-01-20 15:38:35 · answer #3 · answered by Sterz 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He's not contradicting himself. It's A Tale of Two Cities, therefore he is contrasting. It is one of the most basic examples of contrasting used when citing an example. Your English professor/teacher probably has taught you the difference between contrasting and contradicting, I hope. If not, ask them to.
2007-01-20 18:43:04 · answer #4 · answered by fireflame39 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You could interpret it in a number of different ways
-For some it was the best of times for others it was the worst of times etc.
- The story is set in two countries. In one place it could have been the best of times while in another it could have been the worst of times.
- It was the time of the french revolution things were changing the whole time.
2007-01-20 07:59:51 · answer #5 · answered by ghds 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Dickens is not contradicting himself. He is simply stating how people felt at the time -- that opposing forces had come to ahead, and that a major conflict was inevitable.
2007-01-20 07:41:38 · answer #6 · answered by Anpadh 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
How can you complain about this line. Its one of the best.
He's stating that this is a time of uncertainty, conflict and contradiction. It is an exciting time for good or for bad. It is time of rapid change.
2007-01-20 07:50:05 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The quotation suggests that life is a struggle of opposing forces - light and darkness, hope and despair, wisdom and folly., etc.
2007-01-20 09:08:54 · answer #8 · answered by irish1 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Two ways were before the wesern world; some wanted to go left and others wanted to go right.
2007-01-20 07:45:09 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋