A Tale of Two Cities Help?

Question

I've read the book A Tale of Two Cities and searched again for answers but I cannot figure them out could you please help

I need to know the significance of the storm and sea images in the novel

and

How comic relief is important and how is it used in A Tale of Two Cities.

If you can could you please tell me what chapter I can find information for answering the questions that would be great! Thanks!

Answer 1

Well, here's number 1, answered by Dickens himself:

"When I speak of the Revolution I often speak of water and the sea because, as many others than myself saw, it was like a natural force, like a storm or tempest or dangerously high tide,overwhelming what had been thought safe and permanent. Because the Revolution, by whomever it was started, unleashed the fury of the mob, human
volition receded into the background, the untamed and unpredictable passion of the crowd came to the fore, history came to be driven by something like
natural forces rather than by the deliberations of men and women. "


and as for number 2, well, there's not much comic relief:

"Dickens's only serious, uncomic novel, A TALE OF TWO CITIES, is set during the French Revolution and tells a story of unselfish devotion."

"As in Shakespearean tragedies, the great elements of tragedy are provided by the upper classes, while the lower classes provide comic relief, often by the distinct color and topics of their language. In Chapter 1, the Cruncher family provides comic relief from the heavy sentimentality of the reuniting of the Manettes. Jerry Cruncher uses laughably vivid language to censure his wife's sense of religion: "You're a nice woman! What do you mean by flopping yourself down and praying agin me?" There is humor in the fact that Jerry objects to the very characteristics that actually make his wife nice. For a man who claims not to believe in religion, Jerry has a very real fear of the success of prayer, believing that he has been "religiously circumwented into the worst of luck."

"Returning to England, Darnay asks Dr. Manette for his consent to marry Lucie. He is not the only suitor however. Both Stryver, Carton's patron (by way of comic relief) and, more seriously, Carton himself, are captivated by her."

Book III, Chapter 15: "The Footsteps Die Out for Ever"

"After the montage of Madame Defarge's approaching Miss Pross, the climatic meeting, and the unexpected consequences of the struggle, the little scene between Miss Pross and Jerry has provided some comic relief"

Answer 2

lol do you go to WLN? i have the same questions.