Mahnoor's Post

*submitted on time

One of the most striking features of the novel is the way Charles Dickens uses imagery as an instrument of foreshadowing. The whole concept of premonitions or foreshadowing is portrayed in the novel through the vivid imagery of wine, the crowds of people and so on.

The depiction of wine as an indicator for the French revolution is apparent in the following lines; “The wine was red wine, and had stained the ground of the narrow street in the suburb of Saint Antoine, in Paris, where it was spilled. It had stained many hands, too, and many faces, and many naked feet, and many wooden shoes. The hands of the man who sawed the wood, left red marks on the billets; and the forehead of the woman who nursed her baby, was stained with the stain of the old rag she wound about her head again. Those who had been greedy with the staves of the cask, had acquired a tigerish smear about the mouth; and one tall joker so besmirched, his head more out of a long squalid bag of a nightcap than in it, scrawled upon a wall with his finger dipped in muddy wine-lees- blood.” Dickens’ uses the symbol of wine to depict two things, class conflict and blood. Wine was associated with the aristocracy; it represents the idea of consumption. This concept is illustrated in part one of the novel in the chapter that is aptly titled “the wine shop”. Here, Dickens creates the image of wine flowing through the street as the crowd that belongs to this Parisian slum dropped their daily activities to collect the wine that was spilt. Here, wine acts as an instrument to foreshadow the coming of the French revolution in two ways. Firstly, the imagery of red liquid flowing through the streets makes one think immediately of blood. Blood, which would be shed during the revolution. Secondly, the working class is seen uniting in an act of collecting this wine. There is no aspect of imagery here that indicates a difference of gender neither does Dickens close up on any one person in this crowd. Hence, at this point one can see that the imagery foreshadows the unity of the working class in order for them to stand up against the aristocracy.

The language Dickens uses in the novel is loaded with words that make one of think of blood and indicate the coming of revolution repeatedly. In book two, “monsieur in the country” Dickens uses the words “crimson” to describe the sunset and then the line “it will die out” foreshadows the way the French revolution will play out. Here too Dickens uses the images of leprosy and ragged clothing in contrast with the aristocracy to show the impending nature of the revolution. Dickens’ is considered somewhat prophetic in his writing as the simplest descriptions describe what is yet to come. Another such example can be seen through the following lines “A blush on the countenance of Monsieur the Marquis was no impeachment of his high breeding; it was not from within; it was occasioned by an external circumstance beyond his control- the setting sun.”  These lines are followed by the description of the sunset as a “crimson” one. Looking at these lines closely one can see how cleverly Dickens mentions the sunset as something out of the control of the aristocracy and the sunset being crimson depicts blood that will be spilt and the rising up of the working class is not in the control of the wealthy. Through out the novel Dickens uses such images and symbols to ready the reader for what is to follow.