Tale of Two Cities Pages 82 - 118

At the beginning of this week's reading we are introduced to another new character, Miss Pross. It took me awhile, but I eventually figured out that she is the woman who comforted Lucie when she was told at the hotel that her father was "recalled to life." Miss Pross is very protective of Miss Manette and therefore despises the scores of men who come to visit Miss Manette for she fears one of them will win Lucie's heart and Miss Pross will be no longer needed.

Miss Pross and Mr. Lorry have an interesting conversation in which we find out that Mr. Lorry knows the cause of Dr. Manette's previous opression. He also questions Miss Pross on whether or not she believes Dr. Manette know's what or whom is responsible for his previous opressions, and thus posing the question of why is Mr. Lorry so curious?? Does he not wish for Dr. Manette to know who caused such terrible years of his life??

We also leared that there is, obviously, much internal conflict with Dr. Manette as he is often found pacing back and forth in his bedroom late at night. I belive that this will be one of the main ideas in the story, his overcoming of his inability to remember and talk about his dark years, and find the reasons for which they occured.

Several times throughout these pages I found the mention of the color blue. Miss Pross lives in a blue chamber, and there was seveal mentions of Monseigneur's blue cap. Color always has a significance, especially in Dickens's work, so what does this repetative mention of blue symbolize??

One of the most interesting parts of the reading was when Mr. Darney speaks of the prisinor writing the work "DIG" on the wall, and then the men finding the burned bag and papers. It was made clear that this statement startled/bothered Dr. Manette. It was be easy to assume that the prisnor that Mr. Darney is telling about is Dr. Manette, but I think that would be too easy, I believe Dr. Manette knows something about it, but I believe there is much more too it. Also, Mr. Darney spoke of it so out of the blue that I believe he is up to something....

Rain begins to fall slowly as the group at the Manette's is departing, and rain always means something. I believe it is somewhat of a foreshadowing that a renewal or rebirth is to come for Dr. Manette for he is the only one that was ever mentioned getting wet. I didn't quite understand what was meant by the "hundreds of people coming in and out of our lives" and the footsteps that they supposedly heard, but I do think that the way Dickens used the storm to make us, the reader, able to hear and understand what the sound of rushing people is like was beautifully done.

I love the part about Monseigneur's party, for so much of the same can be found here today. He made large reference to how all the men there had these big fancy jobs, but had never actually done anything to better their field, and most hardly knew anything about their field of work. All they cared about was how they looked, that was all that mattered.

I found a correlation to the book 1984 after Monsieur ran over the young boy and it said that "Monsieur the Marquis leaned back in his seat and was just being drived anay with the air of a gentleman who had accidently broken some common thing, and had paid for it, and couuld pay for it." That completely summed up the way Monsieur the Marquis felt about the young boy, and this is exactly the problem with the society in 1984, there is no feelings towards other human beings.

I was also suprised that Defarge and his wife were present here, it makes me wonder if they will play a large role in this story afterall??

At the bottom of page 102 Dickens repeatedly used the word "ran" to describe life getting back in order, why? Perhaps to show that even though this young boy was carelessly ran over, life will not stop, it will run pass the boy and his family without even noticing them...something figurative like that I presume.

The last big thing we learned is that Mr. Darney is Monseigneur's nephew. Mr. Darney does not trust his uncle, and much talk about the state of their family name takes place. Finally, at the end, a knife was found with a note on it on Monsieur the Marquies pillow I belive. I predict that it was the father of the boy who died who has left this threat for Monsieur the Marquies.