Step-by-Step Process
Follow these steps in order to complete your assignment. You
MUST complete all of the steps to get full credit- so read carefully and
thoroughly!
-
First, you will need to choose a character from the novel.
Below is a list of some of the characters in A Tale of
Two Cities. There is a simple
explanation of who these characters are so that you can know what type of
person you will be researching. I have italicized specific characteristics
that you may want to stem from in order to do your research.
- Charles Darnay -
A French aristocrat by birth, Darnay chooses to live in England
because he cannot bear to be associated with the cruel injustices of the
French social system.
- Sydney Carton -
An insolent, indifferent, and alcoholic attorney who works with
Stryver. Carton has no real prospects in life and does not seem to be in
pursuit of any.
- Doctor Manette -
Lucie's father and a brilliant physician, Doctor
Manette spent eighteen years as a prisoner in the Bastille. At
the start of the novel, Manette does nothing but make shoes.
- Lucie Manette - A
young French woman who grew up in England, Lucie was raised as
a ward of Tellson's Bank because her parents were assumed dead.
- Monsieur Defarge -
A wine shop owner and revolutionary in the poor Saint
Antoine section of Paris. Monsieur Defarge formerly worked as a servant for Doctor Manette.
- Madame Defarge -
A cruel revolutionary whose hatred of the aristocracy fuels her
tireless crusade. Madame Defarge spends a good deal of the novel
knitting a register of everyone who must die for the revolutionary
cause.
- Jarvis Lorry - An
elderly businessman who works for Tellson's Bank. Mr. Lorry is
a very business-oriented bachelor with a strong moral sense and
a good, honest heart.
- Miss Pross - The
servant who raised Lucie. Miss Pross is brusque, tough, and
fiercely loyal to her mistress
- John Barsad - John
Barsad is a British spy who swears that patriotism is his only
motive.
-
Marquis Evr'monde - Charles Darnay's
uncle, the Marquis Evr'monde is a French aristocrat
who embodies an inhumanly cruel caste system. He shows absolutely no
regard for human life and wishes that the peasants of the world
would be exterminated.
- From that character,
choose one characteristic or
lifestyle trait to research.
- Example: If you chose Charles Darnay, you would
research what it was like to be a French aristocrat during the French
Revolution.
- You will not research what it was like to be
Charles Darnay during the French Revolution. He is only a character
in Dickens' book. You will simply take a characteristic from Charles Darnay and research that.
- Example: If you chose Monsieur Defarge,
you could research a business owner, a revolutionary, or a servant- you
do not need to research all of these characteristics, unless you find
information that covers it all; choose the one that best interests you.
- Then,
find
at least three credible
websites with research information about this time period.
- Find specific information concerning your type of
character. Example: A blue-collar working class man raising a family.
- You are seniors. I expect that you can find credible
websites on your own. If you need help, do not hesitate to ask me.
- Once you have found at least three credible sources,
make an APA bibliography and print.
- If you forget how to cite your
sources, click
here.
- You must show me your bibliography before you move forward.
- Once you have gotten your sources checked by me, you
will write an essay two-full pages in
length through the eyes of your character.
- I know that you do not know anything about these
characters yet, beyond what I have given you. I am not grading on your
accuracy concerning the character, just the accuracy concerning your
type of person during this time period.
- Click
here to see the rubric for your essay.
- NOTE: Be creative with this essay. Write the essay
in first-person narrative- through the eyes of your character.
Example: Your essay could begin: When I awoke this morning, the first
thing I saw was....
Also, this is, essentially, a story. Therefore, you will not need
in-text citations. Just REMEMBER to turn your bibliography in with your
essay.
- NOTE: Do not cheat. You know the normal essay rules.
12 point font, Times New Roman, one inch margins, and REMEMBER a title.