I admired Charles Dickens' use of language to escalate emotions on page 48 in chapter six of A Tale of Two Cities. Mr. Lorry, Lucie and Mr. Defarge are in Dr. Manette's room, which is the attic of a wine shop. Lucie reaches out to him and says, "If you touch, in touching my hair, anything that recals (sic) a beloved head that lay in your breast when you were young and free, weep for it, weep for it!" Lucie continues in this way, with each sentence growing on the one before it. The rest of page 48 makes an emotional bond between Lucie and her father. By using this type of sentence construction, Dickens is able to make an emotional impact on the reader. The emotion escalates which results in Lucie connecting with her long-lost father, and Dickens able to connect strongly with the reader.
The reason I chose to write about this in my blog was because I felt that the emotion that Dickens created was an interesting writing technique.. The passage is important because it not only develops the story line, but also connects strongly with the reader.
Matt:
ReplyDeleteYou chose an interesting sentence, but you need to reflect more on why that sentence has so much meaning. For instance, you write that "By using this type of sentence construction, Dickens is able to make an emotional impact on the reader."
What specifically is Dickens doing in the "construction" of the sentence? Is it the length of it? The placement of a particular noun or verb?