Sunday, August 10, 2014

What is the first dream Mr. Lorry has on the Dover mail in Dickins' A Tale of Two Cities?

In Chapter Three, "The Night Shadows," after falling asleep on the way to Dover, Mr. Lorry dreams about Tellson Bank. As the dream develops, Mr. Lorry envisions a man who has been buried for eighteen years, and then manages to dig himself out. Throughout the dream Mr. Lorry revisits this three times, thus confirming that the man was buried for eighteen years. In a reflective moment while waking up, Mr. Lorry contemplates the severity of man being (literally) kept away from nature. This notion is confirmed as Mr. Lorry himself gazes at the vast countryside.


The dream itself is quite telling because it serves as a way for Dickens to explore a key motif throughout the text -- resurrection or rebirth. The dream not only haunts Mr. Lorry, but it also haunts the text on a general level. The plot of the novel is thus driven by this notion of resurrection, at least symbolically, and as Mr. Lorry is resurrected from sleep, we see the sun function as a mechanism of rebirth. 

No comments:

Post a Comment

How does author Elie Wiesel use symbolism to contribute to the meaning of Night?

In his book Night , Elie Wiesel uses symbolism throughout to enhance the text. First of all, the title itself is symbolic. The word "ni...