Character Comparison of Madame Defarge and Sydney Carton in a Tale of Two Cities Essay

In "A Tale of Two Cities" Charles Dickens created two of the most contrasting characters ever put into a book. One is the bloodthirsty Madame Defarge, and the other is the self-abnegating Sydney Carton. Madame Defarge is a peasant who seeks revenge on all aristocrats who cross her path. Sydney Carton is a man who is willing to do anything for the love of his life. While the actions of these two characters clearly show their differences, what drives each character is quite similar.From Madame Defarges actions, it is clear that she is the evil antagonist in the novel. She is as evil as she is because when she was younger the Evremonde brothers killed her whole family. Now the purpose of her life is to get revenge on the Evremonde family and every other aristocrat. Even when told by her husband that she has gone too far, she does not stop. Instead her reaction to him was, Tell the wind and fire where to stop, not me. In this statement she shows how she will never forget what was done to her family and how the Evermondes deserve what they will receive. The actions she performs in her daily life demonstrate her evilness. These actions include her knitting of poeple who will be killed and trying to murder young girls. In the novel it seems like she is the bad guy who is starting up all the trouble. It is her need for revenge, in the book, that starts the revolution.While Dickens presents Sydney Carton as a worthless drunk, he is actually the most noble figure of the novel. Although he is a man who has not recieved any high social position in his life, he proved anything but worthless. It also seems as though his life has resulted in nothing. At one point he says, I care for no man on earth, and no man on earth cares for me. Then when he...