The storming of the Bastille, the death wagons with their doomed human cargo, the rapid fall of the guillotine blade: this is the French Revolution that Charles Dickens vividly captures in his famous novel, A Tale of Two Cities. With dramatic eloquence, he brings to life an era of terror and betrayal, a starving people rising in frenzy and hatred to overthrow a corrupt and decadent regime. Dickens not only captures the brutality and corruption of this period, but provides insight into what prompted the death and destruction. Through the hostility between the French aristocrats and the peasants, Dickens emphasizes the principle that violence perpetuates yet more violence, until the sinister chain finally runs out. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The oppression of the French people by the ruling class in the eighteenth century is an infamous period in history. During this time, aristocrats had no respect for the less fortunate in their nation. Dickens illustrates the aristocratic attitude toward peasants with Dr. Charles Mannett's account of how an aristocrat treated his servant who failed to open the door in a pleasant time. the bell rang and one of my two conductors hit the man who had opened the door in the face with his heavy riding glove. There was nothing in this action that attracted my particular attention, for I had seen ordinary people treated more commonly than dogs. This quote shows how the poor were despised by the rich. The rich treated the poor like dogs instead of people. Dickens also uses the Marquis Evremonde to give a similar portrayal of the aristocracy as elitist. The Marquis orders his carriage to be raced through the streets of the city, delighted to see the commoners nearly run over by the horses. Suddenly, however, the carriage stops with "a sickening little jolt." A child lies dead under the wheels. The Marquis shows no sympathy for Gaspard, the father of the boy crushed by his carriage. Rather, he believes that his noble blood justifies his malicious treatment of his lower-class subjects. Dickens says that the Marquis sees the commoner as "mere mice coming out of their holes" (101). In throwing the coins at Gaspard, he simply aims to buy his way out of the difficult situation and free his conscience from the annoyance of Gaspard's pain. He believes wholeheartedly that it is the job of ordinary people to struggle in life. The nobles' treatment of the common people was so abominable that Ernest Defarge comforted Gaspard by telling him, "It is better for the poor little toy to die like this, than to live. He died in a moment without pain. Could he have lived?" such a happy hour?" (101). The Marquis's obvious cruelty and dislike drove Gaspard to seek revenge by any means necessary. Gaspard believed that the best way to achieve this goal was to kill his son's killer. This cycle of revenge is further perpetuated by the execution of Gaspard and then by a group of revolutionaries who called themselves Jacquarie, who vow to avenge Gaspard's death. This new revenge will materialize in the extermination of the remaining members of the family marquis and in the destruction of his castle. The group kept their vow. They killed what they believed to be the marquis's son and destroyed his possessions, a chain of violence that begins with murder and ends with destruction of a castle and the death of four human beings. The oppressed French masses, after.