Motifs in A Tale of Two Cities

·        The use of alter egos in the story. Evremonde is essentially the dark opposite of aristocracy in comparison to Darnay. Both are of high status but are opposites in their thoughts on the lower classes. Carton also works as an alter ego to Darnay as where Darnay sees the worth in his life and strives to be the best he can be for himself and others, Carton is a depressed and unhappy person who sees his life as wasted.

·        Imprisonment in the story is a major motif as much of the lives of the main characters are spent in a prison. Doctor Manette spent a long time of his life in the Bastille and develops habits that show again as a form of foreshadowing when Darnay tells Manette of his family ancestry. Darnay himself is imprisoned and isolated in France’s prison and is taken out of the main story. This shows how even the prisons can take out the omnipotent power of the narrator.