Acknowledgments My writing of this thesis has smoothly come to an end, and I hereby would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the following people for their selfless dedication and contribution to my thesis. 43142
My profound gratitude first goes to Associate Prof. and Associate Prof. my supervisors, for their constant guidance and encouragement in the process of my writing. They offered me considerable and constructive advice, practical and profound suggestions on the completion of my paper. Just under their careful and patient guidance, I begin to get a clear idea of the paper and fully frame it out. Without their support and help, the completion of the present thesis would be impossible.
I would then like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the teachers who have ever taught me throughout my college years, especially Cheng Qinghua, my British Culture course teacher. His profound knowledge of western cultures led me into the world of culture, and also inspired me to make efforts in English learning. I am also very grateful to all the other teachers of the School of Foreign Languages who gave me direct or indirect help during my study in the college.
I am also grateful to my classmates and roommates for their encouragement, support, comments and wise advice.
Last, I wish to devote this paper to my parents for their everlasting dedication that they have shown since I was just a little child.
Abstract
Charles Dickens is one of the greatest writers of Britain in nineteenth Century. Dickens paid special attention to describe life of nobodies from lower class in the British society, reflecting the complicate social reality of that time. Due to his critical works, he has been regarded as a critical realism writer. His works usually depict the suffering life of the people, thus revealing the serious social phenomenon. In addition, his works also attach to the rotten parliamentary system, the absurdity of the trial process, and the darkness of the prisons, all of which are the symbols of bourgeois. Dickens' thought is inevitably influenced by the society of that time, but his imagination is rich. A Tale of Two Cities is such a wonderful book that fills with romanticism and critical realism.
A Tale of Two Cities, published at the age of 47 by Dickens, is one of Dickens’ most important representative works and can be said to be the pinnacle of his twilight years. The background of A Tale of Two Cities is the French Revolution. Different types of people and complex events in Paris and London closely connect the two cities. The civilians living a depressing life suffered from the ruling of bourgeois for a long time, thus a revolt raged in the name of justice, but kind people in this process have lost their lives. Dickens believes that the bloody revolution can not fundamentally solve the problem, and the power of love and goodness is the only way to save people.
This paper falls into five parts. The first part serves as an introduction. The second part introduces the theory of critical realism and the theory of romanticism. The third part aims at explaining elements of good and evil in the novel. The fourth part probes into the formation of good and evil in the novel from perspectives of critical realism and romanticism. The fifth part functions as a conclusion.
Key Words: A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens, Realism, Romanticism, good, evil
摘要查尔斯·狄更斯是十九世纪英国最伟大的作家之一。狄更斯特别注意描写生活在英国社会底层的“小人物”的生活遭遇,深刻地反映了当时英国复杂的社会现实。由于其作品的批判性,他被推崇为批判现实主义的代表作家。 他的作品中通常描绘遭受苦难的好人,从而揭露严重的社会现象。除此之外,他还的作品中还涉及腐朽的议会系统,荒诞的审判过程,及暗无天日的监狱,这些都是资产阶级的象征。狄更斯的思想不可避免地受到当时社会的影响,但他的想象力是丰富的。《双城记》是就是这样一部融合了浪漫主义与批判现实主义的精彩作品。