Changing Impressions: A Sydney Carton Character Analysis Essays

They say a first impression is everything. However, Ive found that these arent reliable. Some pack cover their true feelings, trying to be tough. You never know whats going on in peoples lives when you first meet them that causes them to form differently. And sometimes, we just make inaccurate assumptions. This is also true of things in literature. In Charles Dickenss novel A Tale of Two Cities, and in wholly his novels, he wants to confuse people to keep them reading. He creates complex characters who change over time, or sort of just gives us more information limit our decisions our opinions. One of these complex characters who Dickens brings out in different light later on is Sydney Carton. In the beginning of the story, when he is first introduced to us at Charles Darnays trial, we just now see his outward actions, and none of his feelings. All we see of the man is that he appears to be a sloppy rummy, and quite the good-for-nothing loser. He spends the entire percentag e point during the trial staring at the ceiling with his eyes glazed over, never speaking once because hes too drunk to do so.We later see that him after the trial, at a restaurant with Darnay. He does nothing other than drink. He orders glass after glass of wine, getting as drunk as possible. One wonders if he ever does anything else. He is rather mean to Darnay after the man thanks him profusely, and continues to drink. We see that not only is he a drunk, hes a mean drunk. And then after Darnay leaves, Carton covers his head, lays down on the table, and tells the waitress to wake him at ten P.M. as he passes out. It almost implies he has nowhere else to go, but mostly just tells a reader that he has nothing better to do.We also see him at his police partner Stryvers house, working late night hours as he drinks still more. It would seem that Stryver pulls Cartons dead weight around to serve up him for some reason, and a reader wonder why Stryver does this. Stryver speaks of ambit ion and drive, and we can cl earlier see by comparison that Sydney has none. IT seems has no provide to live, but rather stays alive only for his next drink.We later see him wondering around town like a vagrant, stumbling back to his house in the early morning hours. We arrives there, Dickens poetically that he cries himself to sleep. This is where ones opinion of him first begins to chang... ...ding to this interpretation, the bright prophecies of better times ahead are basically Dickens track of copping out, of pleasing his audience with a hopeful ending. If Sydney Cartons motives seem complicated to you, try stepping back and viewing him as a man, rather than an influence on the story. Hes a complex, realistic character. We see him so clearly, working early morning hours on Stryvers business, padding between table and punch bowl in his headdress of sopping towels, that were able to feel for him. Have you ever known someone whos thrown away his talent or potential, yet retain s a spark of achievement, as good as peoples sympathy? Thats one way of looking at Sydney Carton. However you view him, though, is how Dickens meant it. He meant for his stories to be controversial and confusing he love it when his characters were complex and hard to understand. He felt he himself was this way, and made his characters modeled after him. But I know that after reading this book, I will check my first impressions and not really form too much of one before I see whats really going on. And the next time I meet someone, Ill remember that first impressions arent everything.