2nd Period Notes

Possible Purposes

(1) Describe the plight/desperation of the Third Estate

(2)Foreshadow the French Revolution

Possible Evidence

(1)/(2) “the wind blew over France and shook the rags of the scarecrows in vain, for the birds, fine of song and feather, took no warning” – Diction (“rags”), Metaphor

(2) “to conceive the idea of improving on his method and hauling men up by those ropes and pulleys” –Imagery

(1)“and a gloom gathered on the scene that appeared to it more natural than sunshine” – Vague Imagery

(2) “The time was to come when that wine would be spilled upon the street stones and when the stain of it would be red upon many there” – Symbolism, Imagery, Metaphor

(1)/(2) “Those who’d been greedy with the staves of the cask had acquired a tigerish smear about the mouth” – Imagery

(1)/(2) “Nothing was represented in a flourishing condition, save tools and weapons, but the cutler’s knives and axes were sharp and bright” – Imagery

(1) “Others, men and women, dipped in the puddles with little mugs of mutilated earthenware, or even with handkerchiefs from women’s heads, which were squeezed dry into infants’ mouths” – Imagery

(2) “And one small joker… scrawled upon a wall with his finger dipped in muddy wine-less – BLOOD” – Imagery

(1) “Hunger. It was prevalent everywhere.” – Syntax (Syntactical Variation)

(1) “Cold, dirt, sickness, ignorance, and want were the lords in waiting on the saintly presence – nobles in great power, all of them” –Personification

(1) “The butcher and the porkman painted up only the leanest scrags of meat; the baker, only meager loaves” – Imagery, Diction

(1) “The woman who had left on a door-step the little pot of hot-ashes, as which she had been trying to soften the pain in her own starved fingers and toes, or in those of her child” – Imagery

(2) “It had stained many hands too, and many faces and many naked feet and many wood shoes” – Imagery, Metaphor

(2) “Indeed, they were at sea, and the ship and crew were at peril of tempest” – Metaphor

WORKING THESIS

Through his use of imagery, personification, and metaphor, Dickens depicts the plight of the Third Estate while foreshadowing the French Revolution.

EVIDENCE PER PARAGRAPH

Plight of the Third Estate / Foreshadow the French Revolution
(1)/(2) “Those who’d been greedy with the staves of the cask had acquired a tigerish smear about the mouth” – Imagery
-shows their desperation to get the wine
-animalistic personality?
-how hungry they are and how much they want wine, which is a basic staple
(1) “with handkerchiefs from women’s heads, which were squeezed dry into infants’ mouths” – Imagery
-can’t even support their babies
-must go to any extreme to try to feed their children
(1) “Cold, dirt, sickness, ignorance, and want were the lords in waiting on the saintly presence – nobles in great power, all of them” – Personification
“Hunger stared down from the smokeless chimneys” – Personification / (2) “And one small joker… scrawled upon a wall with his finger dipped in muddy wine-less – BLOOD” – Imagery
(1)/(2) “the wind blew over France and shook the rags of the scarecrows in vain, for the birds, fine of song and feather, took no warning” – Diction (“rags”), Metaphor
(2) “The time was to come when that wine would be spilled upon the street stones and when the stain of it would be red upon many there” – Symbolism, Imagery, Metaphor

TOPIC SENTENCES:

  1. Throughout the passage, Dickens uses imagery and personification to depict the plight of the Third Estate
  2. In addition to revealing the Third Estate’s plight, Dickens foreshadows the French Revolution using metaphor and imagery.

BODY PARAGRAPH: - FOR EACH PIECE OF EVIDENCE, EXPLAIN WHAT IT DOES AND HOW IT DOES IT!

Throughout the passage, Dickens uses imagery and personification to depict the plight of the Third Estate. When the cask of wine drops and shatters in the street, the people run to it and are so desperate for the wine that they “[acquire] a tigerish smear about the mouth” (29). The image of the “tigerish smear” demonstrates their desperation for something that should have been readily available to them. The people are so in need of these basic necessities that they take on almost animalistic qualities in their eagerness to drink the wine. As people scramble for the wine, some women even soak it up with their handkerchiefs, which they then “[squeeze] dry into infants’ mouths” (28). This image suggests that the women of the Third Estate cannot afford to support their children and must go to extremes in order to feed them. The fact that they squeeze the rags dry reveals their absolute need for anything they can get, even muddy wine.