A Tale of Two Cities Essay - AP Question 3 In the literary work, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens the death

the peasant Gaspard s son exemplifies the war in between the high and low class and social injustice in revolutionary period France. In book the second of A Tale of Two Cities the son of the peasant Gaspard is killed by Monsignor the Marquis when he is run over by his carriage. This shows the Marquis general lack of concern for anyone who is not of the high class as he is. He ran over the boy because he did not like peasants and because he did not care at all about them. Overall, this shows a major theme in the book of social injustice and the higher class thinking they are better than the lower class and showing no concern for the general welfare of the majority of the citizens who are of the lower class. This is shown throughout the book in the revolution as a whole but the death of the peasant Gaspard s son is a prime example of this because his son was killed for no apparent reason besides that he was in the street and in the way of Marquis. Furthermore after the son of the peasant man Gaspard was killed in the street by Marquis carriage he threw a coin to Gaspard to help compensate for the loss of his son. This shows complete disrespect for Gaspard and his dead son. The throwing of the coin is done in a mocking fashion and it is ridiculous to think that a gold coin can compensate for the loss of a son. By throwing one gold coin to compensate for the loss of a peasant boy shows that the higher class does not believe that the peasants are worth much and that they are not worth more than a single gold coin. Overall this shows a general theme that exists throughout the literary work that the higher class believes that the lower class in France is useless and worthless to them. Also, exchanging a coin for the loss of a son exemplifies the injustice that exists between the high and low class in A Tale of Two Cities because this is not just for

Gaspard. The throwing of the coin shows that the higher class does not value the lower class in the country of France. After the son is killed the peasant man Gaspard responds. The response by the peasant Gaspard shows his rebellious spirit and hatred for the higher class that is similar to the rebellious spirit and hatred for the upper class that is shared by the other people of the low class that exists throughout the book, A Tale of Two Cities. After the son of the peasant man Gaspard was killed and thrown a coin to compensate for the loss of his son, the coin was thrown back at him to show his disapproval and that a coin was not compensation for the loss of his son and to show that that was unacceptable. Later on the man grabs on to the bottom of the carriage and goes back to Monsignor the Marquis house with him. At Monsignor the Marquis house the peasant man Gaspard exerts his revenge. He does this by killing Marquis and leaving a note saying drive him fast to his tomb . The response of Gaspard towards Monsignor the Marquis is similar to the response of the revolutionaries to the ruling class in the book. Overall this shows the peasants rebellious spirit, that they want to do something to get back at the higher class, and explains the anger of the revolutionaries as a whole. In conclusion, in the novel, A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens the death of the peasant man, Gaspard s son and the reaction to the death show the theme of war between the higher and lower class and social injustice which is present throughout the book.