答辩小组意见： 组长签字： 年 月 日 学院意见： 评定成绩： 签章 年 月 日 XX大学本科生毕业论文（设计）文献综述
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Literature Review Since A Tale of Two Cities is a novel, as Charles Dickens‘s masterpiece was published in installments in All The Year Round in 1859, critics have studied it from various aspects. Comments on the novel may have three sorts. First, those that are the point of view of the historical novel or not—some critics have thought so, but others haven‘t. Second, those that are on the study of humanitarianism and most of critics have agreed with the point. Third, those that on textual artistic style and most of critics have thought the novel are the exception in Dickensian novels. Especially, the second one is the hottest one that many critics are interest in. Sydney Carton is the Ⅰ The Reviews from Abroad When the novel was born, his friend and biographer, John Forster argued that ―there was probably never a book by a great humorist, and an artist so prolific in the conception of character, with so little humor and so few remember able figures.‖ It is worth pointing out that while Charles Dickens is often very funny, this book is not. This is really one of his most serious works. There's really not a lot of comic relief. But it's also one of his more emotionally satisfying books and one of his least sentimental. Stephen wrote an essay on A Tale of two cities in The Saturday Review, London. In the essay, Stephen thought: In the Tale of Two Cities, Mr. Dickens has reached the Castle Dangerous stage without Sir Walter Scott’s excuse; and instead of wholesome food ill-dressed, he has put before his readers dishes of which the quality is not disguised by the cooking?It is a most curious, production, whether it is considered in a literary, in a moral, or in a historical point of view. Pritchard did a summary comment on A Tale of Two Cities in Biographical Essay
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about Charles Dickens; Pritchard concluded the point of view of some critics that the novel is the author‘s autobiography and agreed that: Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay, two main characters, portray different sides of Dickens’ initials, tires to shed his family’s past but can not hide from its reach. Sydney Carton redeems himself through his love for Lucie Manette. These two versions of Dickens are unified in the novel, and they show the destructive power of the past and the healing power of love and sacrifice. In the 21st century, Petch mainly argued The Business of the Barrister in A Tale of Two Cites. In the essay, Simon Petch declared that A Tale of Two Cities is the story of one lawyer, Sydney Carton, and his self-sacrificing love for one woman, in the context of his relations with several other professional men, at the time of the French Revolution. From the above, these critics studied A Tale of Two Cities from varied aspects, especially from history, autobiography, archetype, etc. Long before created A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens showed great solicitude for the French Revolution and retreaded an English historian, Thomas Carlyle‘s The French Revolution. So in this novel, another writer can be seen. It is Tomas Carlyle. In Ruth Glancy‘s Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities a sourcebook, he puts much importance on the Revolution. But everyone who has researched the novel knows that characters are much important than the background. In this novel, he also makes clear the characters in this novel through their actions rather than dialogue. Novelist E. M. Forster famously criticized Dickens‘s characters as ―flat,‖ lamenting that they seem to lack the depth and complexity that make literary characters realistic and believable. Sydney Carton is a flat character. He is just a drunken lawyer who works for “the lion‖. Karis Marie Kalil wrote On Dickens’ a tale of two cities ―He represents the sacrificial hero who ritually slaughtered of his own 8
free will so that society might renew itself, a prospect he envisions before he dies.‖ Dickens writes a shocking tragedy and makes Sydney Carton, his cynical and charming hero, one of his strongest and most sympathetic characters. Carton‘s tragedy is a beautiful tragedy. Ⅱ The Reviews from Home Domestic study of Charles Dickens‘s A Tale of Two Cities is often limited in the field of ideology until 1990s. Many critics give many comments on the most memorable character in this novel – Sydney Carton. The famous Chinese writer, Ba Jin once recalled the image with deep emotion and respect:“That Englishman who sacrificed his life, paced to the scaffold leisurely for other‘s happiness lingers in my mind for several decades. I can not forget him, just like I can not forget a bosom friend. He also is one of my teachers. He sets an example and teaches me to know how to make yourself sublimation.‖ Wang Ping express that the leading thinking of Dickens‘s novels is humanitarianism, which reflects in his numerous novels and among them, A Tale of Two Cities is the typical representative. Meanwhile the article clarifies embodiment of the humanistic thinking in A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens, analyzes and shows its progressiveness and limitation. Anyway Sydney Carton represents the highest state of humanitarianism. So far, most of critics study A Tale of Two Cities with the trap that the author prepared for them. These critics always study the novel in the author‘s standpoint, even though they think there is much failure in the novel. As a matter of fact, they study the novel not as a woman, or as humankind with the thought of gender equality, but as a man. This fault can not attribute to these critics. This is the success of the author. He has successfully protected his belief of the central position of men in his novel from the outer pollution. From A Tale of Two Cities published to the present day, it has a history of one 9
hundred and thirty years. Whether it is in the middle of the academic or readers, it is a work which is still welcomed. Honestly, the great work is just like ―immortal‖ thought it conveying, it also can be immortal anyway. It is a splendid piece in the world history literature.
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