Plaything?

In Chapter 7 of Book the Second, A new character Monsieur the Marquis is forced into our lives and drilled into our brain as the most terrible and self-centered person ever. Dickens introduces us to him on page 113, "He was a man of about sixty, handsomely dressed, haughty in manner, and with a face like a fine mask." Right off the bat I noticed he uses the word Haughty when describing Monsieur. I didn't have a clear idea of what the word meant so I looked it up. Haughty means disdainfully proud or snobbish. This is a personality trait we come to learn and despise real fast.

As the chapter continues Marquis is riding in his carriage through the town. Dickens notes that the driver of the carriage had been known of driving as if he were charging an enemy. Monsieur's carriage is dashing through streets sweeping around corners and overall disturbing the peace of the community. Sure enough Marquis is rattled by a rather large bump to cause the entire carriage and horses to come to halt, which is also said to rarely ever happen.

Screams and sobbing of local townspeople are invading Monsieur's ears. One man says "...it is a child", the shrieks and yells of others say "Killed!" "Dead!" Soon after all this commotion, Monsieur the Marquis realizes what had been done. Looking to resolve the issue, he pulls out his purse, and continues to say "It is extraordinary to me that you people cannot take care of yourselves and your children... How do I know what injury you have done my horses?" In these few lines Monsieur the Marquis shows us that he thinks horses are more important than a child's life. Seriously? He then throws a coin down to Defarge hoping that it will cover the life of the deceased boy. He must have major issues if he thinks giving a single gold coin will make everybody forget and forgive what just happened. He feels as if he is more superior in this part of the chapter and that these people should be thankful that he even thought about giving them a coin. This is his Haughtiness.

What lines struck me the most this whole chapter was when he said "Be a brave man my Gaspard! It is better for the poor little plaything to die so, than to live." Did he just say "Plaything?" Does a childs life not mean anything more than just a plaything to this man? Something that if you're bored, you can get and play with, then just throw in the corner when you're done? He shows no respect for any of the townspeople and it truly shines in this part of the chapter.

 Marquis opinion on people and life is very twisted. Nothing phases this mans emotions and it is very creepy and scary indeed. I feel as if he will be a very big character in the rest of the book and can't wait to find out.

Just Another Book?

When I heard about the classical book "Tale Of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens being an assigned reading for class, I wasn't very excited. Classical books aren't my type of thing, I find them very hard and boring to read. But I decided to give this book a chance and was caught off guard by how much I have enjoyed the writing of Dickens. The way he ends paragraphs and chapters makes you reflect, piece together past details, and overall want to read more!

If you are a type of person who is cautious and very particular about classical novels, like me, all I ask is that you read the first 5 chapters. I have only read that much so far and the book has already pulled me into a whole world in which I cannot stop reading because of how caught up I am. Now, I am not saying you should go out and read every classical book you can find, but to just give every piece of literature you do find, a chance. Like this book, for example, you might be very surprised.