READING ASSIGNMENT
How to tell a story
Look at this summary of one of Dickens's novels. Follow the example to re-tell the story you have read during the holidays.
|
Introduction - title of the book and when it was written - author and something about him. - type of book: a historical
novel; - setting : where and when the action takes place |
" A Tale of Two Cities", first published in a magazine from April through November of 1859 , is one of Charles Dickens´s most famous historical novels. Charles Dickens (1812 - 1870) came from a poor family of eight children and grew up in London at the time of the industrial revolution, when England was divided into two distinct classes: the rich and the poor. The action in this book takes place in London and Paris during the French revolution. |
|
Main characters - names - identity: age, nationality, job, physical details -background: wealthy/poor; educated/illiterate,etc... |
The main characters involved are Charles Darnay, a Frenchman from a wealthy aristocratic family; Lucie Manette, a young French girl whose father is a doctor, and Sydney Carton, a young Englishman who works as a lawyer in London. Sydney and Charles look very similar. |
|
Plot -
what happens - Divide the plot into three parts . At first,....then...finally |
At first, Charles and Lucie meet in London and fall in love. They get married but discover that Sydney is also in love with Lucie. Then, when the French Revolution breaks out, Charles goes back to France to save one of his family's servants from the guillotine. He is taken prisoner and sentenced to death. Finally, at the last minute, Sydney takes his place in prison and goes to the guillotine, sacrificing himself for the woman the loves. |
|
Your Opinion - different elements: what adjectives/nouns can you use to describe the story? - interest: why do you think it is interesting or not? |
It is a tragic story, full of adventure and suspense. It is also interesting because Dickens sympathises with both the aristocracy and the poor people. |