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Thursday, February 12, 2015

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”

A Tale of Two Cities

The boys and I read about the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror in The Story of the World yesterday (which, of course, prompted all sorts of CC history sentence songs and connections, including the realization that George Washington became president the same year the French Revolution began).

As I was collecting corresponding books from our shelves (notably The Royal Diaries: Marie Antoinette: Princess of Versailles, Austria-France, 1769 and The Scarlet Pimpernel), I sighed a happy sigh when my eyes landed on A Tale of Two Cities. What a masterpiece.

Can you think of any other book that has such famous first and last lines?

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”

“It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known.”

Just typing those words gives me the chills.

The metaphors and picturesque language in A Tale of Two Cities are exquisite. It is a tale of redemption that rivals Les Miserables. And it is my favorite Dickens novel.

So I decided to read it aloud to the boys. I don’t know how far we’ll get, but I want them to hear the words. They are capable of reading so much on their own, I want to read something together that will challenge them. Something we can spend time on and discuss. [The boys have listened to A Tale of Two Cities retold by Jim Weiss, so they know the basic story line.]

I read the opening passage:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way…

Leif’s comment? “That’s an upside-down world.”

Yes. Yes, it was.

3 comments:

Hannah said...

You've chosen my favorite Dickens as well, although David Copperfield is a close second. The former is a better choice for reading aloud, though, IMO, because you might actually finish it this year! Hope it goes well and that they come to love this book as much as we do. Put on your best British accents, my friend! :-)

LookintoJesus said...

Heidi, thank you for sharing! I have learned so much from your blog! CC Peeps for Life!

Heidi said...

Hannah~ I also loved David Copperfield, but that is a looooooong one, and I don't love it *quite* as much a Two Cities.

LookintoJesus~ You are so welcome. I'm glad to be helpful. :)