As many already know, Charles Dickens was a great writer of the 18th century Victorian era. Dickens was unique in his many very descriptive and imaginative characters usually based off his own experiences in life; but in A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens wrote his first and only story based off actual events in history; causing him to slightly hold back on his extreme characters. Charles was inspired for the idea of TOTC from the play, "The Frozen Deep" by Wilkie Collins, which he participated in. Many elements were used in the story to present a theme and two different plots. In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens uses bitter diction, continuous use of the motif blades representing street violence, and use of metaphors to convey the theme that the oppressed that switch with their oppressors, have changed nothing; but simply have now become the oppressors. .
Bitter diction is strongly used to create the evil picturesque images created in the readers head; passages in the novel such as "Saint Antoine's blood was up, and the blood of tyranny and domination by the iron hand was down - down on the steps of the Hotel de Ville where the governors body lay - down on the sole of the shoe of Madame Defarge where she had trodden on the body to steady it for mutilation." (169) set the mood incredibly into a deep trance of hatred and dislike towards the characters of Paris; helping Dickens to support his theme of oppression by creating the image of barbarian-like people taking control of the controllers, in a "wickedly, falsely, traitorously, and otherwise evil-adverbiously" (47) way. Dickens proves many times that he can create an image of whatever he wants; whenever he wants; by simply using "false eyebrows and false moustaches" "hideous countenances were all bloody and sweaty" and "all staring and glaring with beastly excitement and want of sleep" (203). Without an evil image presented with the common people of France, Dickens would not be able to prove his idea of the new oppressors, being just as; if not worse; than the original noblemen that held them down.