A inspiration in life that many people cling to is, that no matter how rough .
and demoralizing things get, there is always a possibility of redemption and .
salvation. Many characters in the novel, A Tale Of Two Cities, are sure that their .
own death or mental destruction is at hand but somehow they escape the grasp of .
death. Dr. Manette who has been imprisoned for eighteen years is completely .
insane and is lovingly nursed back to health. Characters such as Charles Darnay .
slip through the fingers of death more than once. Redemption and salvation do not .
always come in the form of being saved from death. Sydney Carton, a man of .
great potential, has wasted his life and ends up giving his life, in an act of .
redemption. Dickens, in A Tale Of Two Cities, shows that no matter how bleak a .
person's life might seem, redemption and salvation are always possible. .
Dickens develops the theme of redemption and salvation through Dr. .
Manette's painful experience in prison and his resurrection back into society. The .
famous quote, "Recalled to life" (Dickens page 8), is used many times in A Tale .
Of Two Cities to describe Dr. Manette's escape from sure death in the Bastille. .
Dr. Manette's story begins when he is imprisoned unjustly for eighteen years. The .
solitary time spent in the prison waiting for his certain death is so excruciating it .
makes Manette go insane. When Dr. Manette is finally released he does not even .
know his own name: "one hundred and five north tower" (Dickens p 37) is all he .
says when asked. Mr. Lorry and Lucie Manette have the emotional stressful task .
of restoring Dr. Manette back to health: "to restore him to life, love, duty, rest, .
comfort" (Dickens p 22). It took more than five years for Mr. Lorry and Lucie to .
reinstate Dr. Manette's health and even still he has a lot of trouble dealing with .
flashbacks of his agonizing years in prison: "old air of avoidance and dread had .
lately passed over him, like a cold wind" (Dickens p 178).
