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A Tale of Two Cities, a la Shmoop: It was the best of videos, it was the worst of videos.

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Even if you haven’t read Dickens’ immortal classic A Tale of Two Cities…

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…you’re no doubt familiar with that opening line:

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

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Man… talk about “fickle,” right? How could it be the best of times and the

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worst of times… at the same time?

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What was Dickens trying to say here… or was he just trying to cover his butt?

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Okay, considering that Dickens is one of the greatest writers who has ever lived…

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…and taking into account that his opener is a pretty famous one…

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…let’s give him the benefit of the doubt and say that… he was likely trying to make

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an important point here. But what?

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Is he saying that it was the best of times for some, and the worst of times for others?

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Dickens paints a picture with a pretty clear divide between the upper and lower classes.

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One half of the population was the upper crust…

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..while the other half had to settle for the upper crust’s… crumbs.

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Or is he insinuating that it’s a matter of perception?

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Some of the characters in this novel live in poverty, but are courageous, loyal, or

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strong of heart.

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Others… members of the aristocracy… live lavish existences, but are corrupt, unkind

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or inhumane.

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Were the folks Dickens writes about experiencing both the best of times and the worst of times…

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simultaneously? Were their hearts full, but their stomachs

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empty…

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…or vice versa?

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And why exactly were there so many empty stomachs… had these people never heard of Ramen noodles?

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All right, so the line might be referring to a divide between the classes…

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…or it could have to do with a sort of… duality of man…

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…but consider a third option.

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Maybe it doesn’t have anything to do with people’s lives at all.

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Perhaps Dickens was commenting on the state of the world as a whole.

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It was the worst of times, because the French Revolution was raging on, and evils such as

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self-indulgence and brutality reared their nasty heads…

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…but it was the best of times, because the human spirit rose up when faced with such

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adversity and hardship…

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…and remained strong even in the face of death.

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And trust us… it’s tough to be strong in the face of death. That is one ugly mug.

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So… which way are you leaning?

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Does Dickens’ famous first line relate to the highs of the rich and the lows of the

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poor…

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…the differing perceptions of happiness that existed within each character in the

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story…

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…or to an all-encompassing assessment of the state of humankind?

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Shmoop among yourselves.

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