Throughout the novel, Charles Dickens’ judgment and portrayal of France, the Revolution, and the people themselves undergoes some very basic changes. Dickens is always in control of the reader by successfully reaching his goal of leading the reader by the hand through a series of emotions and ideas emanating from the plot and its characters. During the first few chapters of “Book the First,” Dickens has the reader sympathize with the plight of the French …showed first 75 words of 574 total…

…showed last 75 words of 574 total…earlier portrayal of the poor does an about-face. The people had been, up to then, exploited, gaunt, and submissive. Now they were a howling, breast-beating band of bloodthirsty demons. A celebrated cause became mob rule. Once an abused people, they now use their power to destroy all that is not a part of them. They discard the crosses around their necks for miniature guillotines. And the once oppressors now go to their deaths as martyrs.