Essay #6

Illumination:

An Essay About Light in A Tale of Two Cities and My Life

by Inpyo Hong

9th Grade English

Pine Point School

12/02/11

Arlo Guthrie said, “You can't have a light without a dark to stick it in.” Light plays an essential role augmenting a melancholy mood in A Tale of Two Cities. Light represents indispensable tranquility in my discordant and tumultuous life. Light is a requisite for our serene life; without it, the world would be overshadowed with chaos.

To begin with, light is an emblem of hope in A Tale of Two Cities. Firstly, Charles Dickens utilized light in the section where Lucie Manette and Mr. Lorry encounter Dr. Manette—the estranged father of Miss Manette. Dr. Manette was immured in a dismal room where  no sufficient light, no entertainment, but only a window existed. Bleak, though it was, he longed for the hours the sun appeared providing his only source of light. Furthermore, in Chapter 2, a courier comes to search for Mr. Jarvis Lorry during the murky and shadowy night to give him an enigmatic letter that says, “Recalled to life.” Mr. Lorry “opened [the letter] in the light of the coach-lamp;” he held the letter and read it carefully under the radiant light according to the picture. The letter also said, “Wait at Dover for Ma’amselle,” which meant Mr. Lorry would hopefully meet a character who is unknown. If there were no light, Mr. Lorry would not be able to read the letter and do as the letter said. Additionally, Charles Dickens included light when depicting Lucie Manette’s somber room. Lucie Manette relied on the dim candlelight, which succumbed to the obscurity of her furnished room. On my reflection, the dim candlelight symbolizes Lucie Manette’s depressed spirit because of her father, who was assumed dead before found alive. Thus, Dr. Manette, Lucie Manette, and Mr. Lorry show how light is used as a token of hope in A Tale of Two Cities.

          Not only is light used as an effective symbol in A Tale of Two Cities, light is a pragmatic element in my life. Surprisingly enough, lights are on every street, avenue, underpass, even highways, saving our lives. Since light illuminates the roads, we are able to travel back and forth like I do from New Jersey to Connecticut. Without light, our transfer from place to place would be limited, or people would have to confront misadventures like vehicle accidents. Moreover, light extends our ability to continue study in the afternoon. We are now exceptionally sophisticated in languages and technologies because we were able to study in the bright morning and gloomy night with the advantage of using light. Nevertheless, if we did not have light for our study, we would not be civilized as we are currently since the time we could spend studying is restricted by how much we may read and write due to the deficient light. It is indisputable that light is also guiding our lives surrounded with temptation—deluding deeds that are catastrophic to the humanities if light did not exist. Light compels us to ameliorate our moralities; we feel condemned within ourselves to commit sins where light irradiates us. For example, I sometimes get allured by the captivation of going on “Facebook” and “Twitter”—my guilt these days—instead of studying late at night when it is dark and everyone is asleep, feeling safe and hidden within my surroundings. However, exposed by the light at school, I must endeavor towards my full concentration in the class and not doze. Hence, light is one of the most essential necessaries that enhance and control our lives.

          Consequently, the world would be overwhelmed with malevolence without light. Charles Dickens used light to denote hope in A Tale of Two Cities. Light saves us from numerous detrimental occasions and enhances our lives. Therefore, light, my life, and A Tale of Two Cities mirror Arlo Guthrie’s concept: “You can't have a light without a dark to stick it in.”

Self-Assessment:

1. One writing issue I am trying to work on: I am still continuing to work on using right grammar and apt words to make my sentences flow.

2. One possible strong point I see in this essay: By using good asyndeton and appositives, I made my my sentences stronger.

3. One possible weak point I see in this essay: I might have not used good examples for my SDs.

4. I would give myself an A-.