Janet Garcia

Period 7

Throughout chapters 8 and 9 in A Tale of Two Cities, the author illustrates how Sydney
Cartons character developed from one that does not have any drive or ambition and spends his
life cruising by without a real goal, into someone who has found a purpose and new meaning for
his life. In this case, because of Sydney Cartons determination to protect Lucie and her family,
he builds his new self-worth along the way of doing so, dramatically developing his character
having found this new purpose.
The care that Sydney Carton has towards Lucie and her family is what ultimately makes
Sydney Carton develop a sense of self-worth in himself towards his path of completing his goal
of protecting Lucie and her family. Sydney Cartons longing to help Lucie is reflected when
there was a little girl with a mother, looking for a way across the street through the mud,
(Dickens 386-387) and he, carried the child over, and before the timid arm was loosed from his
neck, asked her for a kiss (Dickens 387) which illustrates how he thinks about the mother and
her daughter as Lucie and her daughter and just how much he grew to care about the family to
have this need to help them. Sydney Cartons care for Lucie and her family also derives from
him wanting to prevent a traumatic experience that had happened to him and his parents, from
happening to Lucie and her family. In chapter 9, Sydney Carton remembers his mother and
fathers death as he walks by himself when he keeps remembering, I am the resurrection and the
life, saith who the Lord: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and
whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die (Dickens 386), a verse said at his fathers
grave which illustrates just how much this event has truly affected him and therefore, has caused
him to, naturally, want to prevent anything similar from happening to the ones that he cares
about. This relationship that he grew to care about so deeply became his new purpose when he
became determined to not let anything happen to Lucie and her family.
Through the realization of Cartons own discovery of newfound self-worth and being,
Sydney Carton starts to treat himself with more self-respect illustrated by his interactions with
other characters. When Sydney Carton was conversing with Solomon, he therefore came across
boldly to him, The spy, who was pale, turned paler, and asked him how he dared- Ill tell you,
said Sydney And gradually, what I had done at random seemed to shape itself into a purpose,
Mr. BarsadCould you favour me, in confidence, with some minutes of your company
Under a threat? Oh did I say that? (Dickens 366-367) and did not let himself be a push over
and be stepped over as he usually did when he interacted with Mr. Stryver. Since this situation
dealt with helping out Lucie, Sydney Carton does not hesitate in becoming more assertive in
order to do what it takes to help out Lucie and her family. Because of his determination, he starts
to change the way that he would usually act if it meant that it would get him closer to success in
his goal of protecting Lucie and her family.
Because of the situation that Lucie and her family find themselves in, and Sydney
Cartons determination to not let them go through what he and his family went through, Sydney
Carton gains a new outlook on life as he feels that he now has a purpose, which is to protect
Lucie and her family by saving Charles Darnay from prison no matter what. In chapter 9, Sydney
Carton compares his life to an eddy that turned and turned purposeless, until the stream
absorbed it, and carried it on to the sea. (Dickens 387) where his feelings of himself not being
satisfied about his life are realized to himself and illustrated to the reader. He has seen his old
 Janet Garcia
Period 7

ways and is not satisfied by the way he has been living his life without reason. Sydney Carton,
therefore, wants more to his life than what there has been and in the end, his goal to protect
Lucie and her family and keep them together is the push to drive him to undergo this change in
character and continue to do something that he deems would be something worthy of doing in his
life. He has found a purpose.
Sydney Carton finds new purpose in life when he is motivated to protect the family that
he has grown to care deeply about. Because of Sydney Cartons care for Lucie and her family, he
wants to protect them no matter what and as he does so, he builds his new self-worth along the
way and towards his goal of protecting Lucie and her family, Sydney Cartons sense of self-
worth is developed in where he no longer lets himself be a pushover in order to achieve his goal.