For chapters 1-5 of Book II, I completed two illustrations. This first one is a side by side comparison of Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay. Described as "so like each other in feature", I drew them with similar physical features. They are also "so unlike each other in manner", so Darnay is drawn as a more sullen, brooding man, due to his current situation (facing death), and Carton is depicted as the carefree, reckless character he is described as being.
This second illustration represents Sydney Carton and Mr. Stryver, in their metaphorical lion and jackal forms. Mr. Stryver, the "lion", is a successful lawyer, arguably more ambitious, at least at some point, than Carton. In this drawing he is relaxing on his couch, enjoying his drink and barely doing any work, as described in the novel. Mr. Carton, on the other hand, the "jackal", has had a worse lot in life than Stryver and thus is not nearly as successful. Whether this is due to luck or Carton's carelessness remains to be seen. He is drawn hard at work, pouring over the documents that Stryver has set aside for him.
5 comments:
It's almost kind of ironic which "role" has been given to each character, because by the words that Dickens used to describe the scene made me feel like Mr. Carton put in so much more work and effort than Mr. Stryver did, yet the latter was considered more successful. I felt like it could have been with how a lion is automatically more respected in a jungle because of how we have come to compare them to power, sometimes even royalty, and an upper class. When thinking of Jackals, I think of Hyenas and how mischievously careless yet also 'powerful, for they do get things done and hunt other animals successful. This is kind of how the two men are also seen in society it appears to be, with Mr. Carton being the less important of the two but the one that puts in more work towards getting something accomplished. We can also see how Sydney Carton, himself, considers him to be of a lower rank because of his he hates himself.
I do think you drew the second image exactly how I envisioned it too, but I did not really envision Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay to look as how you drew them. Also, I would think that Sydney Carton would always have an "annoyed" or "sarcastic" look on his face because of how discontent he seems to be with himself and the surroundings around him.
Katie...your drawings are absolutely AMAZING! The second one is so powerful...I think that is the way Dickens wanted us to picture it, even though Carton and Stryver are actually human.
Hmm...can we compare this to LOTF? The boys became so savage that we began to view them almost animal-like. And, of course, there's Piggy, whose name was so symbolic because at the beginning, the boys (especially Jack) could not kill the pig, but by the end, they killed both of them. Plus, if you view Golding's diction very carefully, he uses words that would be used to describe wild animals. I can't think of any off the top of my head, but if you want to hear more (which, you're probably thinking "Rachel, just shut up" by now), I can find some examples for you.
Ah Katie! I absolutely LOVE your two drawings above! Both of the pictures are so incredibly well done and appropriate to the text! Your first drawing seems to reflect exactly what I was thinking when I read that quote in the book. The way that both Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay serve as a foil of each other seems so interesting to me! Perhaps this is going to serve as a greater purpose later in the novel? The way both of them contrast each other's actions.
Oh and your second drawing is just PERFECT! I think this scene with the “jackal” and the “lion” is my favorite part of the book so far. I noticed that when Stryver gets drunk, he becomes worthless. But, Sydney doesn’t seem to be too affected by having a few drinks. If I read this correctly I believe that most of his nights, Sydney spends solving Stryver’s cases for him. The relationship between Sydney and Stryver is a bit comical in Dickens's work. Stryver’s sort of like a lion…he’s top of the food chain. And if Stryver’s a lion, then Carton is…a jackal. Lions are hunters. Jackals are scavengers, scooping up the leftovers after animals like lions bring home the prey. But something seems a little off here because Stryver’s the guy that’s getting legal insight from Carton. I feel as though the metaphor doesn’t quite fit. So could Dickens be using a little bit of irony here? Just another mystery to be solved in A Tale of Two Cities…
Incredible work with these drawings! In any case, I particularly like the second drawing. I didn’t think that anyone would portray this scene in this manner, but you did, and may I add you executed it perfectly! I really get the feeling that Stryver is lazy, which when you think about the male lion’s tendency to lie in the shade most if not all of the day, makes sense along with his in-novel description. I also like how intoxicated and carefree he looks, as compared to Carton, who looks very annoyed with Stryver. It is a possibility that Carton envies Stryver’s position in life, and you showed this well. Whatever job you have next, I cannot wait to see what you come up with.
I absolutely love the second drawing. I feel it has so much meaning using those symbols. That seemed to be an important part of the text to pay attention to. You portrayed that really well. Also the detail in how the jackal's eye was well done. It made Carton look mad, which is what he would seem to be in this situation. In the first drawing I thought it was great how you incorporated the contrast in colors that both men are wearing. It really symbolizes their personality and characte(so far). Also the difference in their facial expression is very important. Well done!
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