Forgery?

        In chapter 10 of Book the Third, we are introduced to the letter that Doctor Manette supposedly wrote while he was imprisoned in the Bastille. The Defarges claim that he wrote about a story where a pair of brothers, ordered Doctor Manette to care for a peasant woman who was of a fever and her brother, who was dying of a stab wound. Although the woman was still alive, Doctor Manette failed to save her. A couple days later, the Marquis Evremonde ordered Manette to be taken away and imprisoned in the Bastille.  

 At the end of the chapter, we still do not know if the letter is real or fake, but in my opinion, there are many reasons which can lead the reader to believe that this letter was forged by the Defarges.       

    

     One prime example is when there is a constant reminder in the letter that it is "real". "' I repeat this conversation exactly as it occurred. I have no doubt that it is, word for word, the same. I describe everything exactly as it took place, constraining my mind not to wander from the task. Where I make the broken marks that follow here, I leave off for the time, and put my paper in its hiding-place'" (332). This quote lead me to believe that the letter was fake. Often times when people are lying, you notice them repeating a certain aspect that would lead the reader to believe that it is real and that they are not lying. Although, this does the opposite. By constantly mentioning that the story is "real", I get the sense that they are worried about someone finding out the truth, which in this case is that the story was not writen by Doctor Manette. 

Happiness At Last

     In chapter 17, it is the night of Darnay and Lucies marraige and Doctor Manette has enjoyed the last few days of happiness. Up to this point, Doctor Manette has been in a shell of sorrowness and it has been made clear that Lucie is beginning to bring him out of this shell and overcome his past. He has finally begun to put his years of imprisonment behind him and move on to enjoy his future life. Doctor Manette talks about his years in the Bastille and his thoughts on Lucie at the time. He says that he often imagined what sort of person Lucie would grow up to be and now he is very happy with how she has grown up. I believe that marrying Darnay has shown Lucies father that she has become an independent, responsible woman and Doctor Manette is very happy to see that.

    

On page 198, Dickens describes Doctor Manette finally expressing happy feelings. "He embraced her, solemnly commender her to Heaven, and humbly thanked heaven for having bestowed her on him...Into his handsome face, the bitter waters of captivity had worm; but, he covered up their tracks with determination so strong, that face in its quiet, and guarded struggle with an unseen assailant, was not to be beheld in all the wide dominions of sleep that night"(199). 

     Before Lucie planned on marrying Charles Darnay, Doctor Manette was still caught in his post prison phase, constantly dwelling on his past. For example, earlier in book the second, Doctor Manette was caught pacing up and down the stairs in his sleep, this was a sign of post traumatic stress disorder. Now, after Lucie and Darnay are getting married, Doctor Manette is able to sleep comfortably. This is another prime example of how Lucie brings out the life in her father. Now that he understands that she has grown up to be the woman that he has always wanted in a daughter, his struggles in prison have almost disappeared. 

   
http://justifiedbythescriptures.wordpress.com/tag/sleep/