British and American English Historical influences Dickens' Humor
Biblical Allusions in Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities
The prodigal son parable and its influence. (set up hyper text link to text of story)
* First, we should appreciate all the two sons stories in the Bible. In some respects, reading and analyzing those texts on their own would be great fun. Can you think of other two sons stories? Esau and Jacob is my favorite. What's yours? With respect to oral traditions, too, why would someone tell a story about two sons? What's the implicit objective of the teller to frame a story in this fashion?
* Second, we need to understand that parables were not only written for those who did not believe or understand the implicit moral/truth in the tale but were also told to those who upheld and practiced the subtlety preached message. In oral traditions, it is common to retell stories in order for the listeners appreciate nuances of the message. As a result, the wisdom blossoms and takes another shape in their hearts and minds.
Much more to follow...