Essay #10

The Good That Comes From Challenges:

An Essay About A Tale Of Two Cities And Why I’m Glad I Read It

Ninth Grade English

Pine Point School

April 18, 2012

By Schyler Davis

Have you ever been hesitant to read a long, difficult novel, but after you were grateful you read it? That’s how I felt about A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. I have learned so much about the French Revolution, and I even improved my reading skills. There were times when I wanted to stop reading, but I took the book one page at a time, which helped me in the long run.

A Tale of Two Cities is  a difficult novel that is rarely read by young scholars, but I am thankful that I read it because I’ve learned from it.  I knew about the French Revolution, but I was ignorant about the events and people during the Revolution. I never knew that women were a huge part of it, and in the novel, Madame Defarge shows how women were involved, coming up with plans and plots, knitting secret messages, and being tough and ready to fight. Also, I learned that people met in secret during the French Revolution, going by the name of Jacque. Another way that A Tale of Two Cities enhanced my knowledge about the time of the French Revolution was how people spoke, a way that was more formal than ours today and in my opinion, more elegant. Now a days, we talk over cell phones or internet and use a lot of slang, but back then, people didn’t have much technology, making them talk to others in person and being more grammatically correct. I like how people use to speak to each other in a proper and profound way. A Tale of Two Cities was probably the most challenging book I’ve read, but I feel that it was a worthwhile trade off  because of all that I’ve learned, and I’m now more prepared to read challenging books in the future.

A Tale of Two Cities has improved my knowledge of the French Revolution, but it has also improved my skill at reading and comprehension. At times I wanted to give up and would wonder why we were even reading the novel, but I soon realized how much I was learning. Everyone knows that it’s a challenging book, but I worked through the novel, taking many notes, rereading parts that were confusing to me, and going slow and steady like in the story of The Tortoise and the Hare. I may have not been as fast as the hare when I read A Tale of Two Cities, but I won because I took my time to understand the book. Also, I can now tell people I read A Tale of Two Cities, a difficult novel that’s impressive to show off. I feel proud of myself for completing such a challenging novel and for taking detailed notes. I will keep this book forever, and when I’m bored someday, I will take it out and look at all my notes, being glad I took my time like the tortoise and didn’t race through it like the hare. This book has made me appreciate worthy writing and has made me eager to read more challenging novels.

As you can see, there are many benefits from reading a challenging novel that’s barely read. I learned how women were a part of the French Revolution and now I’m prepared to read more challenging books in the future.For now on,  I’ll read every difficult novel at a slow and steady pace because I know that’s how I’ll win the race of knowledge.