Friday, January 8, 2010

Question of the Week (1/8/10)

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An announcement for extra credit: If you turn in your paper by Wednesday (1/13/10), I will add 10 points to your paper grade. Turn your paper in early!


How is the theme of redemption exemplified in this novel? Use specific examples from the text. In what other texts is this theme prevalent? (Hint: Think about The Power of One, The Bonesetter's Daughter, The Kite Runner and Cyrano.)

35 comments:

Katie Callahan said...

An example of redemption in A Tale Of Two Cities is Manette’s redemption of his life. After his imprisonment, Manette is not mentally stable or well. He spends his days making shoes and is unable to answer questions. Lucie is able to help him recover his life and start over.

In the Power of One, Peekay also must redeem his life after being abused by Judge and the other Afrikaners at the school. He starts his redemption by taking advantage of his true potential. In the beginning, he says it is best to go unnoticed and stay invisible, but by the end, he exceeds all expectation and becomes the best. His final step of redemption comes when he beats Judge up in a bar at the mines.

In the Bonesetter’s Daughter, LuLing is constantly searching for redemption after Precoius Auntie dies as a result of her behavior.

In the Kite Runner, Amir cannot redeem himself after seeing Hassan being raped. He forces Hassan and Ali to leave which separates them forever. Amir is able to redeem himself by going back to Afghanistan and finding Hassan’s son. Only then does he feel as if he has paid back for his lack of action when they were boys.

Sonya said...

Another example or redemption is that of Charles Darnay. At the beginning of the book, Darnay is on trial for treason, and his sentence is death. At this point, he is as good as dead, yet the lack of evidence against him and the fact that he looks similar to Sydney Carton ends up saving him, redeeming his life. There are also hints that this may happen a second time, and that he may be saved from death by the guillotine.

Like Katie said, in the Power of One, Peekay must redeem his life after being abused by the judge and others at his first school. He must go from a scared little boy, who believes it is best to be invisible, to one who cannot be intimidated and can stand up for himself. He ends up becoming a great boxer, and a good person.

I also agree with what Katie said about redemption in the Bonesetter's Daughter and the Kite Runner.
There is also redemption in Cyrano. Cyrano loves Roxane throughout the play, yet he never lets her know, and she thinks that it is Christian who has written all of the letters that Cyrano actually writes. At the end, when Cyrano is dying, Roxane figures out that it was actually him all along, and tells him that she loves him. This is his redemption, and he is able to die in peace.

Michaela Helble said...

I agree with Sonya that Charles Darnay is another example of redemption in the Tale of Two Cities. Darnay's life is actually redeemed twice: the first, Sonya wrote about, but when Darnay is again on trial for his life in the Bastille, his life is redeemed by Doctor Manette. Darnay tries to persuade the "jury" to release him because he left France before the emigration law was in effect. However, all hope would have been lost if he wasn't Dr. Manette's son-in-law. The second time Darnay is on trial, it is again another person who saves him, and his life is again redeemed.

I agree with the examples that Katie and Sonya had from Cyrano and the Power of One. I most agree with what Katie said about The Kite Runner. Amir dishonestly accuses Hassan of stealing from him, so he won't have to see Hassan. He only wanted to do this because he didn't stop Hassan's rape, and couldn't stand to look at Hassan because of this. When Hassan and Ali leave, Amir is forced to live the rest of his life in guilt. He can't forget what he did to Hassan. So, as Katie said, when he has a chance, Amir almost feels like it is his duty to save Hassan's son (Sohrab) to assuage his guilt. By saving Sohrab, Amir can finally atone for the things he's done to Hassan, and redeem himself in his own eyes.

In The Bonesetter's Daughter, redemption is similar to in The Kite Runner. LuLing believes it's her fault that Precious Auntie committed suicide, and she has a hard time coping with her guilt. Throughout the rest of her life, LuLing is haunted by the memory of Precious Auntie. She is always seeking forgiveness from Precious Aunties's ghost. If she was able to gain that, she could begin to truly live her life, free of guilt and blame. And she, like Amir, could be redeemed in her own eyes.

Jeff said...

I think that there are many characters in A Tale Of Two Cites that exemplify redemption. For one, there are the Defarges. I don't know if this redemption is positive or negative, but I think that they are getting revenge on the government who has oppressed them for a long time. This also goes for all of the revolutionaries. Also, Dr. Manette gets to live after being imprisoned for a long time. He got revenge on the government, and now he lives in England and has a family and is able to see his daughter growing up. Darnay, like other people have said, is redemed when he escapes the jury in England. He isn't a spy, but in those days, it is hard to escape being punished for even a lie.

In the other books that we have read, there is always redemption. I think that in most book, one could find a character who gets redemption. I "Power of One", the whole story is about redemption, especially when he kills the judge at the end of the book. That book is all about Peekay's redemption on everyone who thought that he wasn't good enough or of the wrong race.

In The Kite Runner, there is the scene when Amir fights (the man who rapes Hasssan, whose name I can't remember) in order to get Hassans son back. That is redemption. Also, he beomes a man in front of our eyes when he goes back to Afghanistan. He knows that it has changed, but he redeems Hassan when he goes back and gets his son.

In Bonesetters Daughter, there is redemption when LuLing redeems herself in a way. She thinks that she made Precious Auntie commits suicide, so she needs to talk to Precious Auntie in the sandbox to redeem her feelings of guilt.

Daniel Alberta said...

An example of redemption in The Tale of Two Cities is Dr. Manette. After he is released from jail he goes right back to being obsessed with shoe making. He redeems himself by finally stopping the constant shoemaking and starting to actually care for Lucie and Darnay. As Jeff said an example in The Power of One is when Peekay goes back at the end of the book and kills the judge. I think in every book that our class has read there has been something to do with redemption

Jennie said...

When M. Defarge reads Dr. Manette's letter from when he was in the Bastille, we learn of another story of redemption. After the Marquis, Charles's father, treats the peasants so terribly (resulting in multiple deaths), Charles's mother tries to redeem her family. She does this for Charles's sake. She had a "presentiment that if no other innocent atonement [was] made for this, it [would] one day be required of him"(324). When she says "this," she is referring the the cruel actions of her husband, and therefore the family name.
In The Kite Runner, Amir redeems himself, at least a little, by helping Hassan's son, Sohrab. After the terrible way Amir's childhood friendship with Hassan crumbled, this allows him to redeem himself as much as he possibly can. He risks his life for Sohrab, and I think this lets him live his his life with less guilt than he has been--he feels as if he has redeemed himself.

Jennie said...

I agree with Jeff's point about the redemption of the Defarges. Whether it's good or bad, it's there. Redemption in this case is not referring to repenting for one's sins, being "good" again. In the case of the Defarges, it's more that they're finally getting something for all of their hard work. Their form of redemption might be closer to revenge. They are finally getting results after their secret plans and hard work. In their minds, this might be their form of redemption.

Erin Donohue said...

I agree with Katie about how Dr.Manette is able to redeem his life after he is freed from his tower in the Bastille prison. I think that up until Lucie's marriage he still struggles to come to terms with the fact that he is finally free; it isn't until he begins to create shoes again and Mr.Lorry destroy's his shoemaking bench that he is finally redeemed: "There, with closed doors, and in a mysterious and guilty manner, Mr.Lorry hacked the shoemaker's bench to pieces..." (205)

I think that in The Kite Runner, Amir redeems himself by taking Sohrab to the US for a better life even though they are both scared for what the future holds. Amir must remember the friendship that he had with Hassan and do his best to help his son and redeem his selfish past.

Ella Kaplan said...

I also agree with katie and everyone who has mentioned that Dr. Manette's expiriences and life are an example of redemption. After he spends his time jail, he is convinced that the only way to go on is to channel his thoughts into making shoes. It's not until he meets Lucy and like Erin said, that when Mr. Lorry destroys his shoemaking, he is finally redeemed and stops making shoes and can start living with the past behind him.

In Cyrano De Bergerac, Cyrano is redeemed when he finally reveals the truth to Roxanne about him and Christian. This also redeems Roxanne in the way that she finally knows who she truly fell in love with, not the person who she thought she had been in love with.

Like Jeff, Katie and others said, in The Power of One when Peekay kills the judge for getting back at the judge for what he did to him when he first went to school.

Kelsey said...

I agree that the theme of redemption seems to come up in almost all of the books we have read this semester. In A Tale of Two Cities, redemption is exemplified through several characters, like Charles Darnay, Doctor Manette and even Sydney Carton. As many people have said, Doctor Manette is redeemed after Lucie and Mr. Lorry "rescue" him from his dark, lonely past when he sat in silence making shoes. Before they came for him, Doctor Manette was clearly in a state of confusion and very unstable, "He lapsed away, even for minutes, ringing those measured changes on his hands the whole time. His eyes came slowly back, at last, to the face from which they had wandered; when they rested on it, he started, and resumed, in the manner of a sleeper that moment awake, reverting to a subject of last night." (50) They help to redeem his life and a chance to start over (like Katie said.)

Also in A Tale of Two Citites, Sydney Carton is kind of redeemed. At the beginning of the book, we thought Sydney Carton was just a drunk who looked like Charles Darnay. (At least that's what I thought.) Yes, he is very hardworking, but at the beginning of the book, the fact that he was constantly drinking was very relevant. But, we really get to see how he redeems himself when he confesses his love for Lucie "If it had been possible Miss Manette, that you could have returned the love of the man you see before you- self-flung away , wasted, drunken, poor creature of misuse as you know him to be..." (154) This shows that even just by loving Lucie, Carton is a changed man, and is "softened" (153).

As for in other books, I think that the most obvious case of redemption is in the Power of One. After all the emotional and physical pain that the Judge put Peekay through while they were at school, at the end of the book, Peekay is able to redeem himself by getting back at the Judge (maybe going a little too far in the end by killing him). Like Jeff said, he was able to redeem himself to all the kids at school who picked on him and didn't believe in him.

Kelsey said...

I agree with Erin that in the Kite Runner, Amir redeems himself when he takes Sohrab home to the U.S. with him. Like she said, they are both quite unsure about what the future holds for them, but Amir is doing this for Hassan, and is kind of making up for what he didn't do for Hassan. He didn't help Hassan when he saw him get raped, so he helps Hassan's son instead.

lynda said...

In the novel a Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens it is evident by at the end of the book, Sydney Carton has 'redeemed' himself by sacrificing his life for Lucie and her loved ones. Sydney lived a miserable life, and loved a taken woman. So, since he had nothing else to live for he decided to sacrifice himself for the benefit of her, so that she could be happy.

He also redeems himself in Darnay's eyes, as earlier in the book it was apparent that the two didn't like each other, but now Darnay is so thankful for Sydney's action, passing on the story of Carton to others, so that his legacy & spirit may live on.

In the power of one, PK redeems himself when he finally gets revenge on the Judge, whom he has held a grudge on for god knows how many years

I agree with Erin and Kelsey that in the Kite Runner Amir redeems himself for the rape befriending and embarrassment of Hassan by taking Sohrab with him to the US, so that he can attempt to undo the wrong that he had done to his father.

Kiana said...

There are many examples of redemption n A Tale of Two Cities. I agree with Katie that Dr. Manette is one example. He is “recalled to life” when Lucie and Mr. Lorry go to take him from the Defarge’s. He is able to start his life over and forget about the past. I think another example is Madame Defarge. We find out in chapter 12 that Madame Defarge has personal connections to the trial of Darnay. The family that had been hurt by the Evremonde bothers is her family.
“Defarge, I as brought up among the fishermen of the seashore, and that peasant family so injured by the two Ecremonde brothers, as that Bastille paper describes, is my family. Defarge, that sister of the mortally wounded boy upon the ground was my sister, that husband was my sister’s husband, that unborn child was their child, that brother was my brother, that father was my father, those dead are my dead, and that summons to answer for those things descends to me!” (334)
Now, she has the descendants of those who killed her family in front of her and she wants to make sure they are killed. Madame Defarge is determined to take the life of Darnay as well as Lucie because it is her way of getting redemption for what happened to her family.

There is also redemption in The Kite Runner. Some have already mentioned Amir, and I agree with them. Going back to Afghanistan and finding Sohrab is Amir’s way of redeeming what he did to Hassan as a child.

Robin Smith said...

A example of Redemption in a Tale of Two Cities Doctor Manette's revival after he has been freed from prison. While in prison he never expected to see his family again, and he referred to the prison as his living grave. He sunk into mental instability and would just make shoes all day. However after he was freed from prison by Lucy and Mr. Lorry he becomes strong again and gets to live the life he dreamed of when in prison. When they are in Paris the roles of Dr. Manette and Lucy are reversed and he is the one taking care of her.

I agree with what previous people have said that in The Kite Runner going back and finding Sohrab is a form a redemption for Amir, but I think that he can never truely redeem himself for not standing up for Hassan.

In the power of one Peekay turns his life around and goes from a person who is scared of bullys and who lives life with a 'camaflague' to someone who stands up for people who are abused like the native South Africans. I think that although Peekay will never forget what happened to him when he was young, he finds solice knowing that he is helping other people from having the same awful treatment.

Unknown said...

There's nothing anyone has said that I would disagree with. There have been multiple examples of redemption in A Tale Of Two already stated, but I especially like the one Robin writes about - Dr. Manette's redemption of himself in Paris, and the role reversal.

Others have mentioned the redemption in The Kite Runner: Amir going back to save Hassan's son from Assef, the man who raped him.

Lauren Hoh said...

As many people have said, an example of redemption in A Tale of Two Cities is when Dr. Manette has a chance to start his life over after being saved from prison. In prison, he was forced to make shoes and was in confinement for many years. When Lucie saves him he has a chance to be free and see Lucie all grown up. Charles Darnay is another example of redemption. After his trial he is proven innocent and is able to live his life. He also changes his name so he is not seen of noble birth, because he hated his uncle.

In The Power of One, Peekay redeems himself by turning from a little picked on kid to an amazing boxer. he begins to believe in himself and makes great friends. he also returns to his past when he meets the judge again, as an adult, and beats him down finally. Like jeff and kelsey said, Peekay showed the kids that were mean to hi min school that he could become somebody.

In The Bonesetter's Daughter, Lu Ling moves to American and gets to start her whole likfe over with her sister, who gets away from her bad husband.
I agree with Kelsey and Erin that in The Kite Runner, when Amir is asked to save Sohrab and bring him back to America so that Amir can redeem himself is an example of redemption.

Emily Lohr said...

I agree with everyone who's brought up Dr. Manette. He was imprisoned for a very long time before being saved. When Lucie went to him at 105 North Tower he was a bit crazy, very weak, he made shoes excessively, spoke repetitively, and asked the same questions over and over. Dr. Manette says, "What did you say?" (48) four times over the course of two pages. After he got saved, he got a chance at a new life, became very close with his daughter, Lucie, and stopped making shoes. He learned to speak normally and go on with life.

I also agree with Erin that in The Kite Runner, Amir redeems himself by bringing Sohrab back with him to America. He had to do this to make up for his past with Hassan, so it wouldn't haunt him for the rest of his life.

Sam said...

There are many examples of redemption in A Tale of Two Cities. First off, Doctor Manette redeems his imprisonment by being a well known and important man just after the Revolution. Also the Defarge's redeem themselves by leading the Revolution and taking back all they have lacked their whole lives. Throughout the story, the theme of redemption is most specificely exemplified by the Revolution but there are other examples of when it is not.

I agree with Katie that Peekay redeems himself in The Power of One by going back and killing the Judge. Also in Kite Runner, Amir redeems himself by going back to Afghanistan and saving Sohrab from Assef.

Sarah McAndrew said...

As said before there are tons of examples of redemption in A Tale of Two Cities. For example Dr. Manette's redemption comes from his chance at a new life with his daughter after being imprisoned through her childhood and for the majority of his entire life.

Another key example of redemption was in the book The Kite Runner. When Amir witnessed Hassan's rape and didn't do anything to help, he caused not only a great deal of pain for himself, but for Hassan. Later he got the chance to redeem himself by taking Sohrab back to the U.S and away from Assef. Redemption doesn't take anything back, but it gives a person the chance to say they are sorry, or to live a life they originally could never have lived. Through out all of the books we have read this semester redemption has been present in all, everyone's life has some form of redemption in it. We give up opportunities and new doors open, sometimes we have doors that re-open and give us a shot to make a different decision. I'm not saying we will always get a second chance to do something, but there is always another door right next to the one you just closed or opened leading you on to the next stage of your life.

Burton said...

there are many attempts at redemption in the books we have read this year. As in a tale of two cities the whole theme of the book, recalled to life, is the perfect example of a redemption. The person using the recalled to life (Dr. Manette) is trying to get redemption from his past in jail where life was hard, and soul crushing. We see this redemption finish when he is taken in by the revolutionaries in Paris as one of their own, and allowed to lead them in their attacks of the noblemen.

In the The Power of One we see redemption take form in Peekay soon becoming the main theme of the book after the chapters on his days at school. Unlike Dr. Manette Peekay takes the whole book to fulfill his redemption, from being pushed around, and taken advantage of, to being a powerful boxer, and someone who is satisfied with the life they live.

I agree with jeff that in the kite runner the redemption for Amir comes during the last page of the book when he is flying the kite, and says the famous line to Hassan's son, that Hassan had said to Amir in their childhood. I also agree with Katie and her example of redemption from the Bone-setters Daughter being Luling trying to be good again after letting precious aunty die.

Alex Krass said...

Redemption is a huge theme for many of the books we have read this year. Starting with the first book, the Power of One, Peekay is on a mission to redeem himself from what happened to him at private school. He eventually becomes an exceelent boxer and in the end redeems himself by destroying the Judge.

Another time we saw this theme very strongly was in the kite runner.During the entire book Amir was out to reddem himself for what he let happen to Hassan after he ran the kite down for him. He spent a huge part of his like remembering what happened and in the end finally redeeming himself by saving Hassan's son and taking him in with Amir and his wife.

In the book we are reading now redemtion is very improtant as well. I agree with what Burton said in that Dr. Manette is trying to reddemm his on pride of being put in jail for no reason, by helping with the revolutionary cause in the ways he thinks are correct.

Alice.Rottersman said...

Whelp, I'm sure everyone has already said this multiple times, but, in a Tale of Two Cities there are many instances of "revivals." Most notibly there's Dr. Manette whom is first "recalled to life" (19). Then he further redeems himself when he uses his influence to free Charles, "The preceding relative posistions of himself and Lucie were reversed, yet only as the liveliest gratitude and affection could reverse them, for he could have had no pride but in rendering some service to her who had rendered so much to him" (269-70). Jerry Cruncher also seeks redemption after his...job...is discovered, "'make amends for what he would have un-dug-if it wos so-by diggin' of em in with a will and with convictions respecin; the furtur keeping of em safe'" (303).

I agree with Alex about the Kite Runner, with Amir trying to redeem himself after what he did to Hassan. Redemption is also prevalent in the Bonesetter's Daugher; Luling was always trying to relieve her guilt over Precious Auntie.

Chris W said...

Redemption...well, the whole "recalled to life" thing...as many have already said, Dr. Mannette would be a good example, and the Sydney Carton-Charles Darnay thing, I guess Carton redeemed Darnay's life by sacrificing himself...

As for the other texts, there's Amir "redeeming" his past mistakes with Hassan by helping out Sorhab...
Power Of One, Peekay gained redemption by attacking Botha for killing Granpa Chook...
I mean, they both seem like a bit of a stretch but, ehh...

Basically everyone else has covered the major redemption related events so yeah...

Daniel G said...

Redemption is a reoccurring theme throughout this book. Obviously, the biggest example that many have already touched on is Dr. Mannette redeeming himself by getting back to a normal life and forgetting his past. He got a second chance to have a family with Lucie when he had thought that all was lost.

I also agree with Kiana that Madame Defarge gets seems to be getting her redemption in chapter 12. She was the sister of the boy and girl who died at the hands of Darnay's uncle and father, and now he is being sentenced to death after she was one of the poeple who had him put on trial a second time.

Charles Darnay even has some redemption in this story, surviving his very first trial in England to end up married and in a happy life with a woman who was made to testify against him. At this point in the book, we can only hope that he survives his death sentence to get redemption on the Defarge's.

In other books, I think we all agree that Amir gets his redemption in "The Kite Runner" when he retrieves Sorhab after betraying Hassan all those years before. Also touched on by a few others that I agree with is in "The Power Of One" when Peekay gets his redemption on the judge after being bullied so horribly in his childhood. This example is in a more literal sense, however, as Peekay actually fights him and, to our knowledge, may or may not end up actually killing him.

Anonymous said...

Like lots of the posts above me noted,
The theme of redempetion is exemplified in the recalling to life of Dr Mannete. Except i feel like redempetion isnt the word for it. probably because I spelled redemption wrong. There it is.....
anywhoo,
unless there is some big secret involving Dr Mannette and some tragic thing he did wrong, there isn't anything he needs to redeem himself from.


I agree with Chris W who stated that amir is also a good example of a redemption case because he went and saved Hassans child. The Kite Runner's major plot has to do with Amir reedeming himself as much as possible for the horrible act he witnessed.

Maybe Mrs Piro is going to put an essay on our final about this exact topic.....
calling it right now

George Papa said...

Redemption has many forms in this novel. One being Dr. Mannette's life experience in being forced to make shoes and being held captives. Another being Sydney Carton being a drunk all of his life and having a form of redemption by being guilotined in place of Charles Darnay.

There are many people to agree with so i will agree with Chris W. and how he stated that the theme of "recalled to life" is present through out the whole novel and because of it being a reacuring theme it had many effects on the charactors such as Charles Darnay going back to France, being forced into that tough desicion from having to leave his family, etc.

I would have to say redemption is resinating in my mind from the book the power of one, where at the very end of the novel Peekay has a final fight with the Judge, redemption in his mind from the torture and torment of his childhood problems caused by the Judge.

Bryce said...

I agree with what a lot of people have said about how Dr. Manette and Charles Darnay have both had redemption in this book. Dr. Manette by being able to leave his prison (and the Defarges) and be happy with his daughter. Darnay, because he was aquitted in his trial both in England and France.

I agree with Katie's connection to the other books we read and how they had redemption in them too. Another example is of Cyrano, how he outlives Christian and gets to be with Roxanne (well sort of).

The first part of this book is called Recalled to LIfe and I think that is a major part of this book. People are always being recalled to life, such as Roger Cly who is not dead, Darnay, and Manette.

Lupi Linehan said...

I agree with what everyone else has said that redemption has many forms in this book. As Chris said "recalled to life" gives the book a theme of redemption. It is reacuring throughout the book and makes the theme more obvious.

Everyone has said just about every form of redemtion in the book, but I agree with what everyone has said. Dr. Manette was redeemed by being given a second chance when he was let out of captivity. And as most people have said Charles Darnay also had a form of redemption, and although I'm not sure whether this is redemption or not, when another person died for him is kind of like redemption, because he is recieving another chance to live and be with his family etc.

And in a way Lucie was redeemed because she had a second chance with her father to meet him and get to know him. So overall the book has a theme of redemption all throughout it.

Unknown said...

Dr Manette hands down exemplifies redemption in this novel. He had a whole lot of bad luck in his early life which resulted in him being placed in a cell for half of his life. This was followed up by his freeing from his cell. Once freed, he was able to try his life over and make up for his lost time with his daughter..... redemption.

In another book we have read, The Power of One, Peekay finds redemption in his life. He, throughout his childhood took blow after hurtful blow from the Judge and his Jury, but when the time came when Peekay could fight back, he did, and did it well. he beat the living daylight out of the Judge and put him back in the place he belonged ... the dirt.

Nathaniel brown said...

Redemption is a recurring theme throughout A Tale of Two Cities. The first example of this is when Alexander Manette is "recalled to life" after eighteen years of imprisonment. The second example is when Charles Darnay is on trial for the first time. His proposed sentence is to be drawn and quartered, however he luckily avoids this fate, and so is, in a way, recalled to life. Sydney Carton's job as a resurrection man continues this theme. At the end of the book, Charles Darnay is recalled to life twice more. When he wins his first trial and when he is replaced by Sydney Carton. This thme is also used in The Power of One. Peekay in a sense, makes a new life for himself multiple times. Also, Doc goes to jail for the duration of the war and during that time plays a piece of music he has been unable to do for many years. This helps him leave behind his woes, as well as his alcoholism.

Megan Pattison said...

I very much agree that Dr. Manette exemplifies redemption. He was in prison for a very long time and couldn't live his life. When he got out of prison he was "recalled to life" and was given a second chance. He then got to live out his life the way he had intended to all along.
Charles Darnay is also an example of redemption in A Tale of Two Cities because he has basically been sentenced to death but then he is proven innocent and is given a second chance. He and Dr. Manette share the same experience of being given a second chance at life.
I agree with Nathaniel that Peekay makes a new life for himself out of his love for boxing. He creates new opportunities for his future through his love and passion for the sport.

Katie M said...

Redemption is a huge theme in this novel. One example of redemption is Dr. Manette. He is unfairly put in prison for 18 years. He is living his life in a cell, becoming miserable. After 18 years of being in prison, Doctor Manette is given a second chance in life when Lucie goes and gets him. When Lucie gets him, he completely changes, he has his personality back and he can remember a time when life was good. Because his imprisoned in the Bastille, he is respected by the French and has a influence on the French Revolutionaries. Doctor Manette uses his influence to his advantage when he goes to France with Lucie to help free Charles.

Michael said...

Dr. Manette is the first person who is redeemed. He comes from being imprisoned in the Bastille to being an upstanding citizen in London. The second person who is redeemed is Charles. When we meet him his is under a sentence of death for a crime he did not commit. Yet, he is given a second chance. He even moves beyond that second chance to a 3rd and 4th, being arrested and released twice by the French. The most important redemption is that of Sydney Carton. He is redeemed morally. At the start of the novel he is despicable, drinks too much, he works too much, and he is incredibly rude and insensitive. By the end of the book he as swung around 180º. He has come so far that he dies for his friend.

Michael said...

Lu Ling was never a good daughter to Precious Auntie, she was rebellious and disrespectful. Her redemption came in the form of raising her own daughter. She did her best to raise her daughter to be successful and happy, never mind that she made her daughter's life hell doing it. Ruth's redemption came in her care-taking of her mother. She was a fairly rebellious child, but when her mother could no longer take care of herself she stepped in. She also translated the journals, taking those things that were part of her heritage, which she had pushed away, and striving to understand them.
PK always strove to be independent, like Hoppie, but failed. He was dependent on people from the time he was born, his nanny, his chicken, doc, Geel piet, morry etc. He tried to get his life back on track by running off to work the mines in the Congo, and for a time he was independent. But even in that he failed, because he got caught in a cave in and had to be rescued by his friend Rasputin. This story goes to show that no matter how hard one strives, redemption is not necessarily guaranteed.
In the Kite Runner Amir's redemption is obvious. He goes through trials that endanger his life to rescue his half brother's son. He could not help Hassan when he was young and so he was haunted all his life. Then he learned that he could redeem himself, Rahim Khan wrote "there is a way to be good again" by adopting his half nephew and giving him a new life.
IN Cyrano De Bergerac Christian tries in his last moments to unite Roxanne and Cyrano and to redeem himself. He knows that Roxanne's love for him has transcended his looks and moved to his mind, a mind that really isn't his. He tries to show Roxanne that it is Cyrano who loves her and that she really loves him. LIke PK, he does not succeed, but as the readers we know he tried and he is redeemed.

Bottom Line, Redemption is not guarunteed and it is not easy, so try hard and don't be disappointed if you fail.

Good Tidings said...

The term redeemed in this sense doesn't necessarily refer to being 'freed' like Dr. Manette was from the bastille. Literally, redemption is a freedom from sin, a release from the sins or griefs of the past. The true redemption in a Tale of Two Cities is when Charles Darnay is able to reveal to Dr. Manette who he really is and who his family is. In this case, the redemption comes in the form of Dr Manette's forgiveness.
In addition, Sydney Carton's sacrifice is a redemption from his own grief and a release from his love of Lucy when he sacrifices himself for their well being.

I agree with Mike's statements about how various characters in the books we have read undergo this same redemption. It's important to remember all the way back to The Power of One and remember the lessons which it taught us about redemption and how it is not always possible.
I disagree that Cyrano doesn't reach the point of redemption though-he earns Roxanne's love and is forgiven for "pretending" through Christian-but at this point his mind is so far gone that he cannot realize it. Cyrano dies nobly and proudly, finally free of his sorrows.