The French Revolution was a period of social and political revolt in France from 1789 to 1799, the period in which the novel A Tale of Two Cities written by Charles Dickens is set. The French Revolution marked the decline of powerful monarchies and the rise of democracy and nationalism. As they say in the first sentence of the novel, they were the best of times, they were the worst of times. During the long period of time during the conflicts of the revolution, every man fights for himself. Because of this state of helplessness and loneliness of the men of the revolution, many symbols in the novel were invented and shown to demonstrate a specific and powerful theme. In the novel, the symbols of scarecrows and birds of beautiful song and feathers, wine and knitting all demonstrate the theme of man's inhumanity towards his fellow man. Mainly, scarecrows and birds with beautiful singing and feathers are a compatible pair of symbols that uniquely contrast greatly with each other. It is stated: “But the time had not yet come; and every wind that blew over France shook the rags of the scarecrows in vain, because the birds, from their beautiful song and feathers, heeded no warning” (Dickens 23). This quote is about the fact that scarecrows represent peasants and their scary characteristics, as they scare away aristocrats, who are the birds with beautiful singing and feathers. Furthermore, the birds with beautiful singing and feathers are the aristocrats. They are as showy as male birds and are entertained all day with beautiful songs, as aristocrats are entertained with rich shows and food. In comparison, it is stated: “Such ample free time the stone faces now had, to listen to the trees and the fountain, that the few scarecrows of the village who, in their search for... middle of paper... ... . many people including the man dear to a friend of her husbands, and who is not part of the aristocracy. In support of one of the main themes of this novel, scarecrows and beautiful singing birds and feathers and wine and knitting all represent the theme of man's inhumanity towards his fellow man. The Revolution was a tragically devastating time, full of senseless and meaningless violence, deception of neighbors, betrayal of government, and blissful ignorance of one's surroundings. Many scenes and dialogues in this novel highlight what helped make the revolution a time of intense political destruction. In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens includes many themes relating to the French Revolution and the morality and immorality that accompany violence, betrayal, and ignorance, using many different types of symbolism. Works Cited A Tale of Two Cities