The French Revolution was a chaotic and destructive time. This is clearly illustrated in the book A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. In this novel, there are many examples of inhumanity, notably during the attacks of revolutionaries against anyone considered traitorous or aristocratic. Men were very cruel to their fellow men, even creating the monstrous guillotine to kill people more quickly and efficiently. Charles Dickens depicts this violence of the French Revolution very well with the symbols of blue flies, the storm and red wine. For example, bluebottles represent the bloodlust of the people. During Charles Darnay's first trial, "a buzz arose in the court as if a cloud of great blue flies were swarming around the prisoner, in anticipation of what he would soon become" (Dickens 50). When this quote was pronounced, Charles Darnay, then a prisoner, was tried for treason, punishable by death. People seem to gravitate towards the prisoner, just as flies would to a corpse. Not only that, but there is also a "hum" in the courtroom, which could represent the murmurs of spectators. After Darnay's acquittal, it is said that "the crowd came en masse with a vehemence that almost made him lose his legs, and a great buzz swept the street as if the bewildered bluebottles were scattering in search of other carrion. (59). These people are confused, probably because they are disappointed by the prisoner's sudden acquittal. The use of the word “carrion” reinforces the metaphor of flies; these people are suddenly looking for new victims. Furthermore, the fact that they exit the courtroom with vehemence and passion clearly shows their morbid fascination with death. Second, middle of paper, these are all metaphors used to display the inhumanity these men had towards other men during the French Revolution. The blue flies, used to represent the fascination with death that most of the peasants seemed to have, clearly show how eager these people are for the death of an innocent. The metaphor of the storm, with its rapid, merciless lightning and devastating thunder, shows how brutal and monstrous these revolutionaries are with their thundering cannons while killing innocent victims. Finally, the metaphors of wine and wine stains represent how everyone is guilty of this carnage and the creation of the guillotine monster. Overall, Charles Dickens uses these metaphors very well to describe the violence of war and with it the inhumanity that man has to man. Works Cited Dickens, Charles. A tale of two cities. Np: Dover, 1999. Print.