# The Jackal explained — A Tale of Two Cities

> Chapter companion for A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.

## What happens

This chapter depicts the working relationship between Sydney Carton and Mr. Stryver, where Carton, referred to as the 'jackal,' prepares legal arguments for Stryver, the 'lion.' Despite his abilities, Carton is portrayed as a dissipated and self-neglectful man, haunted by a sense of wasted potential and unfulfilled ambition. The chapter ends with Carton's solitary despair, contrasting his inner emptiness with the vision of a better life he cannot attain.

## Themes in this chapter

### Duality and Opposites

The chapter explicitly contrasts Carton and Stryver as 'jackal' and 'lion,' highlighting their opposing natures—one brilliant but self-destructive, the other ambitious and successful.

### Sacrifice and Redemption

Carton's unrecognized labor for Stryver and his sense of wasted life foreshadow themes of sacrifice and the possibility of redemption through selfless acts.

## Character check-ins

### Sydney Carton

Referred to as the 'jackal,' Carton labors behind the scenes for Stryver, drinking heavily and showing signs of self-loathing and wasted potential.

### Mr. Stryver

The 'lion' of the partnership, Stryver is a successful but unscrupulous lawyer who relies on Carton's legal acumen while bullying him about his lack of ambition.

### Lucie Manette

Mentioned as 'the pretty witness' and 'the picturesque doctor's daughter,' Carton dismisses her beauty but is clearly affected by her presence in court.

## Key lines

> I thought he was rather a handsome fellow, and I thought I should have been much the same sort of fellow, if I had had any luck.

Carton remarks that the defendant (Darnay) is good-looking and that he himself could have been like him if circumstances had been different.

_This reveals Carton's self-awareness of his wasted potential and his envy of Darnay's fortune._

> Waste forces within him, and a desert all around, this man stood still on his way across a silent terrace, and saw for a moment, lying in the wilderness before him, a mirage of honourable ambition, self-denial, and perseverance.

Carton experiences a fleeting vision of a better life filled with purpose and virtue, but it vanishes, leaving him in despair.

_This passage emphasizes Carton's inner turmoil and the theme of unfulfilled potential._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_tale_of_two_cities_se/chapters/v-the-jackal
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_tale_of_two_cities_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_tale_of_two_cities_se/chapters