Is one amazingly good deed good enough to redeem a wasted life? Does it take more strength to be an overall virtuous person or to undergo a tremendous personal change? Would being remembered in many generations be more important than living a wasteful life? In Charles Dickens's Tale of Two Cities, Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay are put to answer these questions. Sydney Carton is a "jackal" who lives a drunk, worthless life, but he is a character who must make a great decision. Charles Darnay is a successful, happy man, but has a bad family name. Though the lifelong acts both men do are admirable, which man does Charles Dickens prefer? Due to the great personal change and being resurrected in future generations, Charles Dickens views Carton in more respect.

Sydney Carton is Tale of Two Cities most dynamic character. In the beginning of the novel, he...