Cultural Hegemony in Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities

Meysam Ahmadi

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijla.20140204.13

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Cultural Hegemony in Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities

Meysam Ahmadi

Published in International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 2, Issue 4)

Received: 28 June 2014 Accepted: 10 July 2014 Published: 20 July 2014

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Abstract

This study delineates the use of cultural hegemony in Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities (1859) through the vantage points of Italian critic Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937) who clarifies domination of the ruling class over ruled class. Cultural hegemony is the mastery of the middle class and governing groups among the lower divisions. Antonio Gramsci declares that the only means of keeping cultural hegemony by super leaders is not the handling of power and coercion; instead, consent, language, use of intellectual men and educational instruments are the ways regarding the implementation of cultural hegemony. In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens expresses the effects England and France, and manifests the tyrannical events of French Revolution. The beginning of A Tale of Two Cities asserts extreme tyranny and a violation of aristocrats as well as its ending through which the rebels punish sovereigns and the king after the French Revolution. Dickens also shows the ideals of the aristocracy with highlighting the function of cultural hegemony in France and England. Gramsci illustrates that the upper floors by way of indirect control over the mass media, educate their own feelings and values in society because domination is often taken out by means of consent, not compulsion. Ultimately, this research looks for the signs of cultural hegemony, and depicts the alarming events of French Revolution.

Published in	International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 2, Issue 4)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijla.20140204.13
Page(s)	98-103
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2014. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Cultural Hegemony, Consent, Domination, Intellectual Men, Language

References

[1]	Bloom, Harold. Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities. London: Chelsea House, 2007.
[2]	Dailey, Donna. Charles Dickens. London: Chelsea House, 2005.
[3]	Dickens, Charles. A Tale of Two Cities. New York: Michigan UP, 1859.
[4]	Fontana, Benedetto. Hegemony and Power: On the Relation between Gramsci and Machiavelli. Minneapolis: Minnesota UP, 1993.
[5]	Gramsci, Antonio. Selections from the Prison Note Books.Ed.and Trans. Quintin Hoare and Goffrey Nowell Smith. Lawrence and Wishart, London, 1971.
[6]	---------. Selections from Cultural Writings. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1985.
[7]	Ives, Peter. Language and Hegemony in Gramsci. London: Pluto Press, 2004.
[8]	Jones, Colin et al. Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities and French Revolution: London: Palgrave Macmillan, 1988.
[9]	Jones, Steve. Antonio Gramsci. London and New York: Rutledge, 2006.
[10]	Strinati, Dominic. An Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture. London: Routledge, 1995.

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Meysam Ahmadi. (2014). Cultural Hegemony in Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 2(4), 98-103. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20140204.13

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Meysam Ahmadi. Cultural Hegemony in Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2014, 2(4), 98-103. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20140204.13

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Meysam Ahmadi. Cultural Hegemony in Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities. Int J Lit Arts. 2014;2(4):98-103. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20140204.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20140204.13,
  author = {Meysam Ahmadi},
  title = {Cultural Hegemony in Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {2},
  number = {4},
  pages = {98-103},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20140204.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20140204.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20140204.13},
  abstract = {This study delineates the use of cultural hegemony in Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities (1859) through the vantage points of Italian critic Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937) who clarifies domination of the ruling class over ruled class. Cultural hegemony is the mastery of the middle class and governing groups among the lower divisions. Antonio Gramsci declares that the only means of keeping cultural hegemony by super leaders is not the handling of power and coercion; instead, consent, language, use of intellectual men and educational instruments are the ways regarding the implementation of cultural hegemony. In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens expresses the effects England and France, and manifests the tyrannical events of French Revolution. The beginning of A Tale of Two Cities asserts extreme tyranny and a violation of aristocrats as well as its ending through which the rebels punish sovereigns and the king after the French Revolution. Dickens also shows the ideals of the aristocracy with highlighting the function of cultural hegemony in France and England. Gramsci illustrates that the upper floors by way of indirect control over the mass media, educate their own feelings and values in society because domination is often taken out by means of consent, not compulsion. Ultimately, this research looks for the signs of cultural hegemony, and depicts the alarming events of French Revolution.},
 year = {2014}
}

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T1  - Cultural Hegemony in Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities
AU  - Meysam Ahmadi
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AB  - This study delineates the use of cultural hegemony in Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities (1859) through the vantage points of Italian critic Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937) who clarifies domination of the ruling class over ruled class. Cultural hegemony is the mastery of the middle class and governing groups among the lower divisions. Antonio Gramsci declares that the only means of keeping cultural hegemony by super leaders is not the handling of power and coercion; instead, consent, language, use of intellectual men and educational instruments are the ways regarding the implementation of cultural hegemony. In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens expresses the effects England and France, and manifests the tyrannical events of French Revolution. The beginning of A Tale of Two Cities asserts extreme tyranny and a violation of aristocrats as well as its ending through which the rebels punish sovereigns and the king after the French Revolution. Dickens also shows the ideals of the aristocracy with highlighting the function of cultural hegemony in France and England. Gramsci illustrates that the upper floors by way of indirect control over the mass media, educate their own feelings and values in society because domination is often taken out by means of consent, not compulsion. Ultimately, this research looks for the signs of cultural hegemony, and depicts the alarming events of French Revolution.
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Author Information

Meysam Ahmadi

Department of English Language and Literature, College of Humanities, Boroujerd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Boroujerd, Iran

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Meysam Ahmadi. (2014). Cultural Hegemony in Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 2(4), 98-103. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20140204.13

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ACS Style

Meysam Ahmadi. Cultural Hegemony in Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2014, 2(4), 98-103. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20140204.13

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AMA Style

Meysam Ahmadi. Cultural Hegemony in Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities. Int J Lit Arts. 2014;2(4):98-103. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20140204.13

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20140204.13,
  author = {Meysam Ahmadi},
  title = {Cultural Hegemony in Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {2},
  number = {4},
  pages = {98-103},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20140204.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20140204.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20140204.13},
  abstract = {This study delineates the use of cultural hegemony in Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities (1859) through the vantage points of Italian critic Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937) who clarifies domination of the ruling class over ruled class. Cultural hegemony is the mastery of the middle class and governing groups among the lower divisions. Antonio Gramsci declares that the only means of keeping cultural hegemony by super leaders is not the handling of power and coercion; instead, consent, language, use of intellectual men and educational instruments are the ways regarding the implementation of cultural hegemony. In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens expresses the effects England and France, and manifests the tyrannical events of French Revolution. The beginning of A Tale of Two Cities asserts extreme tyranny and a violation of aristocrats as well as its ending through which the rebels punish sovereigns and the king after the French Revolution. Dickens also shows the ideals of the aristocracy with highlighting the function of cultural hegemony in France and England. Gramsci illustrates that the upper floors by way of indirect control over the mass media, educate their own feelings and values in society because domination is often taken out by means of consent, not compulsion. Ultimately, this research looks for the signs of cultural hegemony, and depicts the alarming events of French Revolution.},
 year = {2014}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Cultural Hegemony in Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities
AU  - Meysam Ahmadi
Y1  - 2014/07/20
PY  - 2014
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20140204.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20140204.13
T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 98
EP  - 103
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-057X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20140204.13
AB  - This study delineates the use of cultural hegemony in Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities (1859) through the vantage points of Italian critic Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937) who clarifies domination of the ruling class over ruled class. Cultural hegemony is the mastery of the middle class and governing groups among the lower divisions. Antonio Gramsci declares that the only means of keeping cultural hegemony by super leaders is not the handling of power and coercion; instead, consent, language, use of intellectual men and educational instruments are the ways regarding the implementation of cultural hegemony. In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens expresses the effects England and France, and manifests the tyrannical events of French Revolution. The beginning of A Tale of Two Cities asserts extreme tyranny and a violation of aristocrats as well as its ending through which the rebels punish sovereigns and the king after the French Revolution. Dickens also shows the ideals of the aristocracy with highlighting the function of cultural hegemony in France and England. Gramsci illustrates that the upper floors by way of indirect control over the mass media, educate their own feelings and values in society because domination is often taken out by means of consent, not compulsion. Ultimately, this research looks for the signs of cultural hegemony, and depicts the alarming events of French Revolution.
VL  - 2
IS  - 4
ER  -

Copy | Download