The Consequences of Socioeconomic Inequality as Represented by Tale of Two Cities Frederick Douglass once said, “Where justice is denied, where poverty is imposed, where ignorance prevails and where any class is made to believe that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither people nor property will be safe.” He meant that if people are oppressed, one day they will pass the breaking point and fight back .As a result, neither side will be safe as violence and terror would corrupt them both. In A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, the author uses satire, symbolism, and irony to emphasize the socioeconomic inequality between rich and poor. The inequality is revealed by Dicken's satirical description of the lifestyles of Monseigneur Chocolate and Marquis Evrémonde in contrast to the people in the wine barrel scene; the scene indicates that people are at the breaking point. Finally, the irony of the trials highlights Dicken's warning to England's upper class during the 1850s; if they abuse power then revenge will be sought. If nothing is done, England will be engulfed in violence and both the aristocracy and the peasantry will suffer. Charles Dickens, English writer and social critic, lived in England from 1812 to 1870 (Cody). Dickens usually criticizes topics that were important to him or those that influenced him throughout his life. He grew up poor and was forced to work at an early age when his father was thrown into debtors prison (Cody). As he became a popular and widely known author, he was an outspoken activist for improving the lives of the poor (Davis). He wrote A Tale of Two Cities during the 1850s and published the book in 185...... middle of paper ...... p., nd Web. May 23, 2014.Colle, Giovanni. “Teaching a Tale of Two Cities.” Yale-New Haven Teachers College. Np, nd Web. May 25, 2014. Davis, Matthew. “Dickens really saved poor children and cleaned up the slums?” BBC News. Np, 7 February 2012. Web. 25 May 2014. Douglass, Federico. "The problem of the nation". Teaching American history. Ashland University, n.d. Web. May 26, 2014. Griffith, George. "A Tale of Two Cities." Novels for students. Eds. Sheryl Ciccarelli and Marie Rose Napierkowski. vol. 5. Detroit: Gale, 1999. 362-4. Rulo, Kevin. "A Tale of Two Mimesis: A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens and René Girard." Christianity and Literature 59.1 (2009): 5+. Literary Resource Center. Network. May 25, 2014."A tale of two cities." Project Gutenberg. Np, nd Web. 25 May 2014."The working classes and the poor."British Library. Np, nd Web. May 25 2014.