The French Revolution was one of the deadliest periods in all of history. Charles Dickens' most famous novel, A Tale of Two Cities, perfectly captures this massive period of death and destruction. War can be a messy and unstable beast, destroying many relationships in its path. Revenge is one of the quickest ways to achieve this, which is why Dickens uses it as a major theme throughout the novel. Dickens does a great job of showing how revenge shows no mercy. It incorporates the theme of revenge into several characters and story arcs, including the storming of the Bastille, the execution of Vieux Foulon, and the character of Madame Defarge. The storming of the Bastille not only sparked the French Revolution, but it also sparked a fiery war. a passion for revenge that quickly spread among the French. The revolutionaries are gathered in front of the Defarge vault, preparing to fight for their pride, their dignity, but above all for their revenge. Dickens describes the revolutionaries as a "sea of ​​people", eager to flood the Bastille. He writes: "With a roar that sounded as if all the breath of France had been fashioned in the hated world, the living sea rose, wave upon wave, depth upon depth, and overflowed the city at that point" ( Dickens 165). The Bastille is the symbol of all the injustices suffered by the peasants: poverty, hunger and the absence of anyone to turn to for help. However, the storming of the Bastille quickly lit a spark that could never be extinguished. The peasants want the members of the royal family to suffer from the total hypocrisy and indifference they are subjected to. They will never settle down and they want everyone in the royal family to die. Eventually the inhabitants of the Bastille surrendered, with the peasants massively defeating the guards. As Dickens describes it: “Suddenly the seas… middle of paper…” said Madame” (263). She wants the total extermination of an entire race. This desire shows how the revenge stored up over all these years is the deadliest of all. Madame Defarge's desire to kill innocent people just for revenge shows how powerful revenge can be. The storming of the Bastille, the execution of old Foulon and the cruel passion of Madame Defarge show how Dickens masterfully uses the theme of revenge in A Tale of Two Cities. The storming of the Bastille ignites the spark of vengeance among the French peasants. The killing of old Foulon shows the fire in its terrible entirety. The character of Madame Defarge shows how an individual's fire can be so bright and deadly. The theme of revenge burns like a great fire throughout Dickens' brilliant novel, A Tale of Two Cities. Works Cited Dickens, Charles. A tale of two cities. Mineola: Dover, 1999. Print.