Tale of Two Cities Sydney Carton, fool or hero

Many people want to be remembered as martyrs or heroes; to have proven their devotion to a person or cause, and many people have and do die for this. Some of their deaths may have been in vain; foolish, impetuous sacrifices of themselves that had no true effect, or some of the deaths may have furthered just causes and strengthened beliefs or saved the day. A deeper, case-specific look must be used to judge the …

…good intentions, but they are inspired by his infatuation with Lucie Manette. Carton ended his miserable life and enriched the lives of a family. A good-willed and logical decision, if those were his reasons. Anyone who dies to save others is hard to think of as too much of a fool; even if their motivation was self-centered or stupid, they saved several lives and definitely will be a hero in the eyes of those saved.