Dickens builds Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton as physical doubles for a reason, and compare and contrast essays on the two characters are a staple assignment for this novel. The challenge in grading these essays is distinguishing genuine comparative analysis from a surface-level list of similarities and differences.

A weak compare and contrast essay simply alternates between describing Darnay and describing Carton without ever synthesizing the comparison into an argument. A stronger essay uses the comparison to make a specific claim, such as arguing that Dickens uses their resemblance to suggest that circumstance, not innate character, determines a person's fate.

Watch for essays organized point by point (comparing their values, then their choices, then their endings) rather than block by block (all of Darnay, then all of Carton), since the point-by-point structure tends to force more direct, sustained comparison throughout.

It is also worth noting whether students engage with the irony that Carton, initially presented as the lesser man, ultimately performs the more significant act. Essays that explore this reversal directly tend to reach more interesting conclusions than essays that simply confirm the characters are different.

What a Strong Comparative Argument Looks Like

The best essays use the Darnay-Carton comparison to make a claim about the novel as a whole, not just about the two characters in isolation. This might involve their symbolic function, what they each represent about class, potential, or self-worth, rather than a simple ledger of similarities and differences.

• Organizes the comparison point by point rather than block by block
• Uses the comparison to build toward a specific, arguable claim
• Explores the irony of their reversed positions by the novel's end
• Connects the character pairing to the novel's broader themes
• Supports each point of comparison with specific textual evidence from both characters

Common Structural Issues

The block structure, where a student writes everything about Darnay first and everything about Carton second, is not inherently wrong, but it does require a strong concluding synthesis to avoid feeling like two disconnected mini-essays. Many students skip that synthesis entirely, which weakens the essay's overall argument.

Another common issue is essays that treat the two characters as purely opposite when Dickens actually builds meaningful overlap between them. Oversimplifying the comparison into a clean binary can miss some of the novel's more interesting nuance.

Preparing Students to Write This Comparison Well

A shared graphic organizer, where students log specific quotes related to both characters side by side before drafting, helps prevent the disconnected block structure and encourages more direct comparison from the start.

Class discussion specifically asking what Dickens gains narratively by making these two characters resemble each other physically primes students to think about the comparison symbolically rather than just superficially.

Grading Consistency Across Comparative Essays

Because comparative essays can vary widely in structure, using a rubric that focuses on the quality of synthesis rather than requiring a specific paragraph format keeps grading fair across different valid organizational approaches.

Flagging essays that give dramatically unequal attention to the two characters, since this often signals a student is more comfortable analyzing one character than the other, can guide targeted feedback for future assignments.