Strangers Don't Change

Charles Dickens begins his book The Tale of Two Cities by describing the trip of a mail carrier from London to Paris. On this trip, there are three passengers in the carriage aside from the primary carriage driver. Even though these passengers travel together in close quarters for days on end, they avoid each others gazes and shrink away from each other in distrust. This seemingly paranoid distrust does not just stem from their introverted natures; it is inherent to the very zeitgeist of their time. Charles Dickens goes on to explain that the time period in which this trip takes place sits in the years leading up to the French Revolution, when trust of strangers was potentially disastrous, and avoidance was the only way to ensure survival.

On first glance, Dickens' description promotes an interesting contrast to society today. Dickens's words are meant to stress the seriousness and tone of the years by providing a stark contrast to the way that we in Western Civilization relate to each other today. When I read the section, I initially reacted to this contrast by thinking, "I am sure glad that I don't live in those times- people were way too isolated."  However, upon further reflection, I realized that there are more similarities in today's time to the distrust and avoidance that Dickens depicts. Whenever I visit the city, I realize just how lucky I am to live in a small town like Deerfield in Franklin County. When I visit my aunt in New York City, I see streets crowded with hundreds of people in cars, isolated from each other in their own vehicle without having to interact. Sidewalks are crowded with hundreds of people, power walking in every direction, heads down and eyes glued on the street or a phone in hand. Few make eye contact or smile at those who pass by, and those who do are given wary glares or a wide berth. The common bump or shove that you receive is rarely met with any mumble of apology, and it is more common to walk by a heated argument than a casual conversation between strangers.

Of course, this self-imposed seclusion does have its reasons, and there are safe havens in every city from it.  But this unwelcoming atmosphere permeates many streets in the US, and converts even the friendliest person when they are on a street surrounded by strangers. When I think about the wary description of the passengers of 1770 mail carriage on the road to Paris, I realize that the strangers of today are not so different from the strangers of 350 years ago.