What are synergistic pairs? The Miriam-Webster dictionary defines synergism as: “The interaction of elements that when combined produce a total effect that is greater than the sum of the individual elements.” In short, these are people who are essential to each other, and in a sense inseparable.
Of the pairs, the most synergistic would be the Defarges. Earnest and Therese Defarge are an amazingly compatible couple contrary to what most people would get out of the book. Before separating these two for further analysis, one needs to think about the front they put on to cover their illegal activities. A wineshop in France is not very odd, so it presents the unique opportunity to make legal money and have a meeting place that would appear perfectly normal. The Defarges undoubtedly chose a wineshop for that reason, if not Madame Defarge herself as she is a very shrewd woman. At first glance, Madame Defarge appears to be a very controlling lady. She runs the show and calls the shots, makes the hit list, informs people that there is a spy in the wineshop, and has the cold heart needed to keep the revolution under keeps until the proper time has arisen. It could appear that she controls her husband with an iron fist, but taking a deeper look at Monsieur Earnest Defarge, one realizes that is not entirely the case.
Monsieur Defarge has an equally important, if not more necessary role than his wife. While Madame alerts people and knits away, her husband uses his speech to quell any rumors, make the necessary arrangements for spiriting away Dr. Manette, and tactfully rebutting questions from various spies. Monsieur may be the ancillary of the relationship, he is nonetheless indispensable.
The most interesting synergistic pair may just be Sydney Carton and C.J. Stryver. Stryver is the muscles of the pair, having the eloquence to woo the jury and even the crowd over to his point of view. However, Stryver could do nothing without Carton, as Sydney Carton is the brains of the pair. Carton is the one who notices the resemblance of himself to Charles Evermonde, called Darnay, therefore getting Darnay the very rare acquittal from the treason charge. This is what makes Carton and Stryver, as earlier mentioned, a very interesting pair. Stryver has a very big personality, seeming to be the dominant, but definitely not controlling partner. He is described as a “big man”, presumably referring to his personality, as the book gave no mention of his physical size. Stryver is a very intriguing character in that he appears to have no sense of propriety. He declares to Carton that he will do Lucie Manette a favor by marrying her (which in response Carton drank his alcoholic punch with “great haste”) and then tells Carton that he should get a woman to marry as well. Stryver recognizes that Carton needs to start taking his life seriously, but doesn’t seem to want to do anything about it.
Carton on the other hand, as much as he knows his life isn’t good, also doesn’t want to change. Carton is resigned to stay at his station in life, although there are times when he desires that he was better. Carton is in love with Lucie Manette but he grants to himself that fact that she will never love him back. He sheds a few tears about it and then moves on from his depression, but not his love. Carton in relation to Stryver presents an interesting analysis. Carton is smarter than Stryver, just as Stryver is better at public presenting than Carton. Carton is too sloppily dressed, hung-over, and generally appearing apathetic to stand in front of a judge with any hopes of winning a case. Stryver is neither observant nor smart enough legally to be a one man team. Even though they are opposites, they are indissoluble.
Most people wouldn’t think of Jarvis Lorry and Dr. Alexandre Manette as a synergistic pair. Yet by taking a closer look, one realizes that they are inalienable from each other. The entire Manette family gives Jarvis Lorry something he has always longed for. Lorry will never admit (being the man of business that he is) that he has forever desired a place to call home, and people to call family. The Manettes give him that and Dr. Manette in particular gives him someone to look after. Manette is a fragile person after being in the Bastille for so long, and has a tendency when faced with stress to resort to his shoe-making, in essence having a relapse of when he first was set free. Lorry is the one who is always there for Manette, who decides to eventually throw out his shoe-making paraphernalia in an effort to curb Manette’s relapses. Lorry gives to Manette stabilization in his life. As much as Alexandre Manette loves his daughter, he realizes she is an attractive woman and will not only be garnering the attention of men, but returning it as well. Lorry is someone Manette can always count on to be there for him when times turn rough. Lorry will be able to bring him back to reality and save him from the depression that tries to overtake him.
Lorry also pairs with Jerry Cruncher the “honest tradesman”. Cruncher has a very auspicious but definitively not legal night life. Cruncher derives money from the sale of cadavers and therefore has to exhume the bodies from the graves quickly and inconspicuously. Lorry unknowingly gives Jerry a cover for his evening work by employing him legally to carry messages for Tellsons bank. Jerry now can explain how he makes money should anyone come asking around as being a messenger for Tellsons bank happens to be a very reputable job.
Jerry gives to Lorry information that he wants. Jerry can get into places inconspicuously and garner information that is vital to Lorry. Jerry doesn't pry into Lorry's business although he does wonder sometimes what Lorry's cryptic messages are. Jerry refers to himself as an honest businessman several times, and works very hard at his night life as a gravedigger. Jerry also is Lorry's protector, a bodyguard of sorts. Lorry is an old man and although he will stay at Tellsons bank, he's not stupid enough to think he doesn't need protection. While Jerry physically protects Jarvis Lorry from harm, he likewise looks after him, even moving into the same house to ensure he is fine.
The last synergistic pair would be Miss Pross and Lucie Darnay. Not only do these two have a incredibly strong relationship (Miss Pross having raised Lucie), they offer each other exactly what the other needs. Miss Pross, after her brother left and being a single woman, didn't have work or a place to live, and Lucie gave that to her. Lucie needed to be looked after and Miss Pross was the perfect match. Lucie, not having a mom, wouldn't get the female attention and guidance that she needed, but Pross came to the rescue. Miss Pross offers the most important thing to Lucie, and that would be stabilization, someone to trust, to confide in. Miss Pross fulfills the role of mother and also the role of best friend, strengthening and protecting her Lucie.
So what is synergism? It is the elements combined producing something greater than when those same elements were apart. One could also say that it means two are better than one, in fact the Bible even say that a cord of three strands is not easily broken. While these synergistic pairs are not made up of three people, a cord of two strands is likewise not as easily broken as a cord of one strand.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
A little bit of graverobbing...
Four men equipped with shovels and dressed in dark clothing creep into a graveyard. Who are they? Their deeds will soon tell of the nature of their occupation. One man stands hidden behind a gravestone, his eyes looking back and forth, searching for something. The other three men gather around a freshly filled in grave and with a grunt, the first man drives his shovel into the earth. Time passes and soon a wooden box is hauled from the damp and dank grave. Crowbars quietly attempt to pry open the dirt covered lid; and with a sharp noise louder than these men would prefer the wood gives way. A body, clean from a pre-burial wash, pale from God-given death, and eyes that are closed forever is pulled from the coffin. The men quietly steal from the graveyard, now five in number. So one now asks; who are these men? Their silent midnight occupation would make them…grave robbers.
While this story is entirely made up, there are nuggets of truth in it. Grave robbing was one of the most infamous jobs one could have in the 1800’s. Grave robbing was not a dangerous crime to commit, contrary to popular belief. It was considered a misdemeanor not a felony in common law. Therefore, one could not be executed for robbing a grave, only fined and/or imprisoned. However, if a robber took anything material from the grave such as jewelry or clothing, it did turn into a felony. Robbers prided themselves on only taking the body and leaving everything else behind. The trade of grave robbing paid very well so taking the risk of a fine or a stint in jail was thought to be worth it. Many officials would turn a blind eye, considering it a necessary evil. The reason that the bodies needed to be stolen was that the doctors in training needed to dissect a human body to understand it better. The government did allowed bodies of executed criminals to be used but not enough executions were happening. Therefore, doctors with students (especially rich ones) turned to buying their own cadavers, usually not asking too many questions as to where they came from.
Grave robbing was a team job, so one man would stand guard to watch for any guards or family members of the deceased. Robbers would use wooden shovels to avoid the clang of shovels against each other. Once the coffin was excavated, the bottom or the top half of the lid was pried of using crowbars and then the body was roped out. Replacing the coffin in the earth, and filling the grave again, the robbers would then sneak out. They usually had the bodies pre-sold so all they had to do was deliver. This process would take no short amount of time (a couple hours) and was also a dirty job.
There were many techniques that grave robbers used to get the bodies. They would sometimes use young women to scope out the freshest graves. Posing as mourners, the women would attend a funeral, and come back with information concerning family members staying nearby, or whether the deceased had a communicable disease. Robbers would also bribe staff members as they had closer access to the bodies and could recommend which ones to steal. Local officials were paid off as needed, but the main problem was the families who would keep watch for a few days until the bodies were worth nothing. There were, however some very smart grave robbers. Upon seeing the families keeping guard, they would start digging a tunnel 15 to 20 feet away and burrow under the coffin, crack open one end and drag the body out the tunnel.
Grave robbing did reached its peak in the 1800’s when there was an increase of young people wanting to go into the medical profession. But it all really started with the Egyptians. Thieves would break into the tombs and take out the bodies, at first reburying their own then later another not even bothering with that. Many safeguards were employed to try and stop them, including extremely tight entrances, or 3 consecutive doors that were exceedingly thick (the doors were later found to have been blasted at with 19th century explosives). Finally the Egyptian priests had had enough so they moved the mummies to a communal grave, this being about 15 centuries before Jesus. In spite of this, the graves were eventually broken into by a notorious grave robbing family, the Abdel Rassouls in the 1870’s. When amulets and various rare cartouches appeared on the black market, the authorities went into action and arrested a man connected with the family. After extracting information from the man, the authorities went to the tomb and discovered Amenophis I, Tuthmosis I and II, Seti I, and Ramses I and III.
While those bodies were worth stealing, in general body snatchers didn’t care who they snatched. Resurrection men (as they were often called) stole the body of John Scott Harrison. Harrison was the son of President William Henry Harrison (the body was later returned after being found in a medical school). With so many people wanting to become doctors, there weren’t enough bodies to go around, so whether a person was famous or not was of little consequence to the resurrectionists unless they could get more money for it..
People didn’t like their relatives being stolen and they would often ransack the medical laboratories in an effort to get the bodies back. Many preventative measures were taken to make sure that the bodies didn’t need to be recovered in the first place. Families would keep watch by the grave for several days until the body was decomposed enough that the grave robbers wouldn’t take it. One preventative measure was patented by Philip K. Clover in Ohio. The “coffin torpedo” was rigged up underground and when the body snatchers would come and start digging the device would fire several lead balls into the intruders.
Grave robbing still happens in some countries to this day. In Colombia grave robbers (guaqueros) are participating in an illegal trade that makes millions of dollars a year. They are recognized as a labor union and one guaquero even published his memoirs. Tombs are not always robbed for bodies; in fact the guaqueros are only interested in the Aztec jewelry, Incan pottery and other Olmec and Mayan paraphernalia.
The need for grave robbing died out when the government made it legal to donate bodies of oneself or relatives to local medical schools. However, the history of grave robbing will always be around and will forever be one of the most interesting topics to research.
While this story is entirely made up, there are nuggets of truth in it. Grave robbing was one of the most infamous jobs one could have in the 1800’s. Grave robbing was not a dangerous crime to commit, contrary to popular belief. It was considered a misdemeanor not a felony in common law. Therefore, one could not be executed for robbing a grave, only fined and/or imprisoned. However, if a robber took anything material from the grave such as jewelry or clothing, it did turn into a felony. Robbers prided themselves on only taking the body and leaving everything else behind. The trade of grave robbing paid very well so taking the risk of a fine or a stint in jail was thought to be worth it. Many officials would turn a blind eye, considering it a necessary evil. The reason that the bodies needed to be stolen was that the doctors in training needed to dissect a human body to understand it better. The government did allowed bodies of executed criminals to be used but not enough executions were happening. Therefore, doctors with students (especially rich ones) turned to buying their own cadavers, usually not asking too many questions as to where they came from.
Grave robbing was a team job, so one man would stand guard to watch for any guards or family members of the deceased. Robbers would use wooden shovels to avoid the clang of shovels against each other. Once the coffin was excavated, the bottom or the top half of the lid was pried of using crowbars and then the body was roped out. Replacing the coffin in the earth, and filling the grave again, the robbers would then sneak out. They usually had the bodies pre-sold so all they had to do was deliver. This process would take no short amount of time (a couple hours) and was also a dirty job.
There were many techniques that grave robbers used to get the bodies. They would sometimes use young women to scope out the freshest graves. Posing as mourners, the women would attend a funeral, and come back with information concerning family members staying nearby, or whether the deceased had a communicable disease. Robbers would also bribe staff members as they had closer access to the bodies and could recommend which ones to steal. Local officials were paid off as needed, but the main problem was the families who would keep watch for a few days until the bodies were worth nothing. There were, however some very smart grave robbers. Upon seeing the families keeping guard, they would start digging a tunnel 15 to 20 feet away and burrow under the coffin, crack open one end and drag the body out the tunnel.
Grave robbing did reached its peak in the 1800’s when there was an increase of young people wanting to go into the medical profession. But it all really started with the Egyptians. Thieves would break into the tombs and take out the bodies, at first reburying their own then later another not even bothering with that. Many safeguards were employed to try and stop them, including extremely tight entrances, or 3 consecutive doors that were exceedingly thick (the doors were later found to have been blasted at with 19th century explosives). Finally the Egyptian priests had had enough so they moved the mummies to a communal grave, this being about 15 centuries before Jesus. In spite of this, the graves were eventually broken into by a notorious grave robbing family, the Abdel Rassouls in the 1870’s. When amulets and various rare cartouches appeared on the black market, the authorities went into action and arrested a man connected with the family. After extracting information from the man, the authorities went to the tomb and discovered Amenophis I, Tuthmosis I and II, Seti I, and Ramses I and III.
While those bodies were worth stealing, in general body snatchers didn’t care who they snatched. Resurrection men (as they were often called) stole the body of John Scott Harrison. Harrison was the son of President William Henry Harrison (the body was later returned after being found in a medical school). With so many people wanting to become doctors, there weren’t enough bodies to go around, so whether a person was famous or not was of little consequence to the resurrectionists unless they could get more money for it..
People didn’t like their relatives being stolen and they would often ransack the medical laboratories in an effort to get the bodies back. Many preventative measures were taken to make sure that the bodies didn’t need to be recovered in the first place. Families would keep watch by the grave for several days until the body was decomposed enough that the grave robbers wouldn’t take it. One preventative measure was patented by Philip K. Clover in Ohio. The “coffin torpedo” was rigged up underground and when the body snatchers would come and start digging the device would fire several lead balls into the intruders.
Grave robbing still happens in some countries to this day. In Colombia grave robbers (guaqueros) are participating in an illegal trade that makes millions of dollars a year. They are recognized as a labor union and one guaquero even published his memoirs. Tombs are not always robbed for bodies; in fact the guaqueros are only interested in the Aztec jewelry, Incan pottery and other Olmec and Mayan paraphernalia.
The need for grave robbing died out when the government made it legal to donate bodies of oneself or relatives to local medical schools. However, the history of grave robbing will always be around and will forever be one of the most interesting topics to research.
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