Everyone eventually makes a drastic change in their life. In the novel, A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens, Sydney Carton, one of the main characters, makes this progression in his life. Sydney Carton transforms from an unmotivated alcoholic into the novel's courageous hero.

At the beginning of the story, Sydney Carton was a careless and an ignored man, who was constantly drinking. Furthermore, as Sydney Carton meets Charles Darnay, Carton says, "I am a disappointed drudge sir. I care for no man on earth and no one on earth cares for me" (B2, 4, 54). Carton's attitude towards the world is unpleasant, for he feels that he is invisible. Carton thinks that he only has himself and that his life is a waste. In addition, as Stryver wins a case, Carton is ignored for his accomplishments, "Nobody had made acknowledgements of Mr. Carton's part in the day's proceedings...