"Dig someone out of the grave"

Book One Chapter Three
“Recalled to life”
“He was on his way to dig someone out of the grave”

The significance of Dickens’s word choice is using “dig someone out of the grave” to mean that Lorry is going to bring Manette (the ghost back to life). This passage is significant because it is foreshadowing what is soon to happen. Lorry asked, “ Buried how long?” and the ghost replies, “ almost eighteen years.” Later in the passage Lorry asked “you had abandoned all hope of being dug out?” and the ghost replies, “long ago.” The word buried in this context means to be gone mentally and Lorry proves that later in the test when he says, “ Gracious Creator of day! To be buried alive for eighteen years!” Also, Lorry asked the ghost, “ I hope you care to live?” and the ghost replied, “ I can’t say.” This explains that Manette (the ghost) has been buried mentally for so long that he has lost hope of ever returning to his original state. Then Lorry says, “ Shall I show her to you? Will you come and see her?” This is important because the “her” is Manette’s daughter Lucy, and Lucy is the person who will bring Manette back to his original state- back to life. Dickens used the choice of words because; it forces the reader to think outside the box, and to search for a different meaning for the word. Dickens used words and imagery in a different way because he wanted readers to see what it was to be buried through another perspective. It kept the suspense of the story, and gave the reader a different approach to analyzing the characters in books.