“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”
John Quincy Adams
Great literature should do more than entertain us. It should provide a roadmap to improving our lives.
In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens introduced readers to Sydney Carton, one of literature's most compelling and deeply flawed characters. Dickens also gives him an unusual title: the Jackal.
His struggles raise questions that remain relevant today.
Are we defined by our past mistakes? Can we overcome our weaknesses? What separates the people we are from the people we could become?
Lessons From the Jackal is a 25-day character study exploring these questions through Sydney Carton’s life, decisions, relationships, and personal development.
This is not a traditional course on A Tale of Two Cities. Our reading assignments will focus specifically on Carton, with sufficient background provided to understand his story. No previous knowledge of the novel is necessary.
Each day will feature selected readings, historical comparisons, reflection questions, discussions, and practical challenges ...
What would it take to reach out to someone who had once been your friend and later became your rival?
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson worked together for American independence. Yet political differences damaged their friendship. The bitter presidential election of 1800, in which Jefferson defeated Adams, deepened their estrangement. For years, their friendship remained broken.
Their mutual friend Benjamin Rush encouraged reconciliation. On January 1, 1812, Adams took the first step by writing to Jefferson. Jefferson responded, beginning a correspondence that continued until their deaths in 1826. They had not resolved every political disagreement. Nevertheless, they found room for friendship alongside their differences. Reaching out required a willingness to risk an unwelcome response. Adams could choose to write, but he could not choose how Jefferson would receive his letter.
Carton faces a similar uncertainty when he approaches Darnay. Their circumstances differ, but both encounters invite...
