The passage compares and contrasts the heroic actions of three characters - Charles Darnay, Dr. Manette, and Sydney Carton - in A Tale of Two Cities. Darnay courageously leaves his aristocratic family behind to start a new life in London. Dr. Manette emerges from years of imprisonment in the Bastille. However, Carton performs the most heroic acts by switching places with Darnay before his execution, sacrificing his own life so that Darnay and Lucie can be together.