| who are the woodman and the farmer | fate; death |
| what do you think the certain movable framework is | the guillotine |
| what is the mood of chapter two | tense and foreboding |
| what do you think the phrase “recalled to life” means | brought back to life |
| does the author feel humans trust one another | no |
| what could “buried alive for 18 years” mean besides the literal | in jail; kept away; lost |
| explain what happened to lucie when she was a small child | taken from france to England; told her father died; mother died |
| what symbolic meaning is there in the spilled wine | represents bloodshed of revolution |
| in what activity is madame defarge constantly engaged | knitting and “seeing nothing” |
| what is Lucie’s reaction to her father | great compassion and love |
| does dr. manette want to be recalled to life | he doesn’t know (in shock) |
| describe tellson’s bank | dark; gloomy; small; old-fashioned |
| what job did jerry perform for the bank | messenger and other odd jobs |
| what did jerry object to his wife doing | pray |
| what is the old bailey | courthouse |
| what is Charles darnay accused of | treason |
| what were the people in the courtroom hoping for | for him to be killed |
| who are john barsad and roger cly | spies; witnesses of Charles’ trial |
| explain how stryver was able to get Darnay acquitted | discredited the witnesses and presented a witness that looked just like Darnay |
| what is still bothering dr manette | his past; time in jail |
| why did Mr. Lorry become angry with Mr. Carton | carton indicates he had no use for a business man |
| what is the relationship of Stryver and Carton | carton works for stryver |
| why is Carton so disconsolate | he feels unworthy and discouraged about himself |
| what are Carton and Stryver compared to | jackal and lion |
| who lives in a house by Soho square | Dr. Manette |
| how does Dr. Manette no spend his days | seeing patients |
| who is soloman and what happened to him | Miss Pross’ brother; took all of her money and disappeared |
| what upsetting news did Charles bring Dr. Manette | he found a letter buried in the bastille |
| what does the chocolate represent | life of leisure led by the wealthy |
| what tragic accident took place in Saint Antoine | a child was ran over by the Marquis; he only stops to make sure his horses are OK |
| what do the Defarges do in this chapter | try to comfort Gaspard; throws coin back into the carriage |
| what does “until the wonder was that there was any village left unswallowed” mean | eaten by rich; eat up all the villagers through taxes |
| what adjectives and phrases describe the life of a peasant | poor; hungry; exploited; miserable |
| who is the nephew of the Marquis | Charles Darnay |
| how are the marquis and his nephew different | Marquis is heartless and cold; only cares about wealth; Charles declines his inheritance; hates how the peasants are treated |
| what happens to the Marquis at the end of this chapter | he is murdered by Gaspard |
| how does Charles darnay make a living? | French teacher; must work because he relinquished his inheritance |
| what promise does darnay make to Dr. Manette | to reveal his family name on the day of his wedding |
| what does Dr. Manette do after Charles leaves | starts working at his shoemaker bench |
| who wants to marry Lucie but then calls her stupid | Stryver |
| what does Mr. Lorry tell Stryver | it’s not a good idea to propose to Lucie |
| what does carton ask Lucie to do for him | keep his secret |
| what does carton’s confession reveal about his personality | he is sensitive; has soft side |
| what promise does carton make to lucie | he would protect her and her loved ones |
| who dies this chapter | Roger Cly |
| what does Jerry Cruncher do for a second income | grave robber |
| what story does the mender of the roads relate | execution of Gaspard |
| what kind of mood does Jacques 3 make | grim; foreboding; anticipation of revolution |
| what is decided about the “chateau and all its race” | they will all be killed |
| who came into the wine shop | John Barsad |
| does Mme. Defarge trust him? how do you know | no; picks up rose when he enters the door (symbol to others); doesn’t show sympathy for revolution |
| what surprising news does John bring | Charles Darnay is marrying Lucie |
| Is Charles in danger? Why? | yes; he’s the nephew of the Marquis |
| how does Lucie’s father feel about her marriage | happy for her; sorry for himself |
| where will Dr. Manette live after the wedding | the house in Soho with Lucie and Charles |
| what did Charles tell Dr. Manette the day of the wedding? how did it affect him? Why? | revealed his family name; he turns pale and later relapses; reminder of past |
| describe the approach Mr. Lorry used to tell Dr. Manette what had happened to him | talked about Dr. Manette to Dr. Manette |
| what did Sydney carton ask of Darnay? why? | to be friends; so he can be close to Lucie and her family |
| what did lucie have to say about Carton? what did she ask of Charles? | she thinks he’s kind and has potential; asks Charles to befriend him |
| how many children do Lucie and Charles have? | 2; boy and girl; boy died |
| what happens in chapter 21 | revolution begins |
| why did defarge search 105 north tower | he knew it was dr. manette’s old cell |
| describe Mme. Defarge’s acts in chapter 21 | leads women; beheads guard |
| who is The Vengence | Mme. Defarge’s right hand woman; very mean |
| why was Foulon hated so much | he told the people to eat grass |
| In chapter 23, are the problems in france over? what are the conditons | not over; peasants light everything on fire; still hungry; poor |
| why didn’t any of the villagers try to control the fire are the chateau | wanted it to burn |
| who is gabelle? what happened to him? | tax collector; put in to jail; was in charge of Chateau; relations with the Marquis |
| in chapter 24, how many years have passed since the storming of the bastille | 3 |
| what had many of the displaced gentry in france done | fled to england |
| what has Mr. Lorry decided to do | go to france to protect the bank’s interest |
| who writes to Charles from france? what does he want | Gabelle; release him from prison |
| what is Charles “Loadstone Rock” | france |
| why is Darnay arrested? where is he taken? by whose orders | emigrant aristocrat; taken to La Force Prison by Defarges’ orders |
| what insight does charles’ imprisonment give him | he understands why dr. manette made shoes |
| what does dr. manette try to do | tries to help get Charles out of prison |
| what gruesome scene does mr. lorry keep lucie from seeing | peasants sharpening their weapons |
| why did mr. lorry find different lodgings for the manettes | to protect the bank |
| who brought the message from dr. manette to Lorry? what was it? | defarge brought the message; said Charles was safe and there is hope |
| how did lucie react to madame defarge | begged her to have pity; she was rebuffed and lucie becomes afraid |
| what information was concealed from lucie | the was a murderous raid on the prison |
| how has dr. manette changed | finds strength and purpose in his mission to help Charles |
| how much time has elapsed since Charles was sent to prison | 1 year 3 months |
| what are the conditions in france now | wild; people have gone insane; “reign of terror” |
| what fear does lucie have on page 272 (chapter 4 book 3) | fears wood-sawyer is a spy for the defarges |
| where does lucie go everyday | to a corner where Charles might see her from the prison |
| what is the carmagnole? why does it scare lucie so much? | the dance of the revolutionaries; the wood-sawyer is in the dance |
| for what reasons is Charles released | he relinquished his inheritance and was married to the daughter of a patriot (dr. manette) |
| what was the crowd’s response to the acquittal | cheered |
| why didn’t the family leave paris as soon as Charles was released | it was dangerous; would look suspicious; needed to have proper papers to travel |
| why is Charles re-arrested | he has been denounced by 3 people |
| who do miss pross and jerry meet when they’re shopping | solomon |
| what does carton reveal about Solomon pross | he was used a fake name (John Barsad) and was employed by English and now by france (counter-spy) |
| where does Solomon work | as a turnkey at the La Force prison |
| what deal does carton make with Solomon | to be admitted to darnay’s cell |
| does carton reveal his plans to anyone | no |
| why do you think he bought the drugs from the chemist | to drug darnay and change places with him |
| what three people denounced charles | the defarges and dr. manette |
| summarize dr. manette’s letter | he was called to tend to a raving peasant girl and dying brother; brother says how his sister’s husband was worked to death by the evremondes, sister raped, dad died of shock, manette tried to report this but was put in jail |
| does Charles blame dr. manette for the letter | no |
| what does Sydney carton whisper to lucie? what do you think this means? | “a life you love” she will live a happy life |
| what does madame defarge find curious about carton | he looks like charles |
| what special reason does she have for wanting Charles to die | she was the surviving sister of the peasant family spoken of in dr. manette’s letter |
| who else is in danger | lucie, little lucie, and dr. manette |
| how has dr. manette handled the announcement of charles’ impending death | looks for shoemaking tools |
| what instructions does carton give mr. lorry | to leave the instant he jumps in the carriage |
| do you find it strange that Charles never thought of carton when he was writing his letters | yes |
| explain carton’s plan for Charles to escape | carton and Charles will switch clothes; carton drugs Charles (so it looks like he fainted) and Charles will be carried out of prison |
| what is the significance of the seamstress who is also going to the guillotine | she sees carton as a hero and knows nothing else about him |
| what humor does dickens add at this very tense point in the novel | jerry insists on miss pross hearing his two vows; to give up his grave robbing and to not interfere with his wife’s praying |
| why did madame defarge come to Lucie’s house | to catch her mourning |
| what did miss pross do? was it justified? | shoot madame defarge; yes |
| does anyone, besides miss pross, know madame defarge is dead | no |
| explain, “crush humanity out of shape once more, under similar hammers, and it will twist itself into the same tortured forms: | revolution is always the result of exploiting people |
| do you think carton died with a peaceful heart? why? | yes; he was happy to do something meaningful for once in his life |
A Tale of Two Cities Study Guide Questions
June 13, 2020