Novel Insights Guide To

A Tale Of Two Cities

by Charles Dickens


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TABLE OF CONTENTS


Author Biography ..................................... 1
Background Information ..................................... 3
Book 1, Chapter 01 - 03 ..................................... 5
Book 1, Chapter 04 - 06 ................................... 12
Book 2, Chapter 01 - 03 ................................... 19
Book 2, Chapter 04 - 06 ................................... 28
Book 2, Chapter 07 - 09 ................................... 37
Book 2, Chapter 10 - 13 ................................... 46
Book 2, Chapter 14 - 16 ................................... 54
Book 2, Chapter 17 - 20 ................................... 63
Book 2, Chapter 21 - 24 ................................... 70
Book 3, Chapter 01 - 03 ................................... 80
Book 3, Chapter 04 - 06 ................................... 88
Book 3, Chapter 07 - 09 ................................... 95
Book 3, Chapter 10 - 12 ................................... 104
Book 3, Chapter 13 - 15 ................................... 113
Vocabulary Tests ................................... 123
Test Questions .................................. 181
Vocabulary Crossword Puzzle .................................. 192
Selected Bibliography .................................. 221


Chapters 01 - 03

The opening chapters introduce the setting, which is both England and France, in 1775, as well as the main characters. Dickens sets the stage for the chaotic era, opening with his famous "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times….." George III was the king of England and Charlotte was his queen. The king and queen of France were Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Chevalier de la Barre was the Frenchman who was executed in the town of Abbeville in July 1766 for failing to kneel to a procession of passing monks. There is violence and religious persecution in France; rampant crime in England. He makes reference to trees already growing that "the Woodsman Fate" has appointed to be made "a certain moveable framework with a sack and a knife in it," and "that Farmer, Death" had set aside certain oxcarts to be tumbrils of the French Revolution.

Because of the mud on the road, the coach that delivers the mail between London and Dover is laboring up Shooter's Hill. The three passengers are walking beside the coach, having disembarked in order to ease the strain on the horses, while the coachman and a guard ride on the coach. The presence of the guard is necessitated by the frequency of hijackings of mail coaches by highwaymen. This ongoing threat of violence causes the three passengers to avoid eye contact. Just as each is wrapped from head to toe to keep out the wet and chill of the evening, each is also wrapped in anonymity, desiring to have as little to do as possible with the other passengers. As the coach reaches the top of the hill, the men return to their seats inside the coach, but the coach is overtaken by a rider. Fear overtakes their hearts much as the rider has overtaken the coach. Although the rider causes much apprehension for the guard and the coachman, it turns out he is a messenger bringing a note to Mr. Jarvis Lorry, the character Dickens is introducing in this chapter. Mr. Lorry assures the guard he is in the employ of Tellson's Bank, and is on his way to Paris on business. Jerry, the messenger from Tellson's, hands him a note saying, "Wait at Dover for Mam'selle." Mr. Lorry instructs Jerry to return with the reply, "RECALLED TO LIFE." As the coachman and guard puzzle over this strange exchange, Jerry is left in the road with much the same reaction.

As Jerry Cruncher makes his way back to London, trying to make sense of the message he has been asked to deliver, Jarvis Lorry is lulled into a restless sleep in the coach, dreaming he is digging someone out of a grave who has been buried alive. He asks, "Buried how long?" and the answer comes back, "Almost eighteen years." "I hope you care to live?" "I can't say." He asks the ghost if he wants to see her, and his mind invents various answers to the question. Mr. Lorry opens the coach window and allows the rain to fall on his cheek in order to bring himself back to reality. However, he would then fall back into the same dream. Finally, the light of day allows Mr. Lorry to become fully awake, and he exclaims in wonder at the thought that a man who has been buried alive for eighteen years will soon be released.


Suggested Activities - Chapters 01 - 03

  1. Divide students into groups, assigning each group background research on specifics of the time period: Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette; lettre de cachet (French system under which a French aristocrat could accuse anyone and the accused was never told the identity of the accuser or of the offense; nor was he given the opportunity to defend himself); George III and Charlotte; the growing unrest in France; the crime in England.
  2. Ask students to choose a scene from one of the first three chapters and illustrate it.
  3. Provide students with maps, giving them the assignment of tracing the route of the mail coach from London to Dover. What is the distance? Why Does the mail going to France leave from Dover? What is the distance from Dover to France?

Review Questions - Chapters 01 - 03

  1. In the opening paragraph of A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens uses seven dichotomies (things that are mutually exclusive or contradictory). Name them.
  2. Who are the king and queen of England at the time of beginning of the story? Of France?
  3. In what year is the beginning of the story set?
  4. What is happening in France at this time?
  5. What two metaphors does Dickens use in speaking of the events that are leading toward the French Revolution?
  6. What are the conditions in England?
  7. As the action of the story begins, what time of day is it? What is the weather? What does this do to the setting?
  8. What was the attitude of the passengers in the coach? Why?
  9. What do they hear? What effect does this have on the passengers, the coachman and the guard?
  10. How is the horseman related to one of the passengers? What is the message he brings?
  11. What reply is he given in return?
  12. Describe Jerry Crutcher.
  13. As Mr. Lorry's mind is lulled into unconsciousness by the monotony of the journey, what dream plays itself out in his mind?
  14. What does he do to try to put an end to this dream? How successful is this?
  15. What event finally brings Mr. Lorry fully awake? What is his response?

Review Question Answers - Chapters 01 - 03

  1. The best of times/worst of times; age of wisdom/age of foolishness; epoch of belief/epoch of incredulity; season of Light/season of Darkness; spring of hope/winter of despair; we had everything before us/we had nothing before us; we were all going direct to Heaven/we were all going direct the other way.
  2. The king and queen of England were George III and Charlotte; Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were king & queen of France.
  3. 1775
  4. In France there was a financial crisis - Dickens says they were "making paper money and spending it." There was also religious persecution and excesses. He gives several examples. These things are pushing events toward the beginning of the French Revolution.
  5. He uses the Woodman as a metaphor for fate, and the Farmer for death.
  6. In England, crime is out of control, with highwaymen waylaying travelers on the roads, and townspeople told not to travel out of town without "removing their furniture to upholsterers' warehouses for security." People are living in fear because violent crime is so commonplace.
  7. The story begins at night, and it is raining. This causes the setting to be very dark and cold.
  8. The passengers do not make eye contact, nor do they speak to each other. Because of the robberies, people are afraid to trust each other, and afraid to open themselves up and make themselves vulnerable to others. Therefore, they isolate themselves and try to notice as little as possible of those traveling with them.
  9. They hear approaching hoofbeats, which strike fear into their hearts.
  10. The horseman is a messenger from Tellson's Bank, and has come to deliver a message to Mr. Jarvis Lorry, who works for the bank and is one of the passengers. The message he brings is "Wait at Dover for Mam'selle."
  11. RECALLED TO LIFE
  12. Jerry Crutcher has close-set, dark eyes that seem to have a sinister appearance, stiff black hair that is bald on the crown, and spiky all over, hanging down almost to his nose.
  13. He sees himself digging a man out of a grave who has been buried alive for eighteen years. He then asks if he wants to see her, but receives a confusing array of answers.
  14. He tries opening the window and allowing the rain to fall on his cheek, but this is not successful.
  15. He is finally fully awake when the bright sun of morning is shining through the coach's window. He is amazed that a man is about to be released after being buried alive for eighteen years.