READING QUESTIONS: A TALE OF TWO CITIES   BOOK ONE 1. How is Mr. Manette described? He is described as a very honorable man who worked very hard in his business and was very confidential about everything he did. He had been kept away and locked up for 18 years and no one knows why. He is physically a very old looking man who has white hair and very skinny. 2. What does Mr. Manette spend his time doing with his hands? Why is he in a trance  while doing this? Mr. Manette makes shoes with his hands and works on them to keep his sanity. After being locked away for so long, a person could go insane without something to do. He has done this same work for 18 long years and it’s the only thing he has grown to like to do. He is in a trance because he has concentrated on working on shoes for the whole time, so when a person asks a question, he is not accustomed to it. 3. Who does Mr. Manette briefly recognize?  He briefly recognized Mr. Lorry for a moment. 4. In whose arms does Mr. Manette sob?  Mr. Manette sobs in Miss Manette’s arms. 5. Is it true that Madame Defarge sees nothing? Why not? No, she sees everything that happens. But she chooses not to see anything. She is well aware of what is going on around her but she chooses not to acknowlege what is going on around her. 6. What dream comes back to Mr. Lorry as the three leave Paris? The dream about him digging out an alive man and now the man who was in the grave is not sitting opposite of Lorry. Book Two 1. What is Tellson's Bank being compared to? IT is being compared to a coffin. The coffin, which needs nor wants any light or elbow- room or any convienence. 2. What is significant about descending "two steps" to go into Tellson's? The significance is that you are going down, as though you’re going down into the ground. And they use the term “fell” referring to the fact that you didn’t mean to go there, but you ended up that way. 3. What does "putting to death was a recipe much in vogue" mean? This means that dying and being put to death was the most popular thing to do and many people were following the trend because of either starvation or punishment. 4. What types of crimes In England were given death? Death was given to a person who forges, who utters a bad note, the unlawful opener of a letter, the purloiner of forty shillings and sixpence, the coiner of a bad shilling, and the sounders of three-fourths of the notes in the whole gamut of Crime. 5. Describe Mr. Cruncher and his son. Mr. Cruncher is a messenger for the bank. They are very much alike in the fact that they believe that people are against them and they don’t believe in people. They always are dirty and have rust stains because they are grave robbers at night time. 6.       Why does Mr. Cruncher get upset with his wife?   Mr. Cruncher gets upset with his wife because he thinks that she is against him and that she is praying and blessing against him. This is bad because he already robs graves and doesn’t need anymore bad blessings for him. 7.       What clues are you given that he secretly digs up the dead at night? His shoes are always covered in mud and clay in the morning, when at night they go away clean. His hands are rusty and dirty. His clothes are covered in filth and smell. BOOK TWO, CHAPTER TWO 8.       What punishment(s) will be given to the traitorous prisoner?   The traitor will be half hung, taken down and sliced before his own face, and then his inside will be taken out and burnt while he looks on, and then his head will be chopped off and he’ll be cut into quarters. 9.       What is above the prisoner's head to "throw the light down upon him?"  A mirror. 10.     Who are the two witnesses in the court brought to speak against the witness? Robert Cly and Mr. Carton BOOK TWO, CHAPTER THREE 1. What metaphor does Dickens use to describe the people in the court? He calls them blue-flies, which feast on dead things. 2.       What has Mr. Darney done, according to the judge?   He had been giving information to the American Revolutionaries about what was going on between the British troops and the Americans. 3.       What slanderous comments does Lucy say against Darnay? She says that he was whispering with men and that they looked mysterious and scary. 4.       Who notices that Lucy feels ill?   Mr. Carton. 5.       Who is "recalled to life?"  Mr. Darnay is recalled to life 6.       Why is the chapter entitled "A Disappointment?” The crowd was wanting a hanging and some blood but they didn’t get any.                                    Go To the rest of the questions