SparkNotes: A Tale of Two Cities: Quiz

1. A Tale of Two Cities opens in 1775. Which of the following does not characterize this period?

(A) The British colonies in America have just presented a list of grievances to the King of England

(B) Crime and capital punishment plague the streets of London

(C) The guillotine stands as a much-feared fixture on the streets of Paris

(D) The French aristocracy causes great suffering among the lower classes

2. Why are the drivers of the Dover mail coach hesitant to stop for Jerry Cruncher’s message?

(A) They fear that he is a highwayman attempting to rob the passengers

(B) They fear that stopping will put them behind schedule for delivering the mail in a timely fashion

(C) They have been charged with the safety of Jarvis Lorry, one of the coach’s passengers

(D) Jerry Cruncher’s troublesome reputation precedes him

3. What object does Doctor Manette keep during his imprisonment in order to escape “in spirit”?

(A) A picture of his wife and daughter

(B) The Bible

(C) A keg of wine

(D) A lock of his wife’s hair

4. By what name do the men in Defarge’s wine-shop call their fellow revolutionaries?

(A) Jacques

(B) Pierre

(C) Jasper

(D) Xavier

5. What skill did Doctor Manette develop in order to pass the time during his incarceration?

(A) Drawing

(B) Whittling

(C) Shoemaking

(D) Storytelling

6. What symbol does Dickens use to portend the bloodshed of the French Revolution?

(A) The Dover mail coach

(B) The broken wine cask

(C) Tellson’s Bank

(D) Madame Defarge’s malevolent stare

7. During her testimony, to whom does Lucie claim that Charles Darnay alluded on the boat ride from Calais to Dover?

(A) Louis XVI

(B) John Adams

(C) Napoleon Bonaparte

(D) George Washington

8. After Darnay’s acquittal, why does Sydney Carton claim to dislike him?

(A) Darnay is unattractive and mean-spirited

(B) Darnay abuses the love of Lucie Manette

(C) Darnay reminds him of how far he has fallen and everything he might have been

(D) Even though he has been acquitted, Darnay is a traitor

9. To which animal does Dickens compare Sydney Carton?

(A) A jackal

(B) A lion

(C) A weasel

(D) A sloth

10. A Tale of Two Cities was published in weekly installments from April to November of what year?

(A) 1845

(B) 1859

(C) 1879

(D) 1890

11. What image does Dickens frequently use to describe Lucie Manette?

(A) An earth-bound angel

(B) A golden thread

(C) A tiger lily

(D) A calm in a storm

12. What sound does Lucie often hear echoing off the street when she is in her home?

(A) Footsteps

(B) Brawling

(C) The yells of the crowd at public executions

(D) A choir singing

13. Which of the following characters is related to the Marquis, whose carriage runs down a small child?

(A) Doctor Manette

(B) Sydney Carton

(C) Charles Darnay

(D) Miss Pross

14. Who does Miss Pross believe is the ideal suitor for Lucie Manette?

(A) Sydney Carton

(B) Charles Darnay

(C) Her brother, Solomon

(D) She believes that no man is good enough for Lucie

15. What does Mr. Lorry try to persuade Mr. Stryver not to do?

(A) Propose to Lucie Manette

(B) Invest his money in Tellson’s Bank

(C) Drop Sydney Carton as a business colleague

(D) Visit Paris at a time of political turmoil

16. Who promises Lucie Manette that he would, if necessary, die for her?

(A) Jarvis Lorry

(B) Sydney Carton

(C) Charles Darnay

(D) Monsieur Defarge

17. What does Jerry Cruncher frequently go out to do at night?

(A) Raid Tellson’s Bank

(B) Deliver messages to prisoners in the Bastille

(C) Dig up bodies in the cemetery

(D) Meet with other revolutionaries to plan uprisings

18. Who informs the Defarges that Lucie Manette has married Charles Darnay?

(A) The mender of roads

(B) Jarvis Lorry

(C) Gaspard

(D) John Barsad

19. On the night after Lucie and Charles are married, what does Doctor Manette do?

(A) He prepares to join them on their honeymoon

(B) He reverts to his prison pastime of making shoes

(C) He confesses to Miss Pross that he thinks Lucie has made a terrible mistake

(D) He writes a letter to Defarge, asking him to spare Darnay’s life

20. During the storming of the Bastille, who decapitates the fortress’s guard?

(A) Madame Defarge

(B) Defarge

(C) John Barsad

(D) An anonymous Jacques

21. Why does the Paris mob kill Foulon?

(A) Because he is a spy

(B) Because he suggested that starving people should eat grass

(C) Because his carriage ran down a child in the street

(D) Because he collected high taxes from the peasants

22. What is the duration of Manette’s psychological relapse after Lucie leaves for her honeymoon?

(A) Nine days

(B) Four days

(C) A fortnight

(D) A year and three months

23. Who develops a habit of watching and speaking to Lucie as she waits on a Paris street corner each day, hoping that Darnay will be able to see her from his prison window?

(A) Madame Defarge

(B) Defarge

(C) A wood-sawyer

(D) A seamstress

24. Who does the spy John Barsad turn out to be?

(A) Miss Pross’ brother, Solomon

(B) A relation of the Marquis Evrémonde

(C) Madame Defarge’s long-lost brother

(D) Roger Cly

25. Why was Doctor Manette imprisoned?

(A) He stole bread

(B) He failed to save the life of an aristocrat’s daughter

(C) The Marquis Evrémonde feared that Manette would reveal one of the Marquis’s dark secrets

(D) He was an outspoken critic of the royal family