Openers for A Tale of Two Cities

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Openers for A Tale of Two Cities
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Ch.1-2

• Describe the social situation and atmosphere that
  Dickens describes in Chapter One.
• What sort of state is England and France in?
• Shape your response into a well organized
  paragraph, 6-8 sentences in length.

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Ch.3-4

• Who does Jarvis Lorry meet in Dover and what do
  they plan to do?
• How does Dickens create a sense of suspense in
  these chapters?

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Chapter 5 6

• What is the impression you have of Madame
  Defarge, after reading Chapter 5?
• What helps Dr. Manette begin to remember his
  past. (This is mentioned in Chapter 6.)

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Book II Chapter 1 and 2

• Describe the character of Jerry Cruncher, which
  is emphasized in Chapter 1.
• Describe the Old Bailey, which is emphasized in
  Chapter 2.

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Book II Chapter 3 4

• Ch.3 A Disappointment
• Who is Charles Darnay? What is he being tried for
  and why is he acquitted?

• Ch. 4 Congratulatory
• Who is Sydney Carton?
• Describe this character.

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Understanding Whose Who

• Sydney Carton Sydney Carton is a dissipated
  English lawyer who spends a great deal of his
  life drunk.
• Dr. Manette Dr. Manette is one of the central
  characters in A Tale of Two Cities. He was
  imprisoned at the start of the story because he
  had tried to bring the crimes of two members of a
  French noble family to public trial.
• Jerry Cruncher Jerry Cruncher is the literal
  symbol of Dickens's theme of resurrection in A
  Tale of Two Cities. Cruncher is a "resurrection
  man"he steals fresh corpses from graveyards and
  delivers them to medical schools so that students
  can study human anatomy.
• Jarvis Lorry Jarvis Lorry is the representative
  of Tellson's Bank, an old, established English
  institution. He serves partly as a means of
  progressing the plot and partly as a symbol of
  English middle-class virtue.
• Charles Darnay Charles Darnay, or St. Evremonde,
  is the nephew and heir of the Marquis St.
  Evremonde, the wicked aristocrat who is
  responsible for the imprisonment of Dr. Manette.
• Miss Pross Miss Pross is Lucie Manettes nurse
• Monsieur Everemonde He is the image of the
  uncaring French aristocrat and he is responsible
  for the imprisonment of Dr. Manette.
• Madame Defarge Madame Defarge is the symbol of
  the evils brought forth by the French Revolution.
  Her entire family was destroyed by the St.
  Evremonde clan

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Understanding Whose Who

• Mr. Stryver C. J. Stryver is the quasi-law
  partner of Sydney Carton. He makes his living by
  exploiting Carton's legal mind.

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Book II Chapter 5 and 6

• The Jackal
• We see in this chapter that Darnay, Stryver, and
• Carton have all taken an interest in Lucie
  Manette.
• How is this revealed?
• Hundreds of People
• In this chapter, Jarvis Lorry visits the
  Manettes, who he has befriended, for Sunday
  dinner. Describe some of the details of his
  visit.

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Book II Ch.7 and 8

• Monseigneur in Town and Monseigneur in the
  Country
• In these chapters a new character is introduced
  Monsieur the Marquis, a French nobleman and uncle
  of Charles Darnay.
• In a unified paragraph (8-11 sentences), describe
  the Marquis. What sort of person is he? Be sure
  to give some examples from these chapters.

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Book II Chapter 9 and 10

• The Gorgons Head
• The Marquis nephew comes to visit him at his
• chateau in this chapter. What are some of the
• things they discuss? What is the nephews
  attitude
• toward his family
• Two Promises
• What are the promises that Dr. Manette
• and Charles Darnay make in this chapter?

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Book II Chapter 11 and 12

• A Companion Picture and The Fellow of No
  Delicacy
• These two chapters focus on Mr. Stryver and
• include a lot of subtle humor. Whats your
• impression of Mr. Stryver? Write down some of
• your insights (6 to 8 sentences).

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Book II Chapter 13 and 14The Fellow of No
Delicacy and The Honest Tradesman

• In Chapter 13, Sydney Carton tells Lucie he loves
  her. Why do you think hes drawn to Lucie? How
  does she respond to Carton?
• also
• What is the ominous mob following in Chapter 14?
• Who is the Honest Tradesman in Chapter 14?

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Book II Chapter 15 and 16

• These chapters reveal that the Defarges are a
  part of a serious organization of revolutionaries
  in St. Antoine. They have friends in the police,
  they use secret signals and coded language, they
  are keeping track of people who they intend to
  eventually execute, and they are aware that there
  are spies and counter spies everywhere. The
  revolution, it seems, is quickly approaching.
• In Chapter 16, Still Knitting, the Defarges
  find out that Lucie Manette is soon to marry
  Charles Darnay. How do they react and why? What
  are the repercussions or consequences of this
  marriage?

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Book II Chapter 18

• Nine Days

• Describe what goes on for nine days in this
  chapter.

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• Book III Chapter 1 In Secret
• Why is Charles Darnay motivated to go back to
  Paris during the Reign of Terror?
• What are some of the new decrees that have been
  set forth in France?
• What is Darnays fate in this chapter?

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BOOK III CHAPTERS THREE AND FOUR The Shadow and
Calm in the Storm In Chapter 3, Monsieur
Defarge brings a letter to Jarvis Lorry. They go,
along with Madame Defarge, to take the letter to
Lucie. What does the letter say? At the end of
the chapter, what does Lucie ask of Madame
Defarge? How does Madame Defarge reply? What is
The Shadow that Dickens is referring to in
Chapter 3?
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Book III Chapter Five and SixThe Wood-Sawyer and
Triumph

• How is Lucie Manette portrayed in these chapters?
  What sort of woman is Lucie? How does she compare
  with Jane Eyre (the character)?

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Book III Chapter 8A Hand at Cards

• In this chapter, we are exposed to a lot of
  secretssecrets relating to Solomon Pross (aka
  John Barsad) and Roger Cly. What do we find out?