Book I - Chapter III. The Night Shadows Practice Quiz — A Tale of Two Cities
by Charles Dickens — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Book I - Chapter III. The Night Shadows
What message does Jerry Cruncher carry back to Tellson's Bank?
He carries Mr. Lorry's reply: "Recalled to Life."
What does Mr. Lorry dream about during the coach ride?
He dreams of digging a man out of a grave — a spectral figure who has been "buried" for almost eighteen years.
How does the spectre in Lorry's dream answer the question "You know that you are recalled to life?"
"They tell me so."
What happens each time Lorry imagines digging the buried man free?
The man suddenly fans away to dust, and Lorry starts awake to feel the mist and rain on his cheek.
Describe Jerry Cruncher's physical appearance as introduced in this chapter.
He has close-set black eyes, an old cocked hat "like a three-cornered spittoon," a great muffler covering his chin and throat, a raggedly bald crown, and stiff spiky black hair so jagged he looks like "a strongly spiked wall."
What does Jerry Cruncher repeatedly call himself?
An "honest tradesman" — an ironic self-description, since he is later revealed to be a body snatcher (resurrection man).
What do the varying faces in Mr. Lorry's dream all have in common?
They are all faces of a man of forty-five, and every head is prematurely white.
Who is the "her" Lorry asks the spectre about — "Shall I show her to you?"
She is Lucie Manette, Dr. Manette's daughter, though she is not named in this chapter.
What theme does the chapter's opening philosophical passage establish?
The theme of human secrecy and isolation — that every person is a "profound secret and mystery to every other," and death permanently seals those secrets.
How does the "Recalled to Life" theme function in this chapter?
It operates on multiple levels: literally (Dr. Manette will be freed from imprisonment), metaphorically (he must be restored to emotional life), and ironically (Jerry Cruncher, who dislikes the phrase, is himself a resurrection man).
How does the chapter illustrate the theme of darkness versus light?
The oppressive night filled with haunting shadows gives way at dawn to a "bright, placid, and beautiful" sunrise, symbolizing hope and resurrection after long suffering.
What do the "night shadows" of the chapter title symbolize?
They symbolize the fears, secrets, and anxieties hidden within each character — the private terrors that emerge from darkness and uncertainty.
What does the sunrise at the end of the chapter symbolize?
It symbolizes resurrection, hope, and the return to life — mirroring Dr. Manette's impending release from his eighteen-year imprisonment.
What does "digging someone out of a grave" symbolize in Lorry's dream?
It symbolizes the mission to rescue Dr. Manette from the Bastille, where he has been imprisoned so long that freeing him is like unearthing someone from the dead.
Identify the literary device in the repeated exchange: "Buried how long?" / "Almost eighteen years."
Repetition (also called refrain). It recurs three times, creating an incantatory, dreamlike rhythm that conveys Lorry's obsessive anxiety.
What metaphors does Dickens use in the opening passage to describe the unknowability of other people?
An unreadable book that "shut with a spring, for ever" and "unfathomable water" in which one catches only "glimpses of buried treasure."
How does Dickens use dramatic irony with Jerry Cruncher in this chapter?
Jerry insists the message "Recalled to Life" wouldn't suit his "line of business" — ironic because he is secretly a resurrection man (grave robber), making "recalled to life" exactly his line of business.
What is the personification in the phrase about night shadows taking "such shapes" as arose from characters' uneasiness?
The shadows are given agency as if they are alive, actively forming themselves into the characters' fears and anxieties, rather than being passive darkness.
What is the title of Book I of A Tale of Two Cities, and how does this chapter advance it?
Book I is titled "Recalled to Life." This chapter advances the theme through Lorry's dream of unearthing a man buried alive for eighteen years — setting up the rescue of Dr. Manette.
Where is Jerry Cruncher delivering the message, and what is the significance of this location?
To the night watchman at Tellson's Bank, by Temple Bar. Tellson's is the venerable London bank that employs both Lorry and Jerry, and it serves as a key setting connecting the London and Paris storylines throughout the novel.
How many years has the buried man been imprisoned, and who is he?
Almost eighteen years. He is Dr. Alexandre Manette, a French physician imprisoned in the Bastille, though he is not named in this chapter.