Book II - Chapter III. A Disappointment Practice Quiz — A Tale of Two Cities
by Charles Dickens — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Book II - Chapter III. A Disappointment
What crime is Charles Darnay accused of in Book 2, Chapter 3?
High treason -- specifically, passing lists of British military forces and their dispositions to France over a five-year period.
Who are the two main prosecution witnesses against Darnay?
John Barsad, presented as a patriot who exposed Darnay, and Roger Cly, Darnay's servant who claims to have found incriminating documents in his desk.
What is revealed about John Barsad during cross-examination?
He has been in debtors' prison five or six times, has been kicked downstairs for cheating at dice, has borrowed money from Darnay without repaying it, and is likely a paid government spy.
What does Lucie Manette testify about her encounter with Darnay?
She describes meeting Darnay on the Calais packet ship, where he was kind to her ailing father, and notes he said business of a "delicate and difficult nature" required him to travel between France and England under an assumed name.
What controversial remark did Darnay make to Lucie on the ship?
He said the quarrel with America was "wrong and foolish on England's part" and joked that George Washington might gain "almost as great a name in history as George the Third."
How does Sydney Carton help secure Darnay's acquittal?
He passes a note to defense counsel Mr. Stryver, who then asks a prosecution witness to compare Carton and Darnay side by side. Their striking resemblance destroys the witness's claim of positive identification.
What word is written on the paper Jerry Cruncher receives at the end of the chapter?
"ACQUITTED" -- though Dickens humorously misspells it as "aquitted" in the text, reflecting the hastily written note.
What does Carton's behavior during the trial reveal about his character?
He appears careless and slovenly, lounging with his wig askew and staring at the ceiling, yet he is the most observant person in the courtroom -- he notices the witness vulnerability AND is the first to see Lucie faint.
Why can Doctor Manette not testify about the Channel crossing?
His long imprisonment in the Bastille has left him with no memory of the period. He says: "My mind is a blank, from some time... when I employed myself, in my captivity, in making shoes, to the time when I found myself living in London."
How does Mr. Lorry behave toward Darnay during the trial?
He is sympathetic but cautious. Carton tells Lorry he will relay a message to Darnay because "It won't do for a respectable bank gentleman like you, to be seen speaking to him publicly," and Lorry reddens, conscious of having debated this point.
Who is Mr. Stryver and what is his role in the trial?
He is Darnay's defense counsel. He argues that Barsad and Cly are hired spies and traitors, that the evidence was wrested from Lucie, and that Darnay's trips to France were for family affairs he cannot disclose.
How does the "Recalled to Life" theme connect to Darnay's acquittal?
Darnay is literally saved from death. Jerry Cruncher makes it explicit, muttering: "If you had sent the message, 'Recalled to Life,' again, I should have known what you meant, this time."
How does the chapter develop the theme of appearance versus reality?
The prosecution's "patriot" (Barsad) and "virtuous servant" (Cly) are liars and spies. The seemingly idle Carton is the sharpest person in court. The crowd's "justice" is really bloodlust.
What does the Carton-Darnay resemblance foreshadow?
It foreshadows the novel's climax, where Carton will use his physical likeness to Darnay to substitute himself at the guillotine and save Darnay's life.
How does the chapter introduce the theme of doubles and duality?
Through the Carton-Darnay resemblance: "so like each other in feature, so unlike each other in manner." This mirrors the novel's structure of paired cities, paired characters, and mirrored events.
What is the significance of the "blue-flies" metaphor?
The spectators are compared to blue-flies (blowflies) buzzing around the prisoner "in anticipation of what he was soon to become" -- carrion. It exposes the crowd's bloodthirsty desire to see a public execution.
How does Dickens use satire in the Attorney-General's opening speech?
The speech is a cascade of "That" clauses, each more bombastic and absurd than the last, mocking the empty rhetoric of the legal system. The AG even admits the lack of handwriting evidence is "rather the better for the prosecution."
What dramatic irony runs through the chapter title "A Disappointment"?
The "disappointment" belongs to the crowd, who wanted to see Darnay executed. The title frames an innocent man's survival as a letdown, ironically highlighting the spectators' cruelty.
What does Jerry Cruncher mutter when he reads the verdict?
"If you had sent the message, 'Recalled to Life,' again, I should have known what you meant, this time."
What does Darnay say when Carton asks what he expects from the trial?
"The worst." Carton replies: "It's the wisest thing to expect, and the likeliest. But I think their withdrawing is in your favour."