Book II - Chapter VIII. Monseigneur in the Country Quiz — A Tale of Two Cities

by Charles Dickens

Comprehension Quiz: Book II - Chapter VIII. Monseigneur in the Country

Where is the Marquis St. Evrémonde traveling in this chapter?

  • From London to Dover to catch a ship to France
  • From Paris to his country estate through the countryside
  • From the village to the royal court in Versailles
  • From the Bastille prison to a safe house in the provinces

What does the setting sun do to the Marquis as his carriage reaches the hilltop?

  • It blinds him temporarily, forcing the carriage to halt
  • It strikes so brilliantly that he is "steeped in crimson"
  • It casts his shadow over the entire village below the hill
  • It illuminates a roadside monument he had never noticed before

What rhetorical device does Dickens use to describe the village?

  • Extended metaphor comparing the village to a dying animal
  • Repetition of the word "poor" to emphasize the villagers' deprivation
  • Hyperbolic praise of the village's rustic beauty and charm
  • A series of rhetorical questions addressed directly to the reader

What are the villagers eating for supper?

  • Bread and cheese from the local market stalls
  • Spare onions, leaves, grasses, and other small yieldings of the earth
  • Leftover food donated by the Marquis from his household
  • Dried fish and grain purchased from traveling merchants

Why are so few children and no dogs seen in the village?

  • The children are away working in nearby mines and factories
  • Extreme poverty has made it impossible to sustain children or animals
  • The Marquis has ordered children kept indoors during his visits
  • A recent plague has swept through the village population

What does the road-mender report seeing beneath the Marquis's carriage?

  • A broken axle that threatens to cause an accident on the hill
  • A man clinging to the chain, "whiter than the miller … tall as a spectre"
  • A chest of gold coins that had fallen from the carriage compartment
  • An injured animal caught in the wheel mechanism of the carriage

Who is Monsieur Gabelle?

  • The Marquis's personal valet who rides inside the carriage
  • The village postmaster and tax collector who serves the Marquis
  • A courier who rides ahead to announce the Marquis's arrival
  • The road-mender who reports the stranger under the carriage

What does the Marquis order Gabelle to do about the mysterious stranger?

  • Ignore the stranger, since he is likely a harmless beggar
  • Lay hands on the stranger and investigate his business if he appears
  • Send soldiers from the prison on the crag to hunt the man down
  • Offer the stranger food and shelter as a gesture of hospitality

What does the crude wooden crucifix at the burial ground symbolize?

  • The village's deep religious devotion despite their suffering
  • The connection between Christ's suffering and the peasants' starvation
  • The Marquis's generous donation to the local church
  • The hope that the peasants will be rewarded in the afterlife

What is the widow's petition to the Marquis?

  • She asks for money to feed her starving children through winter
  • She asks for a small marker of stone or wood for her dead husband's grave
  • She begs the Marquis to release her husband from the prison on the crag
  • She requests that the Marquis reduce the taxes on the village farmers

How does the Marquis respond to the widow who tells him her husband is dead?

  • He expresses genuine sympathy and promises to help her family
  • "Well! He is quiet. Can I restore him to you?" — with cold indifference
  • He orders Gabelle to provide the widow with a proper gravestone
  • He ignores her silently and signals the carriage to move forward

Who does the Marquis ask about when he arrives at his château?

  • Monseigneur, the powerful nobleman he met in Paris
  • "Monsieur Charles, whom I expect" — hinting at Charles Darnay
  • The road-mender, to learn if the stranger was captured
  • His brother, who was supposed to arrive from Versailles

What mythological figures does Dickens say attend the Marquis as his whips crack?

  • The Muses, goddesses of artistic inspiration and creativity
  • The Furies, Greek goddesses of vengeance who pursue wrongdoers
  • The Fates, who spin and cut the thread of every human life
  • The Graces, goddesses of beauty, charm, and elegance

What is the significance of the chapter's contrast between the Marquis's carriage and the village?

  • It shows that the Marquis is a fair ruler who shares his wealth
  • It illustrates the vast gulf between aristocratic luxury and peasant starvation
  • It demonstrates that the villagers are content with their simple lives
  • It reveals that the Marquis is secretly funding the village's improvement

What foreshadowing is created by the mysterious stranger under the carriage?

  • It suggests that Charles Darnay is secretly following the Marquis
  • It hints that someone — later revealed as Gaspard — is pursuing the Marquis for revenge
  • It foreshadows a carriage accident that will injure the Marquis
  • It predicts that the road-mender will become a revolutionary leader

Comprehension Quiz

Question 1 of 0
Score: 0 / 0
Read Chapter
← Previous Next →