Book II - Chapter XIV. The Honest Tradesman Quiz — A Tale of Two Cities

by Charles Dickens

Comprehension Quiz: Book II - Chapter XIV. The Honest Tradesman

What is Jerry Cruncher's daytime occupation?

  • He is a lawyer's clerk at the Old Bailey courthouse
  • He is an odd-job man and messenger at Tellson's Bank
  • He is a gravedigger at the Saint Pancras churchyard
  • He is a fishmonger who sells his catch on Fleet Street

Whose funeral procession disrupts Fleet Street?

  • Charles Darnay, the French aristocrat accused of treason
  • Roger Cly, the Old Bailey spy who testified against Darnay
  • Solomon Pross, Miss Pross's long-lost brother and con man
  • Monsieur the Marquis, the cruel French nobleman killed by a peasant

What does the hostile crowd shout during Roger Cly's funeral procession?

  • "Death to the French! Death to traitors and their friends!"
  • "Spies! Yaha! Tst! Spies!" with many forcible compliments
  • "Hang him! String up every spy from Newgate to the Tower!"
  • "Justice for Darnay! Free the innocent man they condemned!"

What happens to the sole mourner in Cly's funeral coach?

  • He is beaten by the mob and left unconscious in the street
  • He scuffles out, sheds his mourning clothes, and escapes up a side street
  • He bravely stands his ground and delivers a eulogy at the grave
  • He is arrested by the Guards for associating with a known spy

After burying Roger Cly, what does the crowd do next?

  • They return peacefully to their homes, satisfied with the spectacle
  • They chase passersby as spies, break windows, and plunder public houses
  • They march on the Old Bailey to demand the release of political prisoners
  • They carry Jerry Cruncher through the streets as the hero of the day

What does Jerry Cruncher mean when he says he is going "fishing"?

  • He plans to catch fish in the Thames to supplement the family income
  • He is using a euphemism for grave-robbing, his secret nighttime trade
  • He intends to spy on his wife to catch her praying against him
  • He means he is going to the pub to drink and gamble with his friends

What does Jerry accuse his wife of doing that he calls "flopping"?

  • Spending household money on luxuries they cannot afford
  • Praying on her knees, which he believes sabotages his grave-robbing
  • Gossiping about his nighttime activities to the neighbors
  • Fainting dramatically to gain sympathy from Young Jerry

What tools does Jerry take from his locked cupboard for the expedition?

  • A lantern, a pistol, a shovel, and a long coat for disguise
  • A sack, a crowbar of convenient size, a rope and chain
  • A fishing rod, bait box, net, and a pair of wading boots
  • A set of lock picks, a dark cloak, and a bag of coins for bribes

What terrifies Young Jerry as he watches his father in the churchyard?

  • A night watchman catches him spying and threatens to arrest him
  • He sees his father wrench open a coffin and flees in panic
  • A ghost rises from one of the graves and chases the three men away
  • His father discovers him hiding and threatens to beat him severely

What imaginative terror haunts Young Jerry on his run home?

  • He imagines ghosts of the dead rising from every graveyard he passes
  • He envisions the coffin hopping after him, hiding in doorways and shadows
  • He fears his father's accomplices will catch and silence him forever
  • He pictures himself being arrested and hanged for his father's crimes

What evidence the next morning confirms that Jerry's expedition failed?

  • Jerry's clothes are torn and muddy but he carries no sack or package
  • "There was no fish for breakfast, and not much of anything else"
  • Young Jerry finds the locked cupboard still full of unused tools
  • Mrs. Cruncher triumphantly announces that her prayers were answered

What does Young Jerry say he wants to be when he grows up?

  • A banker at Tellson's, following in his father's respectable footsteps
  • A resurrection man, just like his father's secret profession
  • A soldier in the Guards who keeps order during London's riots
  • A surgeon who buys the bodies that resurrection men provide

Why is the chapter title "The Honest Tradesman" ironic?

  • Because Jerry is actually very dishonest in his banking duties at Tellson's
  • Because Jerry uses the language of honest commerce to dignify grave-robbing
  • Because the "honest" mourner at Cly's funeral turns out to be another spy
  • Because Tellson's Bank is secretly involved in financing the spy network

How does this chapter's mob scene connect to the novel's larger themes?

  • It proves that London is more dangerous than Paris throughout the novel
  • It foreshadows the violent French revolutionary mobs that Dickens will depict later
  • It shows that Jerry Cruncher secretly sympathizes with the French revolutionaries
  • It demonstrates that the English legal system is more just than the French one

What does Dickens mean by describing Jerry's fear of his wife's prayer as greater homage to prayer than a devout person could render?

  • He means Jerry is secretly more religious than he pretends to be
  • He means Jerry's terror of prayer proves he truly believes it has real power
  • He means Mrs. Cruncher's prayers are actually causing supernatural interference
  • He means Jerry respects his wife more than he is willing to admit openly

Comprehension Quiz

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