Book III - Chapter V. The Wood-Sawyer Practice Quiz — A Tale of Two Cities
by Charles Dickens — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Book III - Chapter V. The Wood-Sawyer
How long has Darnay been imprisoned when this chapter begins?
One year and three months.
How does Lucie maintain her household during Darnay's imprisonment?
She arranges everything exactly as if Darnay were there—keeping his chair and books set aside, teaching little Lucie regularly, and setting preparations for his speedy return.
What does Dr. Manette always tell Lucie to reassure her?
"Nothing can happen to him without my knowledge, and I know that I can save him, Lucie."
What does Dr. Manette discover about the prison window?
There is an upper window Darnay can sometimes reach at three in the afternoon, from which he might see Lucie if she stands in a certain spot in the street.
For how many hours each day does Lucie keep her vigil?
Two hours—from two o'clock to four o'clock every afternoon.
Where exactly does Lucie stand during her vigil?
In a dark, dirty corner of a small winding street, near the hovel of the wood-sawyer—the only house at that end, with the rest being wall.
Who is the wood-sawyer revealed to have been previously?
He was once a mender of roads (the same character from Book 2).
What does the wood-sawyer call his saw?
"My Little Guillotine"—and later he inscribes it as "Little Sainte Guillotine," canonizing the guillotine as a saint.
What does the wood-sawyer pretend while chopping billets?
He pretends each billet is a head being cut off—a man's head, then a woman's, then a child's—singing rhymes as he works: "La, la, la... And off his head comes!"
What does the wood-sawyer call himself?
"The Samson of the firewood guillotine," comparing himself to the executioner Charles-Henri Sanson, who operated the real Guillotine.
How often does Darnay actually see Lucie from the prison window?
Perhaps once in five or six visits—sometimes twice or three times running, sometimes not for a week or fortnight together.
What does Lucie do every day when leaving her vigil spot?
She kisses the prison wall.
What new form of address has been mandated by decree?
"Citizen" and "citizeness"—previously voluntary among patriots, but now required by law for everyone.
What is the Carmagnole?
A wild, frenzied revolutionary dance performed by a mob of at least five hundred people, which Dickens describes as "a fallen sport—a something, once innocent, delivered over to all devilry."
Who dances hand in hand with the wood-sawyer during the Carmagnole?
The Vengeance—Madame Defarge's fierce lieutenant.
What happens immediately after the Carmagnole passes?
The feathery snow falls "as quietly and lay as white and soft, as if it had never been"—a stark contrast to the violent dance.
What does Dr. Manette tell Lucie to do when he arrives after the Carmagnole?
He tells her to kiss her hand toward the highest shelving prison roof, where Darnay is watching from the window.
What does Madame Defarge do when she passes Lucie and the Doctor?
She exchanges cold, formal greetings—"I salute you, citizeness" / "I salute you, citizen"—and passes on "like a shadow over the white road."
What news does Dr. Manette deliver at the end of the chapter?
Charles Darnay has been summoned to appear before the Tribunal the next day, and Manette believes he can save him.
What is the inscription displayed on the wood-sawyer's house?
"Republic One and Indivisible. Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, or Death!" with Death squeezed in with "most inappropriate difficulty."
Who is Mr. Lorry and what is he doing at the end of the chapter?
He is the faithful banker from Tellson's Bank, still at his post protecting property confiscated and made national, saving what he can for the owners.
What mysterious detail closes the chapter at Tellson's Bank?
An unidentified visitor (implied to be Sydney Carton) has just arrived, and Lorry comes out agitated and surprised, repeating: "Removed to the Conciergerie, and summoned for to-morrow?"