Book III - Chapter VI. Triumph Practice Quiz — A Tale of Two Cities
by Charles Dickens — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Book III - Chapter VI. Triumph
What is Darnay charged with at his trial before the Revolutionary Tribunal?
He is charged as an emigrant whose life is forfeit under the Republic's decree banishing all emigrants on pain of death.
How many of the 23 prisoners called at La Force actually respond to their names?
Only 20 respond. One had died in gaol and been forgotten, and two had already been guillotined and forgotten.
What is the "standard gaoler-joke" at La Force prison?
"Come out and listen to the Evening Paper, you inside there!" — referring to the nightly reading of the list of those summoned to trial.
What does the audience shout when the charges against Darnay are read?
"Take off his head! An enemy to the Republic!"
Where does Madame Defarge sit during Darnay's trial, and what is she doing?
She sits in the front row, knitting, with a spare piece of knitting under her arm. She never looks at Darnay, instead watching the jury with dogged determination.
What is Darnay's primary defense argument against the emigrant charge?
He voluntarily renounced his aristocratic title and station, and left France before the emigrant decree existed, to live by his own industry in England rather than on the labor of the oppressed French people.
Who are Darnay's two witnesses at the trial?
Théophile Gabelle and Doctor Alexandre Manette.
What effect does Darnay's revelation about his wife have on the audience?
When he reveals he married Lucie Manette, Doctor Manette's daughter, tears immediately roll down several ferocious faces that had been glaring at him moments before.
Why had Gabelle been imprisoned at the Abbaye?
He had been "slightly overlooked" in prison until three days before the trial, when he was set free after the Tribunal declared his accusation answered by Darnay's surrender.
What key fact does Doctor Manette reveal about Darnay's history in England?
That Darnay had been tried for his life by the English government as "the foe of England and friend of the United States," proving he was no friend of aristocratic governments.
Who corroborates Doctor Manette's testimony about the English trial?
Mr. Lorry, who had been a witness at Darnay's English trial and was present in the courtroom.
How does the jury vote on Darnay's case?
Every juror votes aloud and individually in Darnay's favor, and the populace cheers at each vote. He is declared free.
What happens to the five prisoners tried immediately after Darnay?
All five are swiftly condemned to die within twenty-four hours as "enemies of the Republic" for not assisting it by word or deed.
What sign do the condemned prisoners give Darnay, and what do they say?
They give the customary prison sign of Death—a raised finger—and say: "Long live the Republic!"
How is Darnay carried home after his acquittal?
The crowd puts him in a great chair draped with a red flag and topped with a pike bearing a red cap, and carries him on men's shoulders through the snowy streets.
What does Darnay fear as the crowd carries him through the streets?
He more than once "misdoubted his mind being in confusion, and that he was in the tumbril on his way to the Guillotine" — the celebration feels indistinguishable from a death march.
What irony does Dickens emphasize about the crowd's behavior?
The very same people who now wept and embraced Darnay would have "rushed at him with the very same intensity, to rend him to pieces" if carried by a different current.
What happens when Darnay arrives home and stands before Lucie?
Lucie drops insensible (faints) in his arms. He holds her so their tears and lips come together unseen by the crowd.
What does the crowd do after Lucie faints and is taken inside?
A few people fall to dancing, then all join the Carmagnole. They elevate a young woman as the "Goddess of Liberty" in the vacant chair and dance away through the streets.
What does Doctor Manette say at the end of the chapter?
"You must not be weak, my darling... don't tremble so. I have saved him." He is proud of the strength earned through his years of suffering.
How does Dickens describe the Tribunal's efficiency at the start of the chapter?
Fifteen prisoners are tried and condemned before Darnay's case; all fifteen trials take a total of an hour and a half.
What two faces does Darnay search for in vain when he exits the courthouse?
Though not named explicitly, the two absent faces are the Defarges, who had been watching the jury during the trial but have now disappeared from the crowd.
What symbolic image closes the reunion between Lucie and Doctor Manette?
Lucie lays her head on her father's breast, just as she had once cradled his poor head on her own breast long ago—bringing the father-daughter story full circle.