A Tale of Two Cities — Comprehension Quiz

(Based on Book the First, Chapters I–II)

Multiple Choice

1. In what year does the story's action begin, according to Chapter I?
A) 1789
B) 1775
C) 1805
D) 1660

2. Which road does the Dover mail travel on in Chapter II?
A) The London road
B) The Shooter's road
C) The Dover road
D) The Paris road

3. What is the name of the hill the mail struggles to climb?
A) Blackheath Hill
B) Shooter's Hill
C) Dover Hill
D) Newgate Hill

4. According to the famous opening passage, the period was described as the best of times and also:
A) The age of adventure
B) The worst of times
C) The time of peace
D) The age of silence

5. Why are the passengers on the mail reluctant to be "confidential" with one another?
A) They dislike conversation
B) They are all related and already know each other's business
C) Anybody on the road might be a robber or in league with robbers
D) It was against the law to speak on the mail coach

6. What weapons does the guard keep in the arm-chest, ready for use?
A) A sword and a dagger
B) A loaded blunderbuss, horse-pistols, and a cutlass
C) A bow and arrows
D) A single pistol

7. Which of the following is described as one of the "humane achievements" carried out in France under the guidance of the "Christian pastors"?
A) Building new churches
B) Sentencing a youth to have his hands cut off and be burned alive for not kneeling to a procession of monks
C) Feeding the poor
D) Educating peasant children

Short Answer

8. Chapter I contrasts England and France in 1775. Using details from the text, describe two examples of disorder or crime mentioned as happening in England at that time.

9. Explain the meaning of the images of the "Woodman" and the "Farmer" in Chapter I. What do these figures symbolize about the future, based on the text?

10. In Chapter II, how does Dickens create an atmosphere of suspicion and secrecy among the passengers and crew of the Dover mail? Support your answer with at least one detail from the text.

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Answer Key

1. B) 1775
2. C) The Dover road
3. B) Shooter's Hill
4. B) The worst of times
5. C) Anybody on the road might be a robber or in league with robbers
6. B) A loaded blunderbuss, horse-pistols, and a cutlass
7. B) Sentencing a youth to have his hands cut off and be burned alive for not kneeling to a procession of monks

1. Accept any two of: burglaries by armed men and highway robberies every night; families advised to remove furniture for safekeeping; the mail being waylaid by robbers who killed the guard; the Lord Mayor of London being robbed on Turnham Green; prisoners fighting turnkeys in gaols; thieves stealing jewels at Court; riots between musketeers and mobs in St. Giles's; frequent public hangings and burnings by the hangman.

1. The Woodman (Fate) is described as already marking trees in the woods that will one day be cut down to build the guillotine ("a certain movable framework with a sack and a knife in it"), and the Farmer (Death) is described as setting aside rough carts that will become the tumbrils (carts) used to carry victims to execution during the Revolution. These symbolize that the violent future of the French Revolution was already silently and invisibly being prepared, even though no one suspected it at the time.

1. Dickens shows that the guard suspects the passengers, the passengers suspect one another and the guard, and everyone suspects everybody else. The three passengers are wrapped up so heavily that none can tell what the others look like, and travelers are described as "very shy of being confidential on a short notice" because anyone could be a robber or working with robbers. The guard also keeps a loaded blunderbuss, pistols, and a cutlass at hand as a precaution.