A Tale of Two Cities: Chapters 1-3

• Adjacent means next to something.
• Authority is defined as power or control.
• Exceeding means going beyond limits.
• Requisition is a demand for something, like supplies or services.
• Rustic means simple, rural, countryside-like.

Chapter 1: The Period

• The novel begins in 1775 by comparing England and France which are both experiencing chaos.
• The phrase “best of times, worst of times” sets the tone of duality.
• England faces crime and unrest, while France is headed toward revolution.
• The chapter foreshadows the French Revolution and introduces the theme of fate; the "Woodman” and “Farmer” symbolize the guillotine and death.

Chapter 2: The Mail

• The chapter depicts a mysterious journey on a mail coach from London to Dover.
• The passengers fear highwaymen, highlighting secrecy and mistrust.
• Jerry Cruncher, stops the coach with a message for Jarvis Lorry.
• Lorry responds with “Recalled to life”, hinting at Dr. Manette's release.

Chapter 3: The Night Shadows

• Lorry dreams of digging someone out of a grave, symbolizing Dr. Manette's return to life after imprisonment.
• Mystery and secrecy are introduced, reinforcing the novel's dark tone.

Chapter 4: The Preparation

• Lorry meets Lucie Manette at an inn in Dover and tells her that her father is alive.
• Lucie responds with shock, as she believed her father was dead.
• Miss Pross, Lucie's servant, is introduced.
• The chapter explores Lucie's emotional turmoil and duty towards her father.

Chapter 5: The Wine-Shop

• A cask of wine spills in Saint Antoine, Paris, and desperate people rush to drink it.
• The wine symbolizes hunger, poverty, and foreshadows the coming revolution, and its bloodshed.
• Monsieur and Madame Defarge, who own the wine-shop, are introduced.
• Madame Defarge knits secret lists of enemies, showing her cold and calculating nature.

Chapter 6: The Shoemaker

• Lorry and Lucie meet Dr. Manette, who has been imprisoned in the Bastille for 18 years.
• He is frail, mentally broken, and obsessed with shoemaking.
• He barely recognizes Lucie, but she comforts him.
• The chapter ends with Lucie vowing to take care of him, setting up the father-daughter relationship.

Character Analysis: Jarvis Lorry

• A banker at Tellson's Bank, known for loyalty and practicality.
• He helps Lucie Manette reunite with her father.
• He represents reason over emotion but cares deeply for the Manettes.

Character Analysis: Lucie Manette

• Young, compassionate, and innocent.
• She is a symbol of light and hope, her golden hair is a motif.
• She serves as a healing force for her father.

Character Analysis: Dr. Alexandre Manette

• He was once a respected doctor but is now mentally broken after 18 years in the Bastille.
• He is obsessed with shoemaking, which is a sign of his trauma.
• His identity and past hold secrets that will drive the story.

Character Analysis: Jerry Cruncher

• A messenger for Tellson's Bank.
• Delivers the mysterious “Recalled to life” message.
• He has a dark side, which is later revealed.

Character Analysis: Monsieur Defarge

• Wine-shop owner in Saint Antoine.
• A leader among the revolutionaries.
• Once Dr. Manette's servant, he is now a radical revolutionary.

Character Analysis: Madame Defarge

• Always knitting, secretly keeping a list of enemies.
• She is a symbol of vengeance and fate.
• Patient and ruthless, she is a driving force of the revolution.

Themes & Symbolism: Duality & Contradictions

• “Best of times, worst of times” reflects that the world is full of opposites.
• Lorry is rational, Lucie is emotional.
• London is stable, while Paris is chaotic.
• Dr. Manette is alive, yet emotionally dead.

Themes & Symbolism: Secrecy & Mystery

• "Recalled to life" is a central mystery.
• Dr. Manette's past remains unknown.
• The Defarges' wine shop is a front for secret revolutionary meetings.

Themes & Symbolism: Revolution & Social Unrest

• The wine spill in Saint Antoine is symbolic of the blood that will be spilled in the revolution.
• The Defarges represent growing anger against the aristocracy.

Themes & Symbolism: Symbolism

• Wine spill symbolizes bloodshed to come.
• Shoemaking represents Dr. Manette's broken mental state.
• Knitting symbolizes Madame Defarge's quiet revenge.

Themes & Symbolism: Interpretation

• “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” shows the theme of duality.
• “Recalled to life” indicates mystery surrounding Dr. Manette's past.
• The wine spill symbolizes future bloodshed.

Literary Elements: Imagery

• Dickens uses detailed imagery to reflect themes.
• The mail coach represents uncertainty and fear.
• Saint Antoine represents poverty and desperation.
• Dr. Manette's shoemaking symbolizes madness and trauma.

Literary Elements: Foreshadowing

• The spilled wine foreshadows bloodshed in the revolution.
• Jerry's reaction regarding ‘Recalled to Life' hints at the theme of resurrection.

Literary Elements: Personification

• “Hunger rattled its dry bones” is treated like a living thing, showing its power.
• The Woodman (Fate) and the Farmer (Death) suggest the inevitability of revolution.
• The perspective is third-person omniscient.

Worksheet: Chapters 1-3

• The King of France description given, is characterized by a large jaw.
• King Louis XVI was the King of France during this time period.
• "Loaves and fishes" is a Biblical allusion.
• The story opens in 1775.
• Mrs. Southcott was well-known for her prophecies.
• England is referred to as the "sister of the shield and the trident".
• The Woodman represents fate.
• The Farmer represents death.
• A scythe is the symbol most likely representative of the farmer.
• Robbery was the most common type of crime in England.
• Highwaymen were actually noblemen.
• Gaol means jail cell.
• Thieves were considered "ever worse than useless".
• Newgate is the name of a prison.
• Robbed coaches were usually carrying mail.
• The narrator uses a set of contradictions to describe the year 1775 in the book's opening line.
• Harsh sentences for minor crimes are described as a common issue in England in 1775.
• In the allegory, the Woodman and the Farmer symbolize both death and fate.
• The road from London to Dover represents the worsening political conditions in both England and France.
• Mr. Lorry tells Jerry to return to Tellson's with the message, "Recalled to life."
• People's alienation from one another is a theme the narrator focuses on at the beginning of Book 1, Chapter 3.
• The described city in Book 1, Chapter 5 of A Tale of Two Cities is extremely poor and dirty.
• The chapter title, 'The Shoemaker,' in Book 1, Chapter 6 of A Tale of Two Cities refers to Dr. Manette.
• In Book 1, Chapter 6, Dr. Manette has been rescued after spending 18 years in the Bastille.
• Dickens' early life, where his family was thrown into debtors' prison and he had to go to work in a factory, mirrors his own novels.
• Resurrection and redemption is an identified major theme.
• Lucie Manette is frequently described as a golden thread.
• Death is compared to a cold blanket in Book 1, Chapter 3.
• Dickens used satire to comment on the struggles of the aristocracy.