Tale Of Two Cities Chapter Summaries Essay

, Research Paper A Tale of Two Cities Book One: Chapter One/The Period In this chapter we learn about the time that the story is taking place. It is taking place in 1775 and will happen in both France and England. The state of France is terrible now. France has been on the decline and is now close to being bankrupt with little food for the people that are living there. In England the situation is not as bad, but it could be better. They are having problems with America. In the major cities of these countries there is much crime. Mail is being stolen and so is furniture and jewels. The upper class has been told to stay is at night as not to be attacked and have their goods stolen from them. A Tale of Two Cities Book One: Chapter Two/The Mail There are several passengers traveling on a mud filled road with the Dover mail. It is a dark and gloomy night. There is mud everywhere and they need to walk out of the cart because the horses can’t make it up the hill. All of the passengers, including the coachman, Tom, and the guard, Joe, are suspicious of highwaymen. The guard is carrying a pistol. Finally the horses bring the coach over the hill. Then the passengers begin to get back into the cart when the sound of a horse galloping is heard. The men stop and the messenger says he is looking for Jarvis Lorry, and employee of Tellson’s Bank of London. Jerry, the messenger is permitted to come up and he tells Jarvis to “Wait at Dover for Mam’selle.” Jarvis replies by saying “Recalled to Life”. Jerry finds this odd, but leaves with the message. Jarvis gets back into the cart and then they leave. Then the messenger gives to the message to somebody in the Temple Bar and the chapter closes. A Tale of Two Cities Book One: Chapter Three/The Night Shadows Jerry Cruncher is one his way back to London to deliver Lorry’s message. The message and the night shadows bother Jerry so he keeps on stopping at alehouses to drink. While Jerry is going back to London Jarvis Lorry is in the bumpy mail coach. It is night and he is trying to sleep, along with the other passengers. Dickens then talks about how each one of these men are different with there own secrets. Lorry is dreaming about digging up a dead man. He finds out that the man has been buried alive for 18 years and doesn’t know if he can live. He also is going to meet a lady, which is probably the person that Jerry is taking the message too. Lorry doesn’t like these dreams and he keeps on waking up and going to the window so the breeze and rain can hit him in the face. Finally it is day and the shadows and dreams are gone. He then thinks how horrible it must be to be buried alive for 18 years. Of course this person wasn’t literally buried alive, but was in a jail for this long amount of time. A Tale of Two Cities Book One: Chapter Four/The Preparation Mr. Lorry arrives at the Royal George Hotel, and is the last person to leave the mail carriage. He goes up to his room where he can have a shave and get into some fresh clothes. Jarvis is around 60 years old. He goes downstairs and has breakfast. Then he spends the day on the beach in Dover. When nightfall arrives Jarvis goes up to his room and has some wine. He is waiting for Lucie Manette. Lucie arrives and Jarvis goes to see her. They have met before when she was two and Jarvis took her across the Channel as an orphan 15 years ago. They talk and Lorry keeps on saying that this is business. He talks about Lucie’s childhood and her family history. Then he tells her that her father, Dr.Manette of Beauvais, is not dead. He has been in a jail for 18 years and was just released. Now he is old and different. He doesn’t even know his name. As of now he is in Paris staying with an old servant. Lucie says that she is going to see a ghost and faints. With this Jarvis calls for help and Miss Pross comes in/ She throws Mr.Lorry across the room and tells the servants to get some salts. Then she goes over to Lucie and we find out that she will accompany Lucie and Mr.Lorry to Paris. A Tale of Two Cities Book One: Chapter Five/The Wine-Shop The chapter opens in Paris. It is in a wine shop in a poor part of the suburbs called Saint Antoine. Somebody has smashed a keg of wine open and everyone is running to get some. A man named Gaspard takes the wine and writes the word blood with his finger. Monsieur Defarge tells him to take it somewhere else. Then we meet Madame Defarge. She is a scary lady and loves to knit. There are also three men named Jaques in the shop who Defarge takes to an adjacent building. Then he takes Jarvis Lorry and Lucie Manette upstairs to see Dr.Manette. The three Jaques try to take a look in, but Defarge tells them to go. Then Defarge, Lorry, and Lucie enter the room and see Dr.Manette in the room on a bench. He is making shoes. A Tale of Two Cities Book One: Chapter Six/Shoemaker Dr.Manette has forgotten everything that he knew before he went to prison. He doesn’t even remember his name and only states his inmate number and location. Then he reunites with Lucie. It is a very emotional meeting and Dr.Manette starts tearing out his hair. Then Lucie rocks him. Although he doesn’t recognize her or know who she is he recognizes her golden blonde hair as something familiar. This makes her a reference to an angel. While the two are reuniting Defarge and Mr.Lorry have gone outside to talk about travel arrangements. Lucie, Dr.Manette, and Lorry leave Paris under the stars. Lorry is then reminded about his first trip at night and the question that kept on lingering in his head. A Tale of Two Cities Book Two: Chapter One/Five Years Later The year is now 1780 and five years have gone by since we last met anyone. We get a description of Temple Bar and Tellson’s. Tellson’s Bank is an old, dingy place run by old men, and everything there is also old and dingy. It is a small dark place. Then we get introduced to Jerry Cruncher Jerry wakes up in his small apartment and finds his wife praying in the corner. Jerry throws a boot at her because he feels her prayers are interfering with his trade. After breakfast Jerry and his son go down to the bank. His son is a spitting image of him. Jerry has to go on a message and Young Jerry takes his seat wondering why his father’s nails are always rusty. A Tale of Two Cities Book Two: Chapter Two/A Sight Jerry Cruncher is sent to the Old Bailey by a banker at Tellson’s. There he is to give a note to the doorman who will let him in. In the court he will be Mr.Lorry’s messenger. This case is for treason. The defendant is Charles Darnay and it is said that he has been giving information about British troop movement to the French. His punishment for this is quartering. He takes everything very bravely and only flinches once when he looks up into a mirror on the ceiling. Then he notices Lucie and Dr. Manette. He asks who they are. Most people are staring at Lucie and the old man who is obviously her father. Then the court gets ready for action. A Tale of Two Cities Book Two: Chapter Three/A Disappointment The chapter opens up with a speech from the Attorney-General. He is going on about his two great witnesses and how guilt Darnay is. Then he calls up John Barsad. He asks Barsad some questions that make him seem trust worthy, but then there is a cross-examination. Stryver makes him look like a liar. Next is Roger Cly. Stryver has it known that he is a known thief and friend of Barsad. Next is Jarvis Lorry. He says he doesn’t know who he was riding in the coach with and that Darney was on the packet-ship going from France to England with him. Lucie is then brought up and says that he was helpful, but was using a false name and spoke with two Frenchmen before he left. The Doctor remembers nothing due to his illness at the time. Finally Mr. Stryver points out that Sydney Carton and the prisoner look exactly the same. This makes another witness not sure of the identity. He then makes it known that Mr. Darney often travels between England and France of family business which he can’t disclose. The chapter ends with Darney being acquitted and Jerry Cruncher going to Tellson’s to tell them. A Tale of Two Cities Book Two: Chapter Four/Congratulatory Dr. Manette, Lucie, Stryver, and Mr. Lorry all gather around Charles Darney and congratulate him on his acquittal. Then we see that Dr.Manette still suffers sometimes and goes into his dark stages. Lucie, the “golden thread” helps to bring him about. This is another way of mentioning the color of her hair. Then we learn a little about Mr. Stryver. He is stout, loud, red, and bluff. After that there is a little exchange between Lorry and Carton. Everyone then goes, but we can see that Carton is a little hostile towards Darnay. He is jealous and Carton also likes to drink. When left alone Carton goes and looks in the mirror. He looks at his reflection and notices the resemblance to Darnay. Then he starts to think about what he could have been, and sometimes is. A Tale of Two Cities Book Two: Chapter Five/The Jackal In this chapter Stryver is with Carton. It becomes obvious that Carton is really the person that does most of the legal work and prepares it for Stryver. Carton becomes upset and gloomy. Then Stryver offers a toast to Lucie. After talking some Carton then leaves Stryver’s place. While outside he sees a mirage of what he could be. The mirage then disappears and he goes home. When he gets there he starts to cry on his pillow. A Tale of Two Cities Book Two: Chapter Six/Hundreds of People The chapter opens with a description of the Manette’s home. It is very quaint on a corner street in Soho. There is some French about the house, but it is in England. Mr. Lorry is on his way over there. He is now a good family friend and often spends time with the Manette’s. When he gets there he spends some time wondering about and meets Miss Pross. They talk about how sometimes Dr.Manette just starts walking around at night, and how he still has his workman’s bench. Miss Pross also talks about all of the suitors coming to get Lucie. We also learn about Miss Pross’ loyalty to her brother Solomon, who took all of her money and had left. After this discussion Lucie, and Dr.Manette come home from a walk they took. They all eat dinner and then go outside for a drink on the lovely evening. Soon they are joined by Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay, who both visit often. Then Darnay brings up how somebody wrote the word DIG in the wall in the Tower of London. This begins to upset Dr.Manette and it starts to rain. They all go inside and can here the echoes of hundreds of people rushing by to get out of the rain. Then after awhile Mr.Lorry, Darnay and Carton leave on their separate ways. A Tale of Two Cities Book Two: Chapter Seven/Monseigneur In Town The chapter opens up at a party of the Monseigneur in his little hotel. The members of the party are ignorant people, and are in a sense fakes at their professions. We then learn of another man there who goes by the name of the Farmer-General. This man married the Monseigneur’s wife, and collects the taxes for Monseigneur. He is extremely rich. After a while the party ends and they all leave. On the street we meet Monsieur the Marquis. He is leaving the party and orders his coach to fly through the streets. On his way he kills a child and the driver stops. The father is extremely upset and The Monsieur just throws him a gold coin like that is what he child is worth. This father is the tall-thin joker Gaspard. After this Defarge comes over and tells Gaspard it is okay, and it is better of the child was killed in an instance. Then the Marquis throws Defarge a coin. Defarge throws it back. When Marquis asks who did it nobody moves except Madame Defarge, who just looks at him while knitting. He calls them all dogs and says he would like to kill the coin thrower. Then he leaves and Dicken’s talks about the running fountain and rivers and how soon the people will run their course. A Tale of Two Cities Book Two: Chapter Eight/Monseigneur In The Country Monsieur the Marquis is driving through the little village outside of his chateau. It is very poor and the people are dying. When he arrives at the fountain in town he notices the mender of roads that he saw on the hill. He asks why the mender gave him a look and he said because there was a man on the bottom of the carriage. From the description it seems as if this was Gaspard. They tall about this for a while and then the Monsieur tells the people to turn him if they see him. The Marquis also tells Gabelle, his tax collector/postmaster to keep an eye on the mender of roads, who has a blue cap. Then he meets a lady whose husband, the wood cutter, has died. He wants the Monsieur to put a little stone on the grave with his name. The Marquis just leaves and goes home. There he is waiting for Monsieur Charles from England. This is probably Charles Darnay. A Tale of Two Cities Book Two: Chapter Nine/The Gorgon’s Head In this chapter we get a description of the chateau. There are many stone heads all over it and it is very elegant. Then it becomes apparent that Charles Darnay is the Marquis’ nephew. They meet and have a big dinner. From the Marquis attitude and sayings it is clear that he likes oppression and will uphold the family honor. Charles disagrees with this, and renounces the chateau and France. The uncle also asks if Darnay knows a Doctor with a daughter in England. Darnay answers yes, and a smile appears across the face of the Marquis. They go to sleep and when Charles wakes up there is something wrong. The Marquis has been stabbed in the heart, and is dead. There is a letter that says that it is from the Jaques. Scott Levine Mr.Holbrook English 10H Period1 3/11/97 A Tale of Two Cities Book Two: Chapter Ten/Two Promises It has been a year since the Marquis was murdered. Charles Darnay has taken up the occupation of a French professor/tutor. He enjoys teaching the children and realizes that he has to work in order to make a living. It seems that Mr.Darnay is also deeply in love. On this day he finds himself going to Soho and the Manette’s house. When he gets to the house Mr.Darnay only finds that Miss Pross and Lucie have gone out and the doctor is the only one home. Charles sits down and begins to talk with the Doctor about a serious issue. Apparently Charles is interested in the love of Lucie and wants to marry her, but wants Dr.Manette’s consent. He realizes that Lucie has a tight relationship with her father and he says that he is not trying to break them up, and that this will not interfere with Lucie’s love for her father. After some hesitation Dr.Manette agrees, and gives his consent. Charles asks if Lucie has any other suitors. When the Doctor tells him that Carton or Stryver may be interested. Darnay then asks Dr.Manette to promise him that if the topic of Lucie’s marriage or Mr.Darnay arises the Doctor will support Mr.Darnay, and not try to influence against him. Dr.Manette agrees to this. Then Charles starts to tell him about his family and why he is in England. This bothers the Doctor and he starts to yell stop. When he calms down he makes Mr.Darnay promise to him that he will not speak of this again until the morning of Lucie’s wedding to him. That is, if she marries him. Charles agrees with him, and then the Doctor tells him to leave because they may be home soon. Willfully, Charles leaves. When Lucie and Miss Pross return Lucie looks for her father. She hears him in his room and, she hears a light hammering sound. When she looks inside her father is making shoes. She yells and then calls to him, like in prison. For a long time they walk back and forth together. Then the Doctor is relaxed and he sleeps. The title of this chapter comes from the two promises that were made. The first about the Doctor supporting Charles, and the second about Charles past. There are a few questions we are left with at the end of the chapter. One would be why did Dickens call the Doctor “Doctor of Beauvais” when this name was only used before his prison sentence? Also, why does the Doctor start to make shoes after Darnay talks about his family? Another question is who will end up winning the heart of Lucie? A Tale of Two Cities Book Two: Chapter Eleven/A Companion Picture The chapter opens up in Stryver’s place. Sydney has been hard at work finishing the work before the vacation comes. As he is coming to a close he throws his towel off his head and starts to fix a new bowl of punch. While this is happening Stryver begins to tell him about his plan for marriage. He tells Sydney to guess who it is, but Sydney really doesn’t care at 5 o’clock in the morning. Then Stryver goes on about how he is such the perfect man and Carton is like a bum. Finally he announces that he plans to marry Miss Manette. Carton doesn’t act surprised, but he starts to drink more. Then Stryver tells him how he should get himself a nurse and Mr.Sydney Carton tells him that he will think about it. A Tale of Two Cities Book Two: Chapter Twelve/The Fellow of Delicacy The chapter opens with Mr. Stryver on his way to Soho to propose to Lucie. He is going by Temple Bar and decides to stop by and tell Mr. Lorry about his plans. When he goes in and tells Lorry, Mr. Lorry is taken back by this. He tells Stryver that Lucie may not like him, and may not be interested. Stryver then calls Lucie sill, and upsets Mr. Lorry. Mr. Lorry tells Stryver that he will go over to the Manette house tonight and tell them about this. With this Mr. Stryver realizes he will be rejected. When Mr. Lorry comes to the door with him, Stryver pretends to be preoccupied and act like he doesn’t care anymore. He then thanks Lorry for his help and tells him to leave. A Tale of Two Cities Book Two: Chapter Thirteen/The Fellow of No Delicacy It is the summer and Mr.Stryver has left town. Sydney is feeling very low and decides to stop by and see Lucie Manette. He goes inside and begins to cry. Then he lets out the truth that he loves her and realizes that she could never love him back. He says that she had an effect on him that almost made him change his ways, but it could never happen. Lucie then tells Carton that she won’t tell anyone about this. Before he leaves Carton says that he sees Lucie married, and with a child. He also says he would do anything to save a life of someone she loved. A Tale of Two Cities Book Two: Chapter Fourteen/The Honest Tradesman The chapter opens talking about Jerry Cruncher and his son. They are at the bank and Jerry hears a funereal procession. We find out it is for the funereal of Roger Cly, the spy from earlier in the book. Jerry asks them if they are sure if he is dead or not. They then get into a mob kind of mentality and all hop on the cart. Then they ride it to the cemetery and check to see that is it Roger. After that the mob goes around and does all sorts of vandalism. Jerry stays behind at the cemetery. Soon he has to leave to get back to Tellson’s. When he gets home he starts talking to Mrs.Crucher about how he is going fishing tonight and that she better not pray against him. This intrigues little Jerry, who follows his father that night. He sees that his father meets up with two other people, one being Izaak. Then they go to undig the body and little Jerry runs home. Apparently something went wrong at night and Jerry is upset with Mrs.Cruncher. When they go to work little Jerry asks what a resurrection-main is. His father explains and then little Jerry says he wants to be one when he grows up. This makes Mr.Cruncher happy. A Tale of Two Cities Book Two: Chapter Fifteen/Knitting The Defarge wine shop has been a pretty busy place for the past couple of mornings. There are people in there drinking wine, and people just talking. Madame Defarge just keeps on knitting. Soon Defarge and the mender or roads walk in. Then after Defarge introduces him as Jacques, the three Jacques leave and then the mender and Defarge go up to the room where Dr.Manette once stayed. The mender tells them of Gaspard and how he was caught after many months and hanged in the town square. The Jacques are very upset by this. Then we learn that Madame Defarge is really stitching in the names of all people that are to die. The Jacques also say that everyone that was involved with the chateau must be killed. The mender wants to stay in town until Sunday to see the King and Queen. When that time comes he is very excited and starts jumping around. Then he realizes what he is doing and Madame Defarge points out to him that he would get excited at anything. He agrees and the chapter ends. A Tale of Two Cities Book Two: Chapter Sixteen/Still Knitting In this chapter we see that Madame Defarge has a secret message that when she put s arose in her hair the people should casually leave the shop. She does this when a Mr. John Barsad enters the shop. She has been told about the spy Barsad by her husband. She talks with him for awhile as she knits his name in. Then Defarge walks in and they talk. Barsad calls him Jacques, and this unnerves Defarge. He plays it cool. Barsad ends up saying that Lucie Manette is going to marry Charles Darnay. Then he releases Charles true identity. This upsets Defarge and Madame Defarge knits his name into the blanket. Then she goes outside where she is knitting with the rest of the ladies, and soon will knit by the guillotine. A Tale of Two Cities Book Two: Chapter Seventeen/One Night It is the night before Lucie is to be married to Charles Darnay. Lucie and Dr. Manette are sitting outside in under the tree. The Doctor says he is happy that Lucie is getting married. Then he starts to talk about how when he was in prison he imagined that he had a child that didn’t know of him. Then he says that sometimes he thought the girls did know of him. They finally go inside to have dinner very happy. They eat with Miss Pross and soon it is time to go to sleep. While sleeping, Lucie wakes up and goes to check on her father. She sees he is okay and rests easy. A Tale of Two Cities Book Two: Chapter Eighteen/Nine Days It is now the morning of the wedding. It seems that Miss Pross and Mr. Lorry have become closer that they used to be. They are waiting outside the Doctor’s room with Lucie talking with her. Charles is in the room with Dr. Manette, probably telling him about his family history. When the Doctor comes out of the room he is white as a ghost. They go to the church and Lucie marries Charles. When Charles and Lucie leave for their honeymoon something happens to Dr. Manette. He begins to start making shoes again. It is like he has gone back to prison and doesn’t know what is going on. He goes on to do this for nine nights, and on the ninth night he has become very skillful again. A Tale of Two Cities Book Two: Chapter Nineteen/An Opinion This chapter opens with the doctor in his tenth day. When Mr. Lorry walks in, to his surprise, the doctor is up reading in a corner. He is not working on his shoes anymore and looks better. Ths amezes Lorry and it takes him awhile to realize that this is all true. Then Miss Pross comes in and it takes her awhile to realize this. They decide that it is best to act as if nothing happened. Soon it is time for breakfast and the Doctor comes down. He thinks that Lucie got married yesterday, but of course it is wrong. Then Mr. Lorry says he has a friend that fell into a relapse. They understand each other and Mr. Lorry brings him up to date. The Doctor thanks him very much for not telling Lucie about it, and thinks it was brought about by somethign that will not appear again. After this he goes and joins Lucie in Wales. Then Miss Pross and Mr. Lorry burn his workbench and bury his tools. A Tale of Two Cities Book Two: Chapter Twenty/A Plea Sydney Carton has not seen the Manettes in a long time. When he comes in he wants to speak wiht Charles. He tells Charles to forget what he said to him that night in the bar. Charles says he forgot it long about, but Carton isn’t sure. Then Cartons asks Charles if he can come and go in the house as he would like. Charles also agrees to this. When Carton leaves they talk about him at dinner, and Charles talks about him going by his appearance. When he comes into the bedroom after Lucie is sitting there. She tells him that he should be much nicer to Sydney because he is unhappy and doesn’t have what they have. A Tale of Two Cities Book Two: Chapter Twenty-One/Echoing Footsteps The chapter opens up in London. We learn that Lucie now has a daughter and used to have a son, but he died. They say that he died with rest and he was going to heaven. Time has gone on and it is now July of 1789. Sydney Carton has been dropping by around 6 times a year and the children like him. Mr. Lorry is worried about unrest in Paris. It seems the echoing footsteps are back. The chapter then goes to July 14, 1789 in Paris. The peasants have finally begun their uprising. It is Monsieur and Madame Defarge leading the revolt. They go to the Bastille and cannot get in. Finally they give up in the Bastille and the guards let them in. Defarge has a turnkey take him up to 105 North Tower. There they burn the bed and Defarge searches through the chimney. Finally they leave. We don’t know if he found anything or not. After this they go and Madame Defarge kills one of the guards. The crowd of peasants is being compared to a sea that keeps on rising. A Tale of Two Cities Book Two: Chapter Twenty-Two/The Sea Still Rises Monsieur Defarge comes into the wine-shop and says that a man named Foulon faked his death and is still alive. This was a man that oppressed the peasants. They find out that he has been taken to the Hotel de Ville. The people go their and is murder is graphically described. Then the people learn that his son-in-law is coming into town so they find him and also graphically kill him. A Tale of Two Cities Book Two: Chapter Twenty-Three/Fire Rises The mender if roads is back in the story as the chapter begins. He is on the road and meets a stranger. The stranger has a smoke and then asks the mender to wake him at sunset. It seems like the man wants to go to the chateau. That night all of the peasants are standing out by the fountain. Suddenly a rider comes and asks them for help. The chateau is on fire. Nobody moves to help. Then the rider goes to the prison to see the guards, but nobody helps. The chateau burns and it is like the Marquis is dying again and the faces are crumbling. It seems that several people set it on fire, and did this to other noble building all over France. A Tale of Two Cities Book Two: Chapter Twenty-Four/Drawn to the Loadstone Rock It is now 1792 and has been three years since the Bastille was stormed. France is in a state of terror and now most nobles are referred to as Monseigneur. There are large number of Monseigneurs in England at Tellson’s Bank in London. They all complain about how they hate the new government. In this chapter we learn that Mr.Lorry is being sent over to Paris to gather some papers from the bank in Paris. At his desk is Mr.Darnay. It seems a note for the Marquis St.Evremonde is on Mr.Lorry’s desk. Nobody can find the Marquis and the nobles start to talk about how this dumb noble gave up his land to the peasants. Mr.Darnay defends him and says he knows the man. He takes the note and reads that Gabelle is in trouble. Darnay decides that it is his duty to go and help Gabelle because Gabelle was just following orders. Darnay finds that Gabelle is in L’Abbaye. He gets ready to go. Before he leaves he writes a letter to the Dr. and to Lucie telling them why he is going. Then he leaves. A Tale of Two Cities Book Three: Chapter One/In Secret When Darnay gets to France he makes it by several guardhouses but it is soon found out who he is. He has to take up an escort. On the trip he finds out that the nobles and aristocrats are being killed. Soon he gets to Paris and is arrested. His guard is Defarge. Defarge knows who he is, but will not help. He is now in La Force prison. As he goes to the prison he meets some imprisoned aristocrats. They say that they hope he is not in secret but he is. This means he is in solitary confinement. Darnay begins to pace his cell thinking about Lucie, Dr.Manette and his recent journey. A Tale of Two Cities Book Three: Chapter Two/The Grindstone Mr.Lorry is in Paris. He is now staying in house that used to belong to an aristocrat. It is a cold night and a mob of people keep on coming into the courtyard to use a grindstone that has been setup. They use the grindstone to sharpen weapons to go and kill some prisoners. Then Mr.Lorry hears the gate open, but no mob. It is Dr.Manette and Lucie. They have found out that Charles is in jail. Dr.Manette thinks that his prisoner status can help Charles get out of jail. It seems to work and he goes outside to the mob. They say they are going to free Charles. As the night continues Lucie, little Lucie, and Miss Pross spend the night with Mr.Lorry. Then the night finally ends and a man is in the courtyard. He slips into a carriage to rest from the nights wor