The Shoemaker
by Charles Dickens
MAKING CONNECTIONS
Quick answers
1. Fill in the blanks with the correct number or name.
a. The number in the name of the novel from which this story is taken - two.
b. The number that represents the year in which the story begins - 1775.
c. The number of years Dr Manette was imprisoned - eighteen.
d. The number Dr Manette was given in prison - One Hundred and Five.
e. The name of the two cities where the novel is set London and Paris.
f. The name of the bank where Mr Lorry worked Tellson's Bank.
g. The name of the person who kept Dr Manette immediately after he was released from prison - Monsieur Defarge.
h. The name of a tool that cobblers use - awl.
i. The name given to a small room at the top of a house - garret.
Reference to context
2. " 'You have a visitor, you see,' said Monsieur Defarge."
a. Who was Defarge speaking to?
= Defarge was speaking to Dr Manette.
b. Who was the visitor?
= Mr Lorry was the visitor.
c. Why had the visitor come?
= Mr Lorry had come to meet Dr Manette with his daughter Lucie Manette. Lucie Manette grew up in London believing that she had been orphaned. Mr Jarvis Lorry, an employee of Tellson's Bank and a guardian of the Manette family, brought her the startling news that her father, Dr Manette, was alive. He took her to Paris to meet her father.
3. " 'Monsieur Manette,' Mr Lorry continued, 'do you remember nothing of this man? Look at him. Look at me. Is there no old banker, no old business, no old servant, no old time, rising in your mind, Monsieur Manette?' "
a. What question had Mr Lorry asked Monsieur Manette just before this?
= Just before this, Mr Lorry asked Monsieur Manette that if he remembered anything about him or not.
b. What reaction did Mr Lorry hope to draw from Monsieur Manette?
= Mr Lorry hoped that Monsieur Manette would be able to remember that Mr Lorry was the guardian of his family and he was close to him. He had a daughter. He might be eager to meet his daughter and know about her.
c. How did Monsieur Manette react to the question Mr Lorry asked in the given lines?
= Monsieur Manette, as the captive of many years sat looking fixedly, by turns, at Mr Lorry and at Defarge, some long forgotten memories seemed to gradually force themselves through the black mist that had fallen on him. But they were soon clouded over and then they were gone. A gloomy darkness fell on him again. With a deep long sigh, he took the shoe up, and resumed his work.
4. " 'All that I may tell you, here and now, is, that your agony is over, and that I have come here to take you from it, and that we go to England to be at peace and at rest.' "
a. Pick out the contrasting description given in these lines.
= The agony of being a captive into the North Tower of the terrible prison called the Bastille and the peace and rest of England are described in these lines as a matter of contrast. The life of Dr Manette and the life of his daughter Lucie Manette have been indicated here.
b. Who says these lines and to whom? What is the relationship between these two people?
= Lucie Manette says these lines to Dr Manette.
Lucie Manette is the daughter is the daughter of Dr Manette.
c. Where were the speaker and the listener at this point in the story? Where did one of them wish to take the other and why?
= The speaker and the listener are at the North Tower of the terrible prison called the Bastille. He had been captive there for eighteen years.
Lucie Manette, the daughter wished to take her father Dr Manette to England to provide him a peaceful and restful life.
Read, reflect and write
5. How do you think Lucie felt when she first saw her father? Do you think that was what she had expected to see?
= I think Lucie was speechless in excitement after she saw her father for the first time. She moved from the wall of the garret. She came very near to the bench on which her father was sitting. She could not speak anything and could not make a sound. She had a mixed feeling of joy for seeing her father for the first time and the feeling of sadness because of her father's piteous condition.
I think she was not expecting to see that. That is why she could not make a sound or speak a word.
6. What was the 'hard, hard' history of Lucie's father?
= Lucie's father, Dr Manette had been a distinguished doctor in Paris. He had refused to support a cruel French nobleman, and consequently the nobleman had Dr Manette thrown into the North Tower of the terrible prison called the Bastille. No one knew what had happened to him.
Released from prison after eighteen years, Dr Manette was in the care of Defarge, a man who once worked for him. He now lives in a garret of Monsieur Defarge's house and makes shoes.
7. What part did Mr Lorry play in reuniting Lucie and her father?
= Mr Jarvis Lorry was an employee of Tellson's Bank and a guardian of the Manette family. He brought Lucie Manette the startling news that her father, Dr Manette, was alive. He took her to Paris to met her father. With the assistance of Monsieur Defarge, Mr Lorry brought Lucie Manette to the garret of Defarge. Mr Lorry tried to talk to Dr Manette. He tried to make him remember about him and Defarge. Though all his effort went in vein, yet he is the man who initiated and executed the reunion of Lucie and her father Dr Manette.
8. Give details from the story to show how the years in prison had had a terrible effect on Dr Manette.
= The years in prison had had a terrible effect on Dr Manette. He could not recall his name. He represented himself as the 'One hundred and five, North Tower'. He was talking in a very faint voice. The faintness of his voice was not just the faintness of physical weakness. It was also the faintness of a man who had been alone and had not spoken to anyone in a long, long time. It was like the weak echo of a sound made long, long ago. It was like a once beautiful colour faded away into a light stain that could hardly be seen. It was like the voice of a tired traveller who has lost his way in the wilderness. It seemed that he had no interest on the earthly things.
9. 'His cold white head mingled with her radiant yellow hair, which warmed and lighted it as though it were the light of Freedom shining on him.' Do you think these lines convey a sense of hope or despair? Give a reason to support your answer.
= I think these lines definitely convey a sense of hope.
This is the reunion of the daughter Lucie Manette and her father Dr Manette after long years. Hope, love and affection wins after long years of despair and agony.
Lucie's father, Dr Manette had been a distinguished doctor in Paris. He had refused to support a cruel French nobleman, and consequently the nobleman had Dr Manette thrown into the North Tower of the terrible prison called the Bastille. No one knew what had happened to him.
Released from prison after eighteen years, Dr Manette was in the care of Defarge, a man who once worked for him. He now lives in a garret of Monsieur Defarge's house and makes shoes.
10. Extended writing : What are the duties that a child has towards his or her parents? Do you think Lucie fulfil these duties?
= At the very young age, a child has to listen to his or parents and accept their guidance. He or she has to judge their situations according to the experiences of their parents. As they grow up, they have to take the duties and responsibilities of their parents. They have to ensure their parents a peaceful and restful leisure for the rest of their lives.
Yes, I think Lucie fulfilled these duties to her best. She grew up as an orphan. She did not know anything about her father. As soon as she got to know that her father was alive, she went to Paris to her father. Mr Lorry helped her a lot to get reunited with her father Dr Manette.
Lucie was speechless in excitement after she saw her father for the first time. She moved from the wall of the garret. She came very near to the bench on which her father was sitting. She could not speak anything and could not make a sound. She had a mixed feeling of joy for seeing her father for the first time and the feeling of sadness because of her father's piteous condition.
Her father could not recognise her as his daughter. He asked her name in dismay. Lucie fell upon her knees before him and put her hands in his. She assured him that his agony is over. She would take him to London with her and provide him a peaceful and restful life.
About the Author :
Charles Dickens (1812 - 1870) was a popular British author who is widely read even today. At a young age Dickens was forced to work at a boot-blackening factory. It led to his novels Oliver Twist and David Copperfield where he showed the miserable condition of the children in the society of his times. Other famous novels by Dickens include A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations.