The Shoemaker

Read and answer

1.   1    Lucie discovered that her father, whom she believed to be dead, was alive and had been held captive for a long time in the North Tower.

2.    2   Mr. Lory was perhaps someone known to Mr.Manette. He could have been his banker or his servant, as suggested in the chapter.

3.   3    The reason behind Mr. Lory accompanying Lucie to the prison was to reunite Lucy and his father.

4.      4 Monsieur Manette is actually the old shoemaker’s name. May be due to some conspiracy or lack of evidence, he was imprisoned.

5.    5.   He had a white beard, raggedly cut but not very long, a hollow face and exceedingly bright eyes. The hollowness and thinness of his face would have caused them to look large under his jet dark eyebrows and his confused white hair, though they had been really otherwise, but , they were naturally large, and thus looked unnaturally so. His yellow rags of shirt lay open at the throat and showed his body to be withered and worn.

Think and Answer

1.     1.  The girl was the shoemaker’s  daughter  . she had seen signs of faint recognition in the shoemaker’s face as he spoke to Mr. Lorry and Mr. Defarge and also some signs of an active intelligence. All she felt was strong filial love and wished to nurse him back to life and hope.   She was not at all scared of him and knew he would not hurt her.

2.      2. Mr. Lorry did know Mr. Manette  as he mentioned ‘ old times’ to him. He was perhaps his banker or an old associate. He had accompanied his daughter Lucie with the purpose of recognizing the captive as Mr.Manette , which he could have done only if he knew him !

3.       3. Mr. Lorry wanted Lucie to have an uninterrupted , private moment with her father. Perhaps, the deep bond of filial love would be able to evoke some response from Mr.Manette. Lucie too could embrace him and give him hope.

Reference to the Context

1.       (a) Monsieur Defarge said these words to the shoe maker, who was actually Mr.Manette.

(b) The visitor is Mr.Lorry.

(c)  Mr. Manette could not recognize the visitor initially and showed him a lady shoe that he was making.

(d) Mr. Lorry  try to jog Mr. Manette’s memory by mentioning past times, but there was only a fleeting recognition in Mr. Manette’s eyes.

                                                                                HOTS

The shoe maker had been held captive for so long that he may have lost his mental balance. He had not seen the light of day for years, nor met his family or friends. The conditions in the North Tower would not have been favourable.  He did repetitive actions like clenching his fists, looking about him gazing vacantly. These are signs of mental disturbance. That is why; he was not able to recognize the visitors who had come to meet him.