Charles Dickens

Study question Charles Dickens

Facts about Charles Dickens

➾ As a boy, Charles Dickens was the only member of his immediate family not sent to a debtor’s prison.

➾ Dickens literally worked himself to death, collapsing during physically shattering public reading tours that sped up his demise.

➾ The heroic self-sacrifice in A Tale of Two Cities was inspired by an acting role Dickens himself played on stage.

➾ At the height of his fame, roughly one out of every ten people in Victorian England was an avid reader of his work.

➾ Dickens rehearsed his novels by acting out his characters in a mirror before writing them down.

➾ The traumatic factory job he despised as a child became the single greatest resource for his famous novels.

➾ The personal turmoil of separating from his wife during an affair directly coincided with his writing of the revolutionary classic, A Tale of Two Cities.

➾ A painful rejection by his first love fueled the emotional drama in some of his most famous characters, like David Copperfield.

➾ He often wrote his serialized novels at a breakneck pace, sometimes finishing an installment just days before it was published.

➾ His stories were so popular that even those who couldn’t read knew them, thanks to as many as 20 London theatres performing adaptations at once.

➾ He died so suddenly that his final novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, remains an unsolved mystery to this day.

Charles Dickens MCQs

1. When was Charles Dickens born?

A. February 7, 1820
B. December 9, 1812
C. February 7, 1812
D. June 9, 1870

C. February 7, 1812
Dickens was one of the most famous authors of the Victorian era in England.

2. In what English city was Charles Dickens born?

A. London
B. Chatham
C. Coketown
D. Portsmouth

D. Portsmouth
He was born in Portsmouth, a city on the southern coast of England where his father worked.

3. What was Charles Dickens’s father, John Dickens, employed as?

A. A schoolmaster
B. A clerk for the Naval Pay office
C. A solicitor
D. A factory manager

B. A clerk for the Naval Pay office
His father’s job was respectable, but his inability to manage money caused the family great hardship.

4. Why was Dickens’s father imprisoned when Charles was young?

A. For theft
B. For debt
C. For political treason
D. For libel

B. For debt
His father’s imprisonment for debt was a humiliating experience that deeply affected Dickens’s life and writing.

5. At what age did Dickens first go to work at a blacking warehouse?

A. Ten
B. Twelve
C. Fifteen
D. Sixteen

B. Twelve
This difficult period of child labor gave him a firsthand understanding of poverty and industrial hardship.

6. Which novel recounts Dickens’s experiences with poverty semi-autobiographically?

A. Great Expectations
B. David Copperfield
C. Oliver Twist
D. A Tale of Two Cities

B. David Copperfield
Many events in this novel, especially David’s time working in a factory, are based on Dickens’s own childhood.

7. What major theme grew out of his experiences in the blacking warehouse?

A. Romantic love
B. Historical accuracy
C. Social justice and reform
D. The beauty of nature

C. Social justice and reform
His early experiences with poverty made him a lifelong advocate for social reform in his novels.

8. Who was a major influence on Dickens’s imagination as a young boy?

A. His father, John Dickens
B. His nursemaid, who told him stories
C. Lord Crew
D. Miguel de Cervantes

B. His nursemaid, who told him stories
The scary and vivid stories his nursemaid, Mary Weller, told him had a lasting impact on his imagination.

9. What characteristic of picaresque novels influenced his idea to serialize his works?

A. Their focus on nobility
B. Their use of high prose
C. Their series of loosely linked adventures
D. Their short length

C. Their series of loosely linked adventures
The structure of these adventure stories was well-suited for publishing in separate, exciting monthly installments.

10. How did Dickens launch his career as a journalist with little formal schooling?

A. He inherited money for tuition.
B. He taught himself shorthand.
C. He secured a letter of recommendation.
D. He was taught by his father.

B. He taught himself shorthand.
His skill in shorthand allowed him to work as a reporter, giving him material for his stories and novels.

11. At what age did Dickens get a job as a court reporter?

A. Twelve
B. Fourteen
C. Sixteen
D. Twenty

C. Sixteen
He started his journalism career at a very young age due to his skill and determination.

12. The newspaper A Mirror of Parliament reported on the decisions of which body?

A. The Monarchy
B. The courts
C. Parliament
D. The Royal Society

C. Parliament
His time as a parliamentary reporter gave him a cynical view of politics and government bureaucracy.

13. To aid in his writing, Dickens was known to act out characters using what tool?

A. A stage
B. The mirror
C. A puppet
D. The pen

B. The mirror
He would make faces and speak characters’ dialogue in a mirror to bring them to life before writing.

14. After becoming disillusioned with politics, Dickens contributed to which type of publication?

A. A scholarly journal
B. A financial newspaper
C. A radical newspaper, the True Sun
D. A children’s magazine

C. A radical newspaper, the True Sun
His disillusionment with mainstream politics led him to contribute to more radical publications.

15. What was Dickens doing professionally until the end of his life, besides writing novels?

A. Acting on stage
B. Editing magazines and continuing journalistic work
C. Practicing law
D. Teaching at a university

B. Editing magazines and continuing journalistic work
Dickens was a respected magazine editor, publishing his own work and that of other writers.

16. How many substantial novels did Charles Dickens complete?

A. Eight
B. Ten
C. Fifteen
D. Twenty

C. Fifteen
He was an incredibly productive writer, completing fifteen major novels in his lifetime.

17. What was the title of the novel Dickens left unfinished?

A. Barnaby Rudge
B. Our Mutual Friend
C. The Mystery of Edwin Drood
D. Bleak House

C. The Mystery of Edwin Drood
He died before completing this mystery novel, the solution to the central crime remains unknown.

18. Which serialized work gave Dickens his first true success?

A. Oliver Twist
B. The Pickwick Papers
C. A Christmas Carol
D. Great Expectations

B. The Pickwick Papers
The monthly installments of this comic novel were a publishing sensation and made Dickens famous.

19. How many copies of each monthly issue of The Pickwick Papers were sold?

A. Under ten thousand
B. Exactly twenty thousand
C. Over forty thousand
D. Over one hundred thousand

C. Over forty thousand
The immense popularity of the series made Dickens a household name across Britain.

20. What major publishing practice did Dickens make profitable?

A. Writing historical fiction
B. Serialization of novels
C. Using famous illustrators
D. Publishing in hardback

B. Serialization of novels
Publishing novels in cheap monthly parts made them accessible to a huge audience.

21. In 1836, Dickens married Catherine Hogarth, daughter of whom?

A. A close relative
B. Lord Crew
C. A fellow co-worker at his newspaper
D. His publisher

C. A fellow co-worker at his newspaper
He married the daughter of George Hogarth, the editor of the paper where he worked.

22. How many children did Dickens and Catherine Hogarth have?

A. Three
B. Six
C. Eight
D. Ten

D. Ten
Despite having a large family, his marriage to Catherine was not happy and ended in separation.

23. When did Dickens and Catherine Hogarth separate?

A. 1843
B. 1850
C. 1858
D. 1868

C. 1858
Their separation after a long marriage was a major public scandal at the time.

24. What two early novels followed The Pickwick Papers?

A. Bleak House and Great Expectations
B. Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby
C. A Tale of Two Cities and Barnaby Rudge
D. Hard Times and Little Dorrit

B. Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby
These novels cemented his fame and showed his growing interest in social criticism and memorable characters.

25. Which 1843 work reflects Dickens’s disenchantment with society’s obsession with money?

A. David Copperfield
B. A Christmas Carol
C. Martin Chuzzlewit
D. The Old Curiosity Shop

B. A Christmas Carol
This famous holiday story is a powerful moral tale about greed, poverty, and personal redemption.

26. In which decade did Dickens’s travels abroad begin?

A. The 1820s
B. The 1840s
C. The 1850s
D. The 1860s

B. The 1840s
His travels to America and Italy in the 1840s provided material for travel books and novels.

27. Which of Dickens’s weekly periodicals published A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations?

A. The Daily News
B. The Morning Chronicle
C. Household Words (later All the Year Round)
D. Bentley’s Miscellany

C. Household Words (later All the Year Round)
As an editor, he serialized some of his most famous novels in his own popular magazines.

28. Which book inspired him to write A Tale of Two Cities?

A. Shakespeare’s histories
B. Thomas Carlyle’s The French Revolution
C. Don Quixote
D. Arabian Nights

B. Thomas Carlyle’s The French Revolution
Dickens drew heavily on Carlyle’s vivid historical account for the events and atmosphere of his novel.

29. Dickens was inspired by his role in which play by Wilkie Collins?

A. The Woman in White
B. The Frozen Deep
C. The Moonstone
D. No Name

B. The Frozen Deep
His performance as a man who sacrifices himself for his rival gave him the core idea for the novel.

30. In 1859, A Tale of Two Cities premiered in which new journal?

A. The True Sun
B. A Mirror of Parliament
C. All the Year Round
D. The Daily News

C. All the Year Round
This was the successor to Household Words and a major vehicle for his later work.

31. What activity began to exact a great physical toll on Dickens in the 1860s?

A. Running the blacking warehouse
B. Public readings of his works
C. Editing The Daily News
D. Touring Europe

B. Public readings of his works
His dramatic public performances were immensely popular but also physically and emotionally exhausting.

32. A series of readings in which country sped Dickens’s decline?

A. France
B. America
C. Italy
D. Scotland

B. America
An extensive and grueling reading tour in America left him in poor health.

33. When did Charles Dickens die?

A. February 7, 1812
B. May 1, 1869
C. June 9, 1870
D. December 25, 1870

C. June 9, 1870
He died of a stroke at age 58, leaving his final novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, unfinished.

34. Where was Charles Dickens buried?

A. Poet’s Corner of Westminster Abbey
B. Portsmouth Cathedral
C. Gad’s Hill
D. London’s Royal Cemetery

A. Poet’s Corner of Westminster Abbey
Despite wishing for a private burial, he received a national honor in the famous London abbey.

35. In terms of fame, Dickens is considered second only to whom among English writers?

A. William Wordsworth
B. Jane Austen
C. William Shakespeare
D. Thomas Carlyle

C. William Shakespeare
His enduring popularity and vast cast of characters place him second only to Shakespeare in English literature.

36. What were two of Dickens’s earlier jobs that provided him with knowledge?

A. Teacher and doctor
B. Law clerk and court reporter
C. Factory worker and soldier
D. Actor and stage manager

B. Law clerk and court reporter
These jobs gave him intimate knowledge of London’s legal world, which he often criticized in his novels.

37. What did Dickens’s writing provide a sympathetic chronicle of?

A. The plight of the aristocracy
B. The plight of the urban poor in nineteenth-century England
C. The history of Parliament
D. The wealth of factory owners

B. The plight of the urban poor in nineteenth-century England
His novels vividly and compassionately portrayed the struggles of the poor in Victorian cities.

38. The influx of urban workers in Dickens’s novels was associated with what?

A. The Age of Enlightenment
B. The Renaissance
C. The Industrial Revolution
D. The Agricultural Revolution

C. The Industrial Revolution
Dickens’s novels capture the massive social changes and urban poverty created by the Industrial Revolution.

39. Who was the actress Dickens fell in love with, leading to his separation?

A. Lucie Manette
B. Ellen Ternan
C. Catherine Hogarth
D. Maria Beadnell

B. Ellen Ternan
His relationship with the young actress Ellen Ternan was a major factor in the breakdown of his marriage.

40. The love triangle in The Frozen Deep became the basis for which novel?

A. Great Expectations
B. David Copperfield
C. A Tale of Two Cities
D. Oliver Twist

C. A Tale of Two Cities
The plot of self-sacrifice for a rival in love was directly inspired by the play he acted in.

41. Which novel was Dickens’s only historical fiction before A Tale of Two Cities?

A. Nicholas Nickleby
B. Barnaby Rudge
C. Dombey and Son
D. Little Dorrit

B. Barnaby Rudge
Barnaby Rudge, set during the Gordon Riots of 1780, was his first major historical novel.

42. A Tale of Two Cities showed Dickens in transition before writing which two later novels?

A. Sketches by “Boz” and The Pickwick Papers
B. Great Expectations and Our Mutual Friend
C. Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol
D. Martin Chuzzlewit and Bleak House

B. Great Expectations and Our Mutual Friend
This novel marks a shift towards the more complex and psychologically deep novels of his late career.

43. In which town did Dickens spend his happiest childhood years?

A. London
B. Portsmouth
C. Chatham
D. Dover

C. Chatham
His time in Chatham, before his family’s financial troubles, was a period of relative stability and happiness.

44. Which character in David Copperfield dramatizes his father’s failings?

A. Bill Sikes
B. Mr. Micawber
C. Fagin
D. Sydney Carton

B. Mr. Micawber
The financially troubled but ever-optimistic Mr. Micawber is a famous caricature of his own father.

45. Dickens resented his mother for wanting him to stay at work where?

A. At his law clerk job
B. In the blacking warehouse
C. As a court reporter
D. At the Naval Pay office

B. In the blacking warehouse
He never forgave his mother for wanting him to continue working at the factory after his father’s release.

46. Dickens’s rejection by Maria Beadnell is reflected in David Copperfield’s adoration of whom?

A. Lucie Manette
B. Dora Spenlow
C. Catherine Hogarth
D. Little Nell

B. Dora Spenlow
David’s youthful love for the charming but childish Dora mirrors Dickens’s frustrating early romance.

47. What type of novel did Dickens attempt with Barnaby Rudge?

A. Comic satire
B. Picaresque novel
C. Historical novel
D. Romance novel

C. Historical novel
This was his first attempt at the genre, preceding the more famous A Tale of Two Cities.

48. What innovation did Oliver Twist contribute to English fiction?

A. A focus on purely factual education
B. An occasion for pathos and social criticism
C. A means of elevating the aristocracy
D. A focus on the joys of city life

B. An occasion for pathos and social criticism
Oliver Twist used the story of a poor orphan to criticize social institutions like the workhouse.

49. Who was the illustrator for Sketches by “Boz” and Oliver Twist?

A. “Phiz” (Hablot K. Browne)
B. George Cruikshank
C. Thomas Carlyle
D. Wilkie Collins

B. George Cruikshank
Cruikshank’s famous illustrations helped create the iconic images of characters like Fagin and the Artful Dodger.

50. What major publishing practice did Dickens make profitable?

A. Writing historical fiction
B. Serialization of novels
C. Using famous illustrators
D. Publishing in hardback

B. Serialization of novels
Publishing novels in cheap monthly parts made them accessible to a huge audience.

Dombey and Son MCQs

1. Mr. Dombey slightly bent his brows when the nurse mentioned whom?

A. Major Bagstock
B. Miss Tox
C. Miss Florence
D. Doctor Peps

C. Miss Florence.
This early reaction establishes Mr. Dombey’s cold indifference and neglect towards his daughter from the very beginning.

2. Louisa (Mrs. Chick) said it was ridiculous how much the baby resembled whom?

A. Himself
B. George or Frederick
C. A perfect Dombey
D. Mr. Chick

C. A perfect Dombey.
This highlights the family’s obsession with lineage and the firm’s continuation, viewing the baby not as an individual but as a dynastic successor.

3. Mrs. Chick believed that only an effort on Fanny’s part was wanting to resolve what situation?

A. Her illness
B. Her emotional state
C. Her financial state
D. Her lack of appetite

A. Her illness.
Mrs. Chick’s philosophy of “making an effort” reveals her lack of empathy and the novel’s critique of those who blame victims for their suffering.

4. What sound seemed to be running a fierce and furious race in the ensuing pause by the bedside?

A. The grandfather clock
B. The watches of Mr. Dombey and Doctor Peps
C. The wind outside
D. Florence’s weeping

B. The watches of Mr. Dombey and Doctor Peps.
The ticking watches symbolize the relentless passage of time and the cold, mechanical nature of the men as Mrs. Dombey’s life ebbs away.

5. What was the family name of the apple-faced family, including Polly?

A. Gills
B. Toodle
C. Blockitt
D. Nipper

B. Toodle.
The Toodle family represents the warmth, love, and natural affection of the working class, a stark contrast to the cold Dombey household.

6. Mr. Dombey sternly asserted that what relationship existed between his son and the Toodle children?

A. Close connection
B. None
C. A slight one
D. A distant cousinship

B. None.
Dombey’s denial of any connection reveals his rigid adherence to class structure and his fear of any “contamination” from the lower classes.

7. Mr. Dombey stipulated that Polly Toodle must always be known by what ordinary and convenient name while in his house?

A. Blockitt
B. Jemima
C. Richards
D. Susan

C. Richards.
By stripping Polly of her family name, Mr. Dombey attempts to turn her into a mere commodity, erasing her personal identity to suit his own purposes.

8. Who was the young Spitfire, whose real name was Susan Nipper?

A. Mrs. Chick’s maid
B. Miss Tox’s maid
C. Florence’s maid
D. Mrs. Dombey’s maid

C. Florence’s maid.
Susan Nipper serves as Florence’s fiercely loyal protector and advocate, often speaking truth to power in the face of Mr. Dombey’s coldness.

9. What was the name of the old instrument-maker introduced in Chapter 4?

A. Captain Cuttle
B. Walter Gay
C. Solomon Gills
D. John Bunsby

C. Solomon Gills.
Solomon Gills and his shop represent an older, more humane world of craftsmanship and wonder, which is being eclipsed by Dombey’s modern commerce.

10. What item outside the nautical instrument-makers’ shops was eternally employed in taking observations of hackney carriages?

A. A brass sextant
B. A little timber midshipman
C. An anchor
D. A spy-glass

B. A little timber midshipman.
The Little Midshipman is a key symbol in the novel, representing constancy, adventure, and the community of Walter, Sol, and Captain Cuttle.

11. Captain Cuttle believed his Uncle Sol was choked full of what?

A. Wine
B. Science
C. Humour
D. Guile

B. Science.
This is a characteristic utterance from the good-hearted but simple Captain Cuttle, showing his profound admiration for his learned friend, Sol Gills.

12. Susan Nipper referred to Miss Tox and Mrs. Chick as the two what?

A. Sirens
B. Beauties
C. Griffins
D. Witches

C. Griffins.
Susan’s sharp-tongued description perfectly captures the meddling and imposing nature of the two women who constantly interfere in the Dombey household.

13. During the christening ceremony, Miss Tox kept her Prayer-book open at which service?

A. The Burial Service
B. The Gunpowder Plot
C. The Matrimony Service
D. The Coronation Service

B. The Gunpowder Plot.
This darkly comic detail, along with the clerk checking the burial register, foreshadows the tragic fate that awaits the newly christened Paul.

14. Mr. Dombey nominated Polly Toodle’s eldest son (Biler) to which establishment?

A. Christ’s Hospital
B. The Charitable Grinders
C. Eton College
D. Doctor Blimber’s school

B. The Charitable Grinders.
This is an act of cold, controlling charity. The school is a satirical critique of institutions that offer education but strip children of their identity and joy.

15. Where did Good Mrs. Brown compel Florence to sit after abducting her?

A. Upon a stool
B. Upon the rags
C. Upon the floor
D. Upon the bed

B. Upon the rags.
Florence’s abduction and stripping of her fine clothes is a pivotal event, showing her vulnerability and prefiguring the later revelation about Good Mrs. Brown’s own lost daughter.

16. When Walter found Florence, he proposed taking her to whose house?

A. Mr. Dombey’s
B. Captain Cuttle’s
C. Uncle Sol’s
D. Mrs. Chick’s

C. Uncle Sol’s.
Walter’s rescue of Florence solidifies their deep, lasting bond, and taking her to the loving environment of his uncle’s shop contrasts with her own cold home.

17. Major Bagstock’s walking-stick flourish was meant to indicate about himself that he was what?

A. Kind
B. Weak
C. Sly
D. Rich

C. He was sly.
Major Bagstock is a caricature of a retired military man, full of bluster and selfish cunning, which is captured in his nickname “sly, sir, devilish sly.”

18. What question did little Paul abruptly ask Mr. Dombey regarding the subject of his father’s thoughts?

A. What is happiness?
B. What is Dombey and Son?
C. What is destiny?
D. What’s money?

D. What’s money?.
Paul’s innocent but profound question cuts to the heart of the novel’s central theme, challenging his father’s entire value system.

19. What did Paul wonder, if money was a good thing that could do anything?

A. Why it didn’t save his Mama
B. Why it couldn’t buy him happiness
C. Why it made his Papa busy
D. Why it didn’t fix his legs

A. Why it didn’t save his Mama.
This follow-up question powerfully illustrates the limitations of wealth in the face of life’s greatest tragedies, a lesson his father has yet to learn.

20. What was the secret of Mrs. Pipchin’s “management” of children?

A. Kindness and rewards
B. Giving them what they disliked
C. Strict adherence to rules
D. Corporal punishment

B. Giving them what they disliked.
Mrs. Pipchin’s cruel system of child-rearing is another of Dickens’s critiques of harsh educational philosophies that sought to break a child’s spirit.

21. Paul said that if Florence were in India, he would do what?

A. Miss her
B. Wait for her
C. Die
D. Write letters

C. Die.
This declaration shows the depth of Paul’s frail constitution and his complete emotional dependence on the love of his sister, Florence.

22. Who was Mrs. MacStinger?

A. Captain Cuttle’s landlady
B. A friend of Mrs. Chick
C. A teacher at Dr. Blimber’s
D. Mr. Dombey’s housekeeper

A. Captain Cuttle’s landlady.
Mrs. MacStinger is a formidable comic character, a tyrannical landlady who terrorizes the gentle Captain Cuttle.

23. What was the amount of Sol Gills’s debt that threatened his shop?

A. Fifty pounds, odd
B. One hundred pounds, odd
C. Two hundred pounds, odd
D. Three hundred and seventy, odd

D. Three hundred and seventy, odd.
This specific debt creates the crisis that leads to Walter Gay’s fateful appointment and Sol Gills’s subsequent disappearance.

24. What was Major Bagstock’s complexion compared to?

A. A Stilton cheese
B. A raw piece of beef
C. A ripe tomato
D. A piece of red marble

A. A Stilton cheese.
This vivid and unflattering description captures the Major’s apoplectic and over-indulgent physical appearance, reflecting his personality.

25. Walter Gay came to Mr. Dombey to offer what as security for his uncle’s debt?

A. His salary and the stock of Sol Gills
B. His life and servitude
C. Captain Cuttle’s annuity
D. His inheritance

A. His salary and the stock of Sol Gills.
Walter’s selfless offer to sacrifice his own future for his uncle’s sake demonstrates his noble character and deep loyalty.

26. Doctor Blimber’s establishment was compared to a great what, with a forcing apparatus incessantly at work?

A. Glass factory
B. Hot-house
C. Steam engine
D. Laboratory

B. Hot-house.
This metaphor powerfully describes the school’s intense, high-pressure environment, where boys’ minds are “forced” to grow too quickly, often to their detriment.

27. Young Toots’s initial remark to Paul in the deepest possible voice was what?

A. Welcome to Parnassus
B. How are you?
C. What is money?
D. Study hard

B. “How are you?”.
This simple, kind greeting from the well-meaning but intellectually slow Mr. Toots marks the beginning of his devotion to Paul and later to Florence.

28. What was the boy’s name who sat in stony stupefaction since breakfast time?

A. Tozer
B. Johnson
C. Briggs
D. Bitherstone

C. Briggs.
Briggs is an example of a student completely overwhelmed by Dr. Blimber’s intensive educational system, symbolizing the potential for such methods to crush a child’s intellect.

29. Mr. Dombey’s head clerk, Mr. Carker, was known for his wide and frequent what?

A. Cough
B. Scowl
C. Show of his teeth
D. Bow

C. Show of his teeth.
Carker’s predatory, shark-like smile is his defining physical feature, symbolizing his hidden malice, ambition, and deceptive nature.

30. The young man Carker suggested sending to the Barbados agency was Walter Gay, aboard which ship?

A. The Cautious Clara
B. The Son and Heir
C. The Royal Exchange
D. The Toodle’s Joy

B. The Son and Heir.
Carker’s suggestion is a malicious act to remove Walter, whom he sees as a rival. The ship’s ironic name underscores the theme of inheritance and Dombey’s hopes.

31. What did the workman outside the school whisper to the footman that Paul overheard?

A. Clever boy
B. Old-fashioned
C. Delicate
D. Dreamer

B. “Old-fashioned”.
This recurring description of Paul highlights his strange precociousness, his physical frailty, and his seeming disconnect from the world of childhood.

32. When Paul was sick, who was the doctor Paul’s interest centered on, because he had been with his Mama when she died?

A. Mr. Feeder
B. Mr. Dombey
C. Mrs. Wickam
D. Sir Parker Peps

D. Sir Parker Peps.
Paul’s focus on the doctor connects his own impending death with that of his mother, bringing the narrative full circle.

33. What did the statuary point out to Mr. Dombey when correcting the inscription for Paul’s tomb?

A. “Beloved and only child”
B. “Precious little one”
C. “Son and Heir”
D. “A perfect Dombey”

A. “Beloved and only child”.
The statuary’s gentle correction forces Mr. Dombey to confront the existence of Florence, whom he had effectively erased by referring to Paul as his “only child.”

34. What type of coat was the working man wearing who ducked his head to Mr. Dombey at the railway platform?

A. A blue Grinder’s coat
B. A cindery coat (Toodle)
C. A sailor’s coat
D. A new coat

B. A cindery coat (Toodle).
The railway, a symbol of progress and destruction, is where Dombey encounters Toodle, a man from his past, now an engine stoker. The encounter unnerves Dombey.

35. What was the name of Mrs. Skewton’s daughter?

A. Cleopatra
B. Louisa
C. Edith Granger
D. Lucretia Tox

C. Edith Granger.
Edith, the proud and beautiful widow, becomes Mr. Dombey’s second wife, leading to the novel’s central conflict of pride against pride.

36. Major Bagstock referred to Mrs. Skewton as what classical figure?

A. Venus
B. Helen
C. Cleopatra
D. Diana

C. Cleopatra.
The nickname is deeply ironic, contrasting the legendary queen with the áged, artificially preserved, and grasping Mrs. Skewton.

37. Carker gave Rob the Grinder instructions to find out who came to see whom?

A. Miss Tox
B. Sol Gills (Walter’s Uncle)
C. Major Bagstock
D. Mr. Dombey

B. Sol Gills (Walter’s Uncle).
This act establishes Rob the Grinder’s role as Carker’s spy and shows Carker’s manipulative interest in the affairs of Walter and his family.

38. What was the secret signal Captain Cuttle taught Rob the Grinder to whistle?

A. Rule Britannia
B. Oh cheerily, cheerily!
C. The Midshipman’s Lament
D. Hearts of Oak

B. Oh cheerily, cheerily!
This simple, nautical signal represents the trusting nature of Captain Cuttle, which is ultimately betrayed by the duplicitous Rob.

39. Where did Sol Gills, in his letter to Cuttle, say he had gone in search of Walter?

A. To the East Indies
B. To the West Indies
C. To Australia
D. To China

B. To the West Indies.
Sol Gills’s disappearance on a desperate search for his beloved nephew is a key plot development, leaving Captain Cuttle in charge of the Midshipman.

40. How did Carker say that Mr. Dombey viewed his wife (Edith) regarding her position and reputation?

A. As a dependant
B. As partaking of both wife and dependant
C. As an equal partner
D. As a necessary ornament

B. As partaking of both wife and dependant.
This defines the central power struggle in the marriage; Dombey sees Edith as a purchased asset, while she refuses to be subjugated.

41. When Edith prevented Mr. Dombey from leaving, she said that in the dark end they were tending to, they would involve whom besides themselves?

A. Major Bagstock
B. The family name
C. Others
D. Their fortune

C. Others.
Edith’s warning foreshadows the collateral damage their destructive conflict will cause, particularly to Florence.

42. Who did Mr. Carker the Manager suggest that Edith was greatly interested in, which was a point of influence over her?

A. Mr. Dombey
B. Florence
C. Mrs. Skewton
D. Cousin Feenix

B. Florence.
Carker correctly identifies Edith’s growing affection for Florence as a vulnerability he can exploit to manipulate both Edith and Mr. Dombey.

43. The old woman who watched Rob the Grinder writing the name of the place was who?

A. Mrs. MacStinger
B. Mrs. Skewton
C. Mrs. Brown
D. Mrs. Perch

C. Mrs. Brown.
Mrs. Brown’s intervention is crucial. She learns of Carker and Edith’s destination and passes the information to Mr. Dombey, precipitating the final chase.

44. What foreign city did Rob the Grinder chalk on the table as the meeting place for Carker and Edith?

A. Paris
B. Brussels
C. Dijon
D. Sicily

C. Dijon.
This is the destination for Edith’s elopement with Carker, an act designed not for love, but to inflict maximum humiliation upon her husband.

45. Who was the gentleman who visited Harriet and John Carker late at night to discuss James Carker’s actions?

A. Mr. Carker
B. Mr. Morfin
C. Mr. Dombey
D. Major Bagstock

B. Mr. Morfin.
The kindly Mr. Morfin helps to reveal the full extent of James Carker’s villainy and to rehabilitate the reputation of his disgraced but good-hearted brother, John.

46. What was the word that Alice said was helping to harden her, based on things she had heard?

A. Revenge
B. Duty
C. Wrongdoing
D. Suffering

B. Duty.
Alice Marwood (Good Mrs. Brown’s daughter) cynically observes how the upper classes use the concept of “duty” to justify their cruel and self-serving actions.

47. What type of man was Mr. Dombey resolved to be, according to Mr. Morfin, in paying debts to the last farthing?

A. A fool
B. A generous man
C. A gentleman of high honour and integrity
D. A wealthy man

C. A gentleman of high honour and integrity.
Even in financial ruin, Dombey clings to his pride, determined to meet his obligations not out of morality, but out of a sense of his own importance.

48. What did the sight of the darkening mark upon Edith’s bosom make her afraid of?

A. Mr. Dombey
B. Being wicked
C. Mrs. Skewton
D. Her shadow

B. Being wicked.
The scar, a result of striking her mother, becomes a physical manifestation of Edith’s guilt and her fear that her pride is turning her into a monster.

49. What was the name of the Reverend who officiated at Captain Bunsby’s wedding?

A. Reverend Feeder
B. Reverend Melchisedech Howler
C. Reverend Gills
D. Reverend Cuttle

B. Reverend Melchisedech Howler.
The comically named Reverend Howler presides over the forced marriage of the hapless Captain Bunsby to the formidable Mrs. MacStinger, a highlight of the novel’s comic subplot.

50. What was the final toast, proposed by Mr. Dombey and agreed upon by the party, using the special wine?

A. To Florence
B. To Walter
C. To the Last Bottle of Old Madeira
D. To Dombey and Son

C. To the Last Bottle of Old Madeira.
This toast, using the wine Sol Gills had saved for a special occasion, symbolizes the happy resolution, bringing together the surviving characters in celebration of Florence and Walter’s future.

Brief Overview

Dombey and Son is about pride, family, and the need for love. Mr. Paul Dombey is a wealthy and proud businessman who dreams of his son growing up to take over the family firm.

He cares more about his son, little Paul, than his daughter, Florence, because he sees the boy as a future partner. Florence loves her father deeply, but he gives her little attention or kindness.

When little Paul dies at a young age, Mr. Dombey’s dreams are crushed. Still, he refuses to accept comfort from Florence and becomes even colder and more distant.

He later marries Edith, a proud but unhappy woman who cannot love him because of his selfish nature. Their marriage is loveless and ends in ruin, leading Dombey to lose both family and business.

Broken and lonely, Mr. Dombey finally realizes Florence’s true love for him. In the end, Florence cares for her father, and he slowly learns the value of affection over pride.