Book 2, Chapter 5 Summary

Dickens points out the prodigious drinking men did in those days. Mr. Stryver, in fact, as he rose up in the esteem of the Courts and men, had a drinking companion and business ally in the person of Sydney Carton. Sydney would never be a "lion," but he was a very good "jackal," a minor predator of great assistance to his associate lion, Mr. Stryver. He has always been a helper of his colleagues, but never a leader. In their conversation, Sydney denies that Lucie is "pretty" to the consternation of Mr. Stryver. Sydney is a complex and sad, uneven type of man.

Book 2, Chapter 5 Analysis

There are many paragraphs in the few words in which Sydney denies Lucie's "prettiness." One may think that perhaps when Sydney first saw Miss Manette in court that there was an instantaneous attraction and envy...