AQA Paper 1 Section A Reading literary fiction: Goose Fair by D H Lawrence This extract is from a short story, called Goose Fair by D H Lawrence. It was first published in 1914 and is set in Nottingham, where the Goose Fair is still held each year. In this section a family hears that there is a fire at a local lace making factory, near to their own factory. Goose Fair Lois retired very early. She had a fire in her bedroom. She drew the curtains, and stood holding aside a heavy fold, looking out on the night. She could see only the nothingness of the fog: not even the glare of the fair was evident, though the noise clamoured small in the distance. In front of everything she could see her own faint image. She crossed to the dressing table, and there leaned her face to the mirror, and looked at herself. She looked a long time, then she rose, changed her dress for a dressing-jacket, and took up Sesame and Lilies. Late in the night she was roused from sleep by a bustle in the house. She sat up, and heard a hurrying to and fro, and the sound of anxious voices. She put on her dressing gown and went out to her mother s room. Seeing her mother at the head of the stairs, she said in her quick, clean voice: 5 10 Mother, what is it? Oh, child, don t ask me! Go to bed dear, do! I shall surely be worried out of my life. Mother, what is it? Lois was sharp and emphatic. 15 I hope your father won t go. Now I do hope your father won t go. He s got a cold as it is. Mother, tell me what is it? Lois took her mother s arm. It s Selby s I should have thought you would have heard the fire engine: and Jack isn t in yet. I hope we re safe! Lois returned to her bedroom and dressed. She coiled her plaited hair, and having put on a cloak, left the house. She hurried along under the fog-dripping trees towards the meaner part of the town. When she got near, she saw a glare in the fog, and closed her lips tight. She hastened on till she was in the crowd. With peaked, noble face she watched the fire. Then she looked a little wildly over the fire-reddened faces in the crowd, and, catching sight of her father, hurried to him. 20 25 Oh, Daddy is he safe? Is Will safe? Safe, ay, why not? You ve no business here. Here, here s Sampson, he ll take you home. I ve enough to bother me: there s my own place to watch. Go home now, I can t do with you here. 30 Have you seen Will? she asked. www.teachit.co.uk 2017 26913 Page 1 of 5
Go home Sampson, just take Miss Lois home now! You don t really know where he is Father? Go home now I don t want you here her father ordered peremptorily. The tears sprang to Lois eyes. She looked at the fire and the tears were quickly dried by fear. The flames roared and struggled upward. The great wonder of the fire made her forget even her indignation at her father s light treatment of herself and of her lover. There was a crashing and bursting of timber, as the first floor fell in a mass into the blazing gulf, splashing the fire in all directions, to the terror of the crowd. She saw the steel of the machines growing white-hot and twisting like flaming letters. Piece after piece of the flooring gave way, and the machines dropped in red ruin as the wooden framework burned out. The air became unbreathable; the fog was swallowed up: sparks went rushing up as if they would burn the dark heavens: sometimes burning cards of lace went whirling into the gulf of the sky, waving with wings of fire. It was dangerous to stand near this great cup of roaring destruction. 35 40 45 Sampson, the grey old manager of Saxton and Co s, led her away as soon as she would turn her face to listen to him. He was a stout, irritable man. He elbowed his way roughly through the crowd, and Lois followed him, her head high, her lips closed. 1. Read again the first paragraph of the source, lines 1 to 7. List four things from this part of the text that suggest this is an ordinary bedtime for Lois. [4 marks] 2. Look in detail at this extract from lines 8 to 21 of the source: Late in the night she was roused from sleep by a bustle in the house. She sat up, and heard a hurrying to and fro, and the sound of anxious voices. She put on her dressing gown and went out to her mother s room. Seeing her mother at the head of the stairs, she said in her quick, clean voice: Mother, what is it? Oh, child, don t ask me! Go to bed dear, do! I shall surely be worried out of my life. Mother, what is it? Lois was sharp and emphatic. I hope your father won t go. Now I do hope your father won t go. He s got a cold as it is. Mother, tell me what is it? Lois took her mother s arm. It s Selby s I should have thought you would have heard the fire engine: and Jack isn t in yet. I hope we re safe! Lois returned to her bedroom and dressed. She coiled her plaited hair, and having put on a cloak, left the house. www.teachit.co.uk 2017 26913 Page 2 of 5
How does the writer use language here to introduce a sense of urgency to the scene? You could include the writer s choice of: words and phrases language features and techniques sentence forms. [8 marks] 3. You now need to think about the whole of the Source. This text is from the opening of a new section of the short story. How has the writer structured the text to interest you as a reader? You could write about: what the writer focuses your attention on at the beginning how and why the writer changes this focus as the Source develops any other structural features that interest you. [8 marks] 4. Focus this part of your answer on the second part of the Source, from line 22 to the end. A teacher having read this section of the text said: It could be said that the writer creates a vivid and threatening fire scene. How far do you agree? In your response you should: write about your own impressions of the scene evaluate how the writer has created these impressions support your opinions with quotations from the text. [20 marks] www.teachit.co.uk 2017 26913 Page 3 of 5
Teaching notes 1. Lines 1 to 7. Four things that suggest this is an ordinary bedtime, could include that Lois: went to bed early had a fire in her bedroom, making it cosy drew the curtains held a curtain back to look out of the window couldn t see or hear anything out of the ordinary nearby looked at her face in the dressing-table mirror carried out actions in a slow, leisurely way changed from her dress to nightwear (a dressing-jacket) picked up her book to read. 2. Lines 8 to 21. Answers could include: Words and phrases bustle and hurrying to and fro suggest intense activity anxious voices and worried out of my life suggest a sudden problem the adjectives quick, clean, sharp, emphatic to describe the way Lois speaks show she has sensed that something is wrong and wants to know what it is. Language features and techniques Dialogue, containing short, sharp exchanges between mother and daughter suggest there s no time to talk. Repetition of Lois interrogative Mother, what it is? and of mother s declarative I hope your father won t go. builds suspense both for Lois and for the reader. The final, longer piece of dialogue finally gives more information, but mother s final exclamatory I hope we re safe! continues the suspense. Sentence forms Lois asks her question three times, but it isn t answered until the final time, creating a sense of frustration reflected in the body language described took her mother s arm. Mother s first response includes two imperatives, which are also exclamatories, don t ask me! and Go to bed, dear, do! which intend to brush Lois away. Mother s declarative sentences present her as anxious about her husband and Jack. The start of mother s final declarative I should have thought you would have heard the fire-engine uses modal verbs to almost scold Lois for not hearing the commotion earlier. The final two sentences of narrative present Lois response as decisive action she will go and find out about the fire for herself. www.teachit.co.uk 2017 26913 Page 4 of 5
3. Answers could include: The beginning: inside the home, safe and remote from anything that may be happening outside, the nothingness of the fog and the noise clamoured small in the distance but then news of a fire introduces anxiety. Change of focus: the narrative moves outside and danger is introduced as the factory is in the meaner part of town followed by a detailed description of the fire destroying the factory. The extract ends with Lois being taken back home by the old manager Sampson. Other structural features of interest: Lois dialogue with her father mirrors that with her mother as he doesn t answer her questions, shows anxiety through the exclamatory take Miss Lois home now! and repeats the imperative Go home now. He worries more about his factory than her concern for her lover Will, whereas her mother worried about Jack. 4. Lines 21 to the end. Answers could include: The setting is already eerie as Lois walks under fog-dripping trees. The reader experiences the fire with Lois, through the third person narrative which focuses on her point of view and describes the fire using different senses. The fire is presented as big and threatening a glare in the fog', it has attracted a crowd, is a great wonder and it creates terror in the crowd. We see how deeply the fire frightens Lois through the adverb wildly and later her tears were quickly dried by fear. The dialogue creates suspense over the fate of Will, whom the reader is told Lois loves; she seems to fear he is in danger from the fire. The fire is described as if it is alive, like a monster, through verbs roared and struggled upwards, waving with wings of fire which emphasises its power and unpredictability. Verbs to convey noise using onomatopoeia, crashing bursting splashing make the scene more vivid as the factory is described as collapsing. The writer uses colour to convey heat, fire-reddened faces white-hot red ruin. The simile steel twisting like flaming letters suggests the heat is intense enough to melt metal. The choking effect of smoke in the atmosphere is presented by the air became unbreathable; the fog was swallowed up. Verbs convey a sense of movement and speed rushing whirling waving. The blackness all around, contrasting with the fire, is conveyed by repetition of gulf, in reference to the ground (line 32) then the sky (line 37). The phrase great cup of roaring destruction creates a vivid summary of the fire. In contrast, Lois reaction is presented as tense, fearful and restrained from peaked, noble face at first sight of the fire to her head high, her lips closed as she leaves. www.teachit.co.uk 2017 26913 Page 5 of 5