GCSE 153/07 ENGLISH LITERATURE SPECIFICATION B Higher Tier A.M. TUESDAY, 19 May 2009 2 1 2 hours Pages SECTION A (Prose Anthology) 2-3 SECTION B (Poetry Anthology) 4-5 SECTION C (Drama) 6-8 ADDITIONAL MATERIALS A 12 page answer book. An anthology. INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES Answer Question 1 (Section A), Question 2 (Section B) and one question from Section C. Questions in Sections A and B consist of two parts. Part (10 marks) is based on an extract from the anthology. You are then asked to answer either or (c) (20 marks), which requires some longer writing on the texts in the anthology. INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES You are advised to divide your time as follows: Section A about 55 minutes Section B about 55 minutes Section C about 40 minutes CJ*(S09-153-07) Turn over.
2 SECTION A: 30 marks 1. Prose Anthology Answer part and either part or part (c). You are advised to spend 20 minutes on part and about 35 minutes on part or part (c). Read the extract on the opposite page and then answer the following question: How does Leslie Norris present the boy in this extract? [10] In some of the stories in the anthology characters find themselves in threatening situations. Look at The Rain Horse and one other story. Show how the writers present the threatening situations and the ways in which the characters deal with these situations. [20] (c) In some of the stories in the anthology there are characters who help other people. Look at Miss Moore from The Lesson and one other character from a different story. Explain how each writer makes the helpful character interesting. [20]
3 from Snowdrops 100 105 110 115 120 125 130 135 140 145 The boy looked at his best friend, deciding carefully whether he would ask him to describe a snowdrop. But he would wait, he thought, to see them for himself, and then the bell was ringing to call them in. The children cheered and clapped when they saw Miss Webster. She was dressed in a black frock, without any jewellery, but she smiled at them, holding her finger to her lips for them to be quiet. The bandage she had on one finger, where she had trapped it in the cupboard door and hadn t cried, looked very white and clean. She gave them some crayons and a big sheet of paper for each child and they could draw whatever they liked. The boy drew a robin. He hadn t drawn a robin since Christmas, but just recently he had been watching one that came to his garden every day, and now he knew just how the bird s head fitted on to his round little body, and he had seen the way the legs, as thin as pieces of wire, splayed out underneath. Sometimes the robin looked like a hunchback, but he would draw this robin standing up bravely, throwing out his red chest before he sang. And the robin s song was odd. It wasn t very long, and it dropped and fell like threads of falling water. The boy closed his eyes a little while so that he could hear the robin, but he couldn t get it quite right. Soon he was engrossed in watching his robin grow on the paper. With infinite care he set its delicate feet on a brown twig, not just a flat stick as he had drawn at Christmas, but a real twig, with little knobs on it where the buds would be. At last it was finished and he leaned back in his chair, looking around as he did so. Nearly all the other children had completed their drawings some time before and they were reading their books. Miss Webster was sitting at her desk, her head in her hands. Everything was very still. The boy took out his book and began to read, but most of the time he looked at the robin he had drawn. This is what he was doing when the bell ended morning school and they were dismissed for home. Miss Webster looked at his robin and she liked it. She took it from his desk and pinned it in a good place on the wall, where everybody could see it. The boy was pleased and surprised, because he had never before had a drawing pinned up in this way, although he knew he could draw at least as well as Edmund, who had a drawing selected nearly every week. Shall we be going to see the snowdrops this afternoon? he asked Miss Webster before he went home. Yes, she said, if Miss Lewis will allow us, we ll go to see them this afternoon. He ate his lunch quietly, thinking in his head of a story about a wizard who could change himself into anything at all. It was a good story, but something always seemed to happen before he got to the end of it. Sometimes he began it at night in bed, only to fall asleep long before the really exciting part. Now his mother was talking to him. Was Miss Webster in school this morning? she asked. His mother was knitting a pullover. The needles went over and under each other, with the same little slide and click, and a row of knitting grew magically behind them. Yes, he said, but she came late. She didn t arrive until playtime. Poor girl, said his mother. He thought about this for a long time. She s got a bad hand, he said. She caught her finger in the cupboard door and her hand was bleeding. She s got a bandage on it today. She ll never be able to bend her finger again, that s what Edmund Jenkins said. Oh, you and Edmund Jenkins, said his mother. Turn over.
4 SECTION B: 30 marks 2. Poetry Anthology Answer part and either part or part (c). You are advised to spend 20 minutes on part and about 35 minutes on part or part (c). Read the poem on the opposite page and then answer the following question: How does Tony Harrison present his thoughts and feelings about his family in this poem? In your answer write about: the title and its effect upon the whole poem; the circus imagery (the conjuror and his scarves, the fire-eater, the clown); words and phrases you find interesting; anything else you consider important. [10] Carol Ann Duffy has written poems which show variety in subject matter and technique. Choose two poems from the anthology by Carol Ann Duffy which are very different from each other. Compare and contrast the two poems. In your answer write about: what each poem is about; the way each poem is organised; the speaker in each of the two poems; words and phrases you find interesting; the ways in which the two poems are different. [20] (c) Some of the poems in the anthology are disturbing. Look at Frost Greyface and one other disturbing poem in the anthology. What do you find disturbing in each poem? In your answer write about: what each poem is about; how each poem is disturbing; interesting words and phrases in each poem; which poem you prefer and the reasons for your choice. [20]
5 Fire-eater My father speaking was like conjurors I d seen pulling bright silk hankies, scarves, a flag up out of their innards, red, blue, green, so many colours it would make me gag. 5 10 15 Dad s eldest brother had a shocking stammer. Dad punctuated sentence ends with but... Coarser stuff than silk they hauled up grammar knotted together deep down in their gut. Theirs are the acts I nerve myself to follow. I m the clown sent in to clear the ring. Theirs are the tongues of fire I m forced to swallow then bring back knotted, one continuous string igniting long-pent silences, and going back to Adam fumbling with Creation s names, and though my vocal cords get scorched and black there ll be a constant singing from the flames. TONY HARRISON Turn over.
6 SECTION C: 20 marks Answer one of the following questions. 3. Under Milk Wood Which one or two male characters in Under Milk Wood do you consider to be most interesting? Show how Thomas s presentation of your chosen characters makes them interesting. [20] Under Milk Wood introduces the audience to a world of secrets. Show how Dylan Thomas presents the theme of secrets in the play. [20] 4. A View From The Bridge Imagine you are Catherine. At the end of the play you think back over your relationship with Rodolfo and the impact it has had. Write down your thoughts and feelings. Remember how Catherine would speak when you write your answer. [20] Show how Arthur Miller presents Eddie and Beatrice s changing relationship, from the first time the audience meets them to the end of the play. [20]
7 5. An Inspector Calls To what extent is it possible to feel sympathy for the character of Eric Birling? [20] Each member of the Birling family and Gerald Croft is guilty of abusing their position of power. Who would you consider the most guilty of abusing his or her power, and why? [20] 6. The Merchant Of Venice Give advice to an actor playing Portia on how you think she should present the character to an audience. [20] Show how Shakespeare presents the relationship between Shylock and Antonio to an audience. [20] 7. Romeo and Juliet Even though Mercutio dies at the beginning of Act 3, he is crucial to the play as a whole. Show how Mercutio could be described as crucially important to the play. [20] How does Shakespeare present the lack of understanding between the older and younger generations in Romeo and Juliet? [20] Turn over.
8 8. Othello What do you think about Desdemona and the way she is presented to an audience? [20] Give advice to an actor playing Othello on how he should present the character to an audience. [20] 9. Hobson s Choice Explain how and why Willie changes, from the first time the audience meets him to the end of the play. [20] The expression Hobson s choice means to have no choice at all. To what extent do you think it an appropriate title for this play? [20] 10. Blood Brothers For which character in Blood Brothers do you have the most sympathy? Show how Willy Russell s presentation of your chosen character creates sympathy for him or her. [20] Write about the Johnstone family and the way they are presented to an audience. [20]