Insert
The source that follows is:
- Source A: 20th-century prose fiction
- This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
An extract from a work first published in 1920.
This extract is from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s This Side of Paradise and shows Amory Blaine at a winter club with Myra, their flirtation leading to a tentative first kiss and his abrupt revulsion, highlighting youthful desire, vanity, and the pressures of social conventions.
Source A
1 Myra made out the party ahead, had an instant vision of her mother, and then—alas for convention—glanced into the eyes beside. “Turn down this side street, Richard, and drive straight
6 to the Minnehaha Club!” she cried through the speaking tube. Amory sank back against the cushions with a sigh of relief.
11 “I can kiss her,” he thought. “I’ll bet I can. I’ll bet I can!” Overhead the sky was half crystalline, half misty, and the night around was chill and vibrant with rich tension. From the Country
16 Club steps the roads stretched away, dark creases on the white blanket; huge heaps of snow lining the sides like the tracks of giant moles. They lingered for
21 a moment on the steps, and watched the white holiday moon. “Pale moons like that one”—Amory made a vague gesture—“make people
26 mysterieuse. You look like a young witch with her cap off and her hair sorta mussed”—her hands clutched at her hair—“Oh, leave it, it looks good.”
31 They drifted up the stairs and Myra led the way into the little den of his dreams, where a cosy fire was burning before a big sink-down couch.
36 A few years later this was to be a great stage for Amory, a cradle for many an emotional crisis. Now they talked for a moment about bobbing parties.
41 “There’s always a bunch of shy fellas,” he commented, “sitting at the tail of the bob, sorta lurkin’ an’ whisperin’ an’ pushin’ each other
46 off. Then there’s always some crazy cross-eyed girl”—he gave a terrifying imitation—“she’s always talkin’ hard, sorta, to the chaperon.”
51 “You’re such a funny boy,” puzzled Myra. “How d’y’ mean?” Amory gave immediate attention, on his own ground at
56 last. “Oh—always talking about crazy things. Why don’t you come ski-ing with Marylyn and I to-morrow?”
61 “I don’t like girls in the daytime,” he said shortly, and then, thinking this a bit abrupt, he added: “But I like you.” He cleared his throat. “I
66 like you first and second and third.” Myra’s eyes became dreamy. What a story this would make to tell Marylyn! Here on the couch with this wonderful-looking boy—the
71 little fire—the sense that they were alone in the great building— Myra capitulated. The atmosphere was too appropriate.
76 “I like you the first twenty-five,” she confessed, her voice trembling, “and Froggy Parker twenty-sixth.” Froggy had fallen twenty-five places in one hour. As yet he had
81 not even noticed it. But Amory, being on the spot, leaned over quickly and kissed Myra’s
86 cheek. He had never kissed a girl before, and he tasted his lips curiously, as if he had munched some new fruit. Then their lips brushed like young wild flowers in the wind.
91 “We’re awful,” rejoiced Myra gently. She slipped her hand into his, her head drooped against his shoulder. Sudden revulsion seized Amory,
96 disgust, loathing for the whole incident. He desired frantically to be away, never to see Myra again, never to kiss any one; he became conscious of his face and hers, of their
101 clinging hands, and he wanted to creep out of his body and hide somewhere safe out of sight, up in the corner of his mind.
106 “Kiss me again.” Her voice came out of a great void. “I don’t want to,” he heard himself saying. There was another pause.
111 “I don’t want to!” he repeated passionately. Myra sprang up, her cheeks pink with bruised vanity, the great bow on the back of her head trembling sympathetically.
116 “I hate you!” she cried. “Don’t you ever dare to speak to me again!” “What?” stammered Amory.
121 “I’ll tell mama you kissed me! I will too! I will too! I’ll tell mama, and she won’t let me play with you!”
126 Amory rose and stared at her helplessly, as though she were a new animal of whose presence on the earth he had not heretofore been aware.
131 The door opened suddenly, and Myra’s mother appeared on the threshold, fumbling with her lorgnette. “Well,” she began, adjusting it benignantly, “the man at the desk
136 told me you two children were up here—How do you do, Amory.” Amory watched Myra and waited for the crash—but none came. The pout
141 faded, the high pink subsided, and Myra’s voice was placid as a summer lake when she answered her mother. “Oh, we started so late, mama, that I thought we might as well—”
146 He heard from below the shrieks of laughter, and smelled the vapid odor of hot chocolate and tea-cakes as he silently followed mother and
151 daughter down-stairs.
Questions
Instructions
- Answer all questions.
- Use black ink or black ball point pen.
- Fill in the boxes on this page.
- You must answer the questions in the spaces provided.
- Do not write outside the box around each page or on blank pages.
- Do all rough work in this book. Cross through any work you do not want to be marked.
- You must refer to the insert booklet provided.
- You must not use a dictionary.
Information
- The marks for questions are shown in brackets.
- Time allowed: 1 hour 45 minutes
- The maximum mark for this paper is 80.
- There are 40 marks for Section A and 40 marks for Section B.
- You are reminded of the need for good English and clear presentation in your answers.
- You will be assessed on the quality of your reading in Section A.
- You will be assessed on the quality of your writing in Section B.
Advice
- You are advised to spend about 15 minutes reading through the source and all five questions you have to answer.
- You should make sure you leave sufficient time to check your answers.
Section A: Reading
Answer all questions in this section. You are advised to spend about 45 minutes on this section.
Question 1
Read again the first part of the source, from lines 1 to 5.
Answer all parts of this question.
Choose one answer for each question.
1.1 What did Myra make out?
- her mother
- the party ahead
- the eyes beside
[1 mark]
1.2 Who did Myra have an instant vision of?
- Richard
- the party ahead
- her mother
[1 mark]
1.3 What did Myra glance into?
- the eyes beside
- her mother
- the party ahead
[1 mark]
1.4 What instruction does Myra give to Richard?
- Turn into a side road and go straight on.
- Pull up by the kerb and wait.
- Head back towards the main road.
[1 mark]
Question 2
Look in detail at this extract, from lines 1 to 15 of the source:
1 Myra made out the party ahead, had an instant vision of her mother, and then—alas for convention—glanced into the eyes beside. “Turn down this side street, Richard, and drive straight
6 to the Minnehaha Club!” she cried through the speaking tube. Amory sank back against the cushions with a sigh of relief.
11 “I can kiss her,” he thought. “I’ll bet I can. I’ll bet I can!” Overhead the sky was half crystalline, half misty, and the night around was chill and vibrant with rich tension. From the Country
How does the writer use language here to present Amory’s anticipation and the atmosphere of the night? You could include the writer’s choice of:
- words and phrases
- language features and techniques
- sentence forms.
[8 marks]
Question 3
You now need to think about the structure of the source as a whole. This text is from the beginning of a story.
How has the writer structured the text to create a sense of alienation?
You could write about:
- how alienation intensifies by the end of the source
- how the writer uses structure to create an effect
- the writer's use of any other structural features, such as changes in mood, tone or perspective.
[8 marks]
Question 4
For this question focus on the second part of the source, from line 31 to the end.
In this part of the source, Amory is filled with 'disgust' and 'loathing' right after the romantic kiss. The writer suggests that the reality of romance can be a confusing and major disappointment.
To what extent do you agree and/or disagree with this statement?
In your response, you could:
- consider your impressions of Amory's feelings of disgust and loathing
- comment on the methods the writer uses to portray Amory's disillusionment with romance
- support your response with references to the text.
[20 marks]
Question 5
Your sixth-form magazine is running a creative writing page this term.
Choose one of the options below for your entry.
-
Option A: Describe a lively street market from your imagination. You may choose to use the picture provided for ideas:
-
Option B: Write the opening of a story about a small kindness that changes a day.
(24 marks for content and organisation, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]