Insert
The source that follows is:
- Source A: 20th-century prose fiction
- The Ransom of Red Chief by O. Henry
An extract from a work first published in 1907.
This extract is taken from The Ransom of Red Chief by O. Henry. Two would-be kidnappers struggle to control the exuberant boy they’ve snatched, as his self-styled Red Chief games and relentless pranks begin to turn their simple plan into chaos.
Source A
1 He felt that egotistical suffocation which parents experience when their daughter tells them that she has selected a husband without their advice and in defiance of their wishes. 20. After dinner he tried to read a little, but
6 he could not--he grew more and more exasperated. When the clock struck ten, he grasped his cane, a formidable oaken club which he always carried when he went out at night to visit the sick. With a smile he examined this huge
11 cudgel, gripped it in his solid, countryman’s fist, and flourished it menacingly in the air. Then, suddenly, with grinding teeth, he brought it down upon a chair-
16 back, which fell splintered to the floor. 21. He opened his door to go out; but paused upon the threshold, surprised by such a glory of moonlight as one rarely sees. 22. And as he was endowed with an exalted soul of such a sort as the
21 Fathers of the Church, those poetic seers, must have possessed, he became suddenly entranced, moved by the grand and tranquil beauty of the pale-faced night. 23. In his little garden, all suffused with the tender radiance,
26 his fruit-trees, set in rows, outlined in shadows upon the paths their slender limbs of wood, scarce clothed with verdure. The giant honeysuckle, clinging to
31 the house wall, exhaled its delicious, honeyed breath--the soul of perfume seemed to hover about in the warm, clear night. 24. He began to breathe deep, drinking in the air as drunkards drink
36 their wine; and he walked slowly, ravished, amazed, his niece almost forgotten. 25. When he reached the open country he paused to gaze upon the broad sweep of landscape, all deluged by
41 that caressing radiance, all drowned in that soft and sensuous charm of peaceful night. Momently the frogs sounded out their quick metallic notes, and distant nightingales added
46 to the seductive moonlight their welling music, which charms to dreams without thought--that gossamer, vibrant melody born only to mate with kisses. 26. The Abbé moved again, his courage unaccountably
51 failing. He felt as though he were enfeebled, suddenly exhausted--he longed to sit down, to linger there, to glorify God for all His works. 27. A little farther on, following the winding of the little river,
56 curved a row of tall poplars. Suspended about and above the banks, enwrapping the whole sinuous course of the stream with a sort of light, transparent down, was a fine white
61 mist, shot through by the moon-rays, and transmuted by them into gleaming silver. 28. The priest paused once again, stirred to the deeps of his soul by a growing, an irresistible feeling of tenderness. 29. And a doubt, an
66 undefined disquietude, crept over him; he discerned the birth of one of those questions which now and again came to him. 30. Why had God made all this? Since the night was ordained for
71 slumber, for unconsciousness, for repose, for forgetfulness of everything, why should He make it lovelier than the day, sweeter than dawn and sunset? And that star, slow-moving, seductive, more
76 poetic than the sun, so like to destiny, and so delicate that seemingly it was created to irradiate things too subtle, too refined, for the greater orb--why was it come to illumine all the shades? 31. Why did not the most accomplished
81 of all singing birds repose now like the others, but sing in the unquiet dark? 32. Why was this semi-veil cast over the world? Why this sighing of the heart, this tumult of the soul, this languor of the flesh? 33. Why this show of
86 charms, never seen by men because they are asleep? For whose eyes was all this sublime spectacle designed, all this wealth of poetic loveliness diffused from heaven over the earth? 34. And the Abbé did not understand it at all. 35. But there below, at the very edge of the field, under the arching
91 trees wet with luminous mist, two shadows appeared, walking side by side. 36. The man was the taller, and had his arm about his sweetheart’s neck; and from time to time he
96 bent to kiss her forehead. They animated suddenly the lifeless landscape, which enveloped their figures like a divine frame fashioned expressly for them.
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 Which group is said to experience the feeling?
- the parents
- the daughter
- a husband
[1 mark]
1.2 What item is said to be selected by the daughter?
- a husband
- a dinner
- their advice
[1 mark]
1.3 By likening the feeling to parents being told that a daughter has chosen a husband without seeking parental input, what does the narrator suggest about the person described?
- Wounded pride and a loss of control over an important decision
- Fear of social embarrassment and concern for family honour
- Calm satisfaction that other people can make choices unaided
[1 mark]
1.4 What happens after dinner?
- tried to read a little
- felt that egotistical suffocation
- selected a husband
[1 mark]
Question 2
Look in detail at this extract, from lines 1 to 15 of the source:
1 He felt that egotistical suffocation which parents experience when their daughter tells them that she has selected a husband without their advice and in defiance of their wishes. 20. After dinner he tried to read a little, but
6 he could not--he grew more and more exasperated. When the clock struck ten, he grasped his cane, a formidable oaken club which he always carried when he went out at night to visit the sick. With a smile he examined this huge
11 cudgel, gripped it in his solid, countryman’s fist, and flourished it menacingly in the air. Then, suddenly, with grinding teeth, he brought it down upon a chair-
How does the writer use language here to present the Abbé’s anger and intentions? 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 start of a story.
How has the writer structured the text to create a sense of tenderness?
You could write about:
- how tenderness emerges 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 16 to the end.
In this part of the source, the priest questions why God has made the night so beautiful. The writer suggests that the priest is starting to feel that there is more to life than his religion has taught him.
To what extent do you agree and/or disagree with this statement?
In your response, you could:
- consider your impressions of the priest and the questions he asks
- comment on the methods the writer uses to suggest the priest's growing uncertainty
- support your response with references to the text.
[20 marks]
Question 5
A technology website wants to publish creative writing about how machines are changing our city spaces.
Choose one of the options below for your entry.
-
Option A: Describe a busy gadget repair shop from your imagination. You may choose to use the picture provided for ideas:
-
Option B: Write the opening of a story about a helpful robot that causes a problem.
(24 marks for content and organisation, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]