Insert
The source that follows is:
- Source A: 19th-century prose fiction
- Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
An extract from a work first published in 1861.
This extract is from early in Great Expectations, as young Pip brings stolen food and a file to an escaped convict on the marshes. The starving man eats greedily, fearful and suspicious, while the bleak setting and talk of pursuit create tension.
Source A
1 “It’s bad about here,” I told him. “You’ve been lying out on the meshes, and they’re dreadful aguish. Rheumatic too.” “I’ll eat my breakfast afore they’re the death of me,” said he. “I’d do
6 that, if I was going to be strung up to that there gallows as there is over there, directly afterwards. I’ll beat the shivers so far, I’ll bet you.”
11 He was gobbling mincemeat, meatbone, bread, cheese, and pork pie, all at once: staring distrustfully while he did so at the mist all round us, and often
16 stopping—even stopping his jaws—to listen. Some real or fancied sound, some clink upon the river or breathing of beast upon the marsh, now gave him a start, and he said, suddenly,—
21 “You’re not a deceiving imp? You brought no one with you?” “No, sir! No!”
26 “Nor giv’ no one the office to follow you?” “No!” “Well,” said he, “I believe you. You’d be but a fierce young hound
31 indeed, if at your time of life you could help to hunt a wretched warmint hunted as near death and dunghill as this poor wretched warmint is!”
36 Something clicked in his throat as if he had works in him like a clock, and was going to strike. And he smeared his ragged rough sleeve over his eyes.
41 Pitying his desolation, and watching him as he gradually settled down upon the pie, I made bold to say, “I am glad you enjoy it.” “Did you speak?”
46 “I said I was glad you enjoyed it.” “Thankee, my boy. I do.”
51 I had often watched a large dog of ours eating his food; and I now noticed a decided similarity between the dog’s way of eating, and the man’s. The man took strong sharp sudden bites, just like the dog. He
56 swallowed, or rather snapped up, every mouthful, too soon and too fast; and he looked sideways here and there while he ate, as if he thought there was danger in every direction
61 of somebody’s coming to take the pie away. He was altogether too unsettled in his mind over it, to appreciate it comfortably I thought, or to have anybody to dine with
66 him, without making a chop with his jaws at the visitor. In all of which particulars he was very like the dog. “I am afraid you won’t leave any of it for him,” said I, timidly; after a silence during which I had
71 hesitated as to the politeness of making the remark. “There’s no more to be got where that came from.” It was the certainty of this fact that impelled me to offer the hint. “Leave any for him? Who’s him?” said my friend, stopping in
76 his crunching of pie-crust. “The young man. That you spoke of. That was hid with you.” “Oh ah!” he returned, with something like a gruff laugh. “Him? Yes,
81 yes! He don’t want no wittles.” “I thought he looked as if he did,” said I. The man stopped eating, and regarded me with the keenest scrutiny and
86 the greatest surprise. “Looked? When?” “Just now.”
91 “Where?” “Yonder,” said I, pointing; “over there, where I found him nodding asleep, and thought it was you.”
96 He held me by the collar and stared at me so, that I began to think his first idea about cutting my throat had revived. “Dressed like you, you know, only with a hat,” I explained, trembling;
101 “and—and”—I was very anxious to put this delicately—“and with—the same reason for wanting to borrow a file. Didn’t you hear the cannon last night?”
106 “Then there was firing!” he said to himself. “I wonder you shouldn’t have been sure of that,” I returned, “for we heard it up at home, and that’s farther away, and we were shut in
111 besides.” “Why, see now!” said he. “When a man’s alone on these flats, with a light head and a light stomach, perishing of cold and want, he hears
116 nothin’ all night, but guns firing, and voices calling. Hears? He sees the soldiers, with their red coats lighted up by the torches carried afore, closing in round him. Hears
121 his number called, hears himself challenged, hears the rattle of the muskets, hears the orders ‘Make ready! Present! Cover him steady, men!’ and is laid hands on—and
126 there’s nothin’!
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 does the narrator/speaker say about here?
- It's bad about here
- It's dreadful about here
- It's rheumatic about here
[1 mark]
1.2 Where does the narrator/speaker say the man has been lying out?
- on the meshes
- in the meshes
- by the meshes
[1 mark]
1.3 How does the man respond to the narrator's warning about the marshes?
- The man chooses to eat breakfast immediately, ahead of any harm from the marshes.
- The man chooses to move to a drier place before eating.
- The man chooses to deny having been on the marshes.
[1 mark]
1.4 What does the man say he will eat before "they're the death of me"?
- my breakfast
- my dinner
- my supper
[1 mark]
Question 2
Look in detail at this extract, from lines 11 to 126 of the source:
11 He was gobbling mincemeat, meatbone, bread, cheese, and pork pie, all at once: staring distrustfully while he did so at the mist all round us, and often
16 stopping—even stopping his jaws—to listen. Some real or fancied sound, some clink upon the river or breathing of beast upon the marsh, now gave him a start, and he said, suddenly,—
21 “You’re not a deceiving imp? You brought no one with you?” “No, sir! No!”
26 “Nor giv’ no one the office to follow you?” “No!” “Well,” said he, “I believe you. You’d be but a fierce young hound
31 indeed, if at your time of life you could help to hunt a wretched warmint hunted as near death and dunghill as this poor wretched warmint is!”
36 Something clicked in his throat as if he had works in him like a clock, and was going to strike. And he smeared his ragged rough sleeve over his eyes.
41 Pitying his desolation, and watching him as he gradually settled down upon the pie, I made bold to say, “I am glad you enjoy it.” “Did you speak?”
46 “I said I was glad you enjoyed it.” “Thankee, my boy. I do.”
51 I had often watched a large dog of ours eating his food; and I now noticed a decided similarity between the dog’s way of eating, and the man’s. The man took strong sharp sudden bites, just like the dog. He
56 swallowed, or rather snapped up, every mouthful, too soon and too fast; and he looked sideways here and there while he ate, as if he thought there was danger in every direction
61 of somebody’s coming to take the pie away. He was altogether too unsettled in his mind over it, to appreciate it comfortably I thought, or to have anybody to dine with
66 him, without making a chop with his jaws at the visitor. In all of which particulars he was very like the dog. “I am afraid you won’t leave any of it for him,” said I, timidly; after a silence during which I had
71 hesitated as to the politeness of making the remark. “There’s no more to be got where that came from.” It was the certainty of this fact that impelled me to offer the hint. “Leave any for him? Who’s him?” said my friend, stopping in
76 his crunching of pie-crust. “The young man. That you spoke of. That was hid with you.” “Oh ah!” he returned, with something like a gruff laugh. “Him? Yes,
81 yes! He don’t want no wittles.” “I thought he looked as if he did,” said I. The man stopped eating, and regarded me with the keenest scrutiny and
86 the greatest surprise. “Looked? When?” “Just now.”
91 “Where?” “Yonder,” said I, pointing; “over there, where I found him nodding asleep, and thought it was you.”
96 He held me by the collar and stared at me so, that I began to think his first idea about cutting my throat had revived. “Dressed like you, you know, only with a hat,” I explained, trembling;
101 “and—and”—I was very anxious to put this delicately—“and with—the same reason for wanting to borrow a file. Didn’t you hear the cannon last night?”
106 “Then there was firing!” he said to himself. “I wonder you shouldn’t have been sure of that,” I returned, “for we heard it up at home, and that’s farther away, and we were shut in
111 besides.” “Why, see now!” said he. “When a man’s alone on these flats, with a light head and a light stomach, perishing of cold and want, he hears
116 nothin’ all night, but guns firing, and voices calling. Hears? He sees the soldiers, with their red coats lighted up by the torches carried afore, closing in round him. Hears
121 his number called, hears himself challenged, hears the rattle of the muskets, hears the orders ‘Make ready! Present! Cover him steady, men!’ and is laid hands on—and
126 there’s nothin’!
How does the writer use language here to present the man’s hunger and fear on the marshes? 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 novel.
How has the writer structured the text to create a sense of unease?
You could write about:
- how unease intensifies throughout 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, where the convict eats like a dog, he appears more like a wild animal than a man. The writer suggests that his behaviour is caused by desperation, making us feel pity for him.
To what extent do you agree and/or disagree with this statement?
In your response, you could:
- consider your impressions of the convict and his desperate behaviour
- comment on the methods the writer uses to portray the convict as animal-like
- support your response with references to the text.
[20 marks]
Question 5
Your grandad is fixing a long-silent wall clock and asks you to write a short creative piece to share when it ticks again.
Choose one of the options below for your entry.
-
Option A: Write a description of a clockmaker’s bench at closing time from your imagination. You may choose to use the picture provided for ideas:
-
Option B: Write the opening of a story about the first day back at work after a long absence.
(24 marks for content and organisation, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]