Insert
The source that follows is:
- Source A: 20th-century prose fiction
- The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
An extract from a work first published in 1915.
This extract is from Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis (1915), opening as Gregor Samsa wakes to find he has become a monstrous insect. Trapped in bed, he surveys his altered body, grumbles about his wearying salesman’s life, and worries that he has overslept.
Source A
1 One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin. He lay on his armour-like back, and if he lifted his head a little he could see his brown belly, slightly domed and divided by arches into stiff sections. The bedding was hardly able to cover it and seemed ready to slide off any moment. His many legs, pitifully
6 thin compared with the size of the rest of him, waved about helplessly as he looked. “What’s happened to me?” he thought. It wasn’t a dream. His room, a proper human room although a little too small, lay peacefully between its four
11 familiar walls. A collection of textile samples lay spread out on the table—Samsa was a travelling salesman—and above it there hung a picture that he had recently cut out of an illustrated magazine and housed in a nice, gilded frame. It showed a lady fitted out with a fur hat and fur boa who sat upright, raising a heavy fur muff that covered the whole of her lower arm
16 towards the viewer. Gregor then turned to look out the window at the dull weather. Drops of rain could be heard hitting the pane, which made him feel quite sad. “How about if I sleep a little bit longer and forget all this nonsense”, he thought, but
21 that was something he was unable to do because he was used to sleeping on his right, and in his present state couldn’t get into that position. However hard he threw himself onto his right, he always rolled back to where he was. He must have tried it a hundred times, shut his eyes so that he wouldn’t have to look at the floundering legs, and only stopped when he began to feel a mild,
26 dull pain there that he had never felt before. “Oh, God”, he thought, “what a strenuous career it is that I’ve chosen! Travelling day in and day out. Doing business like this takes much more effort than doing your own business at home, and on top of that there’s the curse of
31 travelling, worries about making train connections, bad and irregular food, contact with different people all the time so that you can never get to know anyone or become friendly with them. It can all go to Hell!” He felt a slight itch up on his belly; pushed himself slowly up on his back towards the headboard so that he could lift his head better; found where the itch was, and
36 saw that it was covered with lots of little white spots which he didn’t know what to make of; and when he tried to feel the place with one of his legs he drew it quickly back because as soon as he touched it he was overcome by a cold shudder.
41 He slid back into his former position. “Getting up early all the time”, he thought, “it makes you stupid. You’ve got to get enough sleep. Other travelling salesmen live a life of luxury. For instance, whenever I go back to the guest house during the morning to copy out the contract, these gentlemen are always still sitting there eating their breakfasts. I ought to just try
46 that with my boss; I’d get kicked out on the spot. But who knows, maybe that would be the best thing for me. If I didn’t have my parents to think about I’d have given in my notice a long time ago, I’d have gone up to the boss and told him just what I think, tell him everything I would, let him know just what I feel. He’d fall right off his desk! And it’s a funny sort of business to be
51 sitting up there at your desk, talking down at your subordinates from up there, especially when you have to go right up close because the boss is hard of hearing. Well, there’s still some hope; once I’ve got the money together to pay off my parents’ debt to him—another five or six years I suppose—that’s definitely what I’ll do. That’s when I’ll make the big change. First of all
56 though, I’ve got to get up, my train leaves at five.” And he looked over at the alarm clock, ticking on the chest of drawers. “God in Heaven!” he thought. It was half past six and the hands were quietly moving forwards, it was even later than half past, more like quarter to seven. Had
61 the alarm clock not rung? He could see from the bed that it had been set for four o’clock as it should have been; it certainly must have rung. Yes, but was it possible to quietly sleep through that furniture-rattling noise? True, he had not slept peacefully, but probably all the more deeply because of that. What should he do now?
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 difficulty is described with the bedclothes covering Gregor Samsa after the transformation?
- The bedclothes barely cover Gregor Samsa's body and look likely to slip off.
- The bedclothes are neatly tucked in and hold Gregor Samsa firmly in place.
- The bedclothes have fallen to the floor, leaving Gregor Samsa uncovered.
[1 mark]
1.2 According to the description, what seems about to happen to the bedding covering Gregor Samsa?
- It is about to slip off Gregor Samsa's body.
- It is about to tighten and pin Gregor Samsa down.
- It is about to wrap itself around Gregor Samsa's legs.
[1 mark]
1.3 According to the description, what makes it difficult for the bedclothes to stay on Gregor Samsa's body?
- The rounded, segmented shape of Gregor Samsa's abdomen
- A cold draught in the room lifting the bedclothes
- A broken bed frame causing the mattress to slope
[1 mark]
1.4 What was divided by arches into stiff sections?
- his belly
- his bed
- his back
[1 mark]
Question 2
Look in detail at this extract, from lines 6 to 20 of the source:
6 thin compared with the size of the rest of him, waved about helplessly as he looked. “What’s happened to me?” he thought. It wasn’t a dream. His room, a proper human room although a little too small, lay peacefully between its four
11 familiar walls. A collection of textile samples lay spread out on the table—Samsa was a travelling salesman—and above it there hung a picture that he had recently cut out of an illustrated magazine and housed in a nice, gilded frame. It showed a lady fitted out with a fur hat and fur boa who sat upright, raising a heavy fur muff that covered the whole of her lower arm
16 towards the viewer. Gregor then turned to look out the window at the dull weather. Drops of rain could be heard hitting the pane, which made him feel quite sad. “How about if I sleep a little bit longer and forget all this nonsense”, he thought, but
How does the writer use language here to present Gregor’s surroundings and his state of mind? 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 bewilderment?
You could write about:
- how bewilderment 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, it is strange that Gregor’s first thoughts are about his terrible job instead of his new insect body. The writer suggests that Gregor was already trapped and unhappy in his life before his physical change.
To what extent do you agree and/or disagree with this statement?
In your response, you could:
- consider your impressions of Gregor's thoughts and his reaction
- comment on the methods the writer uses to portray his unhappiness
- support your response with references to the text.
[20 marks]
Question 5
At your youth club’s open evening this Friday, you will read a short creative piece to the audience.
Choose one of the options below for your entry.
-
Option A: Describe an indoor climbing wall from your imagination. You may choose to use the picture provided for ideas:
-
Option B: Write the opening of a story about joining a new sports club.
(24 marks for content and organisation, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]