Insert
The source that follows is:
- Source A: 20th-century prose fiction
- The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield
An extract from a work first published in 1922.
This extract is from The Garden Party (1922) by Katherine Mansfield: nervous Laura visits a bereaved neighbour with a basket, is led inside to view the dead man, and finds herself overwhelmed - highlighting class divisions, compassion and a sudden awareness of life and death.
Source A
1 This was the house. It must be. A dark knot of people stood outside. Beside the gate an old, old woman with a crutch sat in a chair, watching. She had her feet on a newspaper. The voices stopped as Laura drew near. The group parted. It was as though she was expected, as though they had known she was coming here.
6 Laura was terribly nervous. Tossing the velvet ribbon over her shoulder, she said to a woman standing by, “Is this Mrs. Scott’s house?” and the woman, smiling queerly, said, “It is, my lass.”
11 Oh, to be away from this! She actually said, “Help me, God,” as she walked up the tiny path and knocked. To be away from those staring eyes, or to be covered up in anything, one of those women’s shawls even. I’ll just leave the basket and go, she decided. I shan’t even wait for it to be emptied.
16 Then the door opened. A little woman in black showed in the gloom. Laura said, “Are you Mrs. Scott?” But to her horror the woman answered, “Walk in please, miss,” and she was shut in the passage.
21 “No,” said Laura, “I don’t want to come in. I only want to leave this basket. Mother sent—” The little woman in the gloomy passage seemed not to have heard her. “Step this way, please, miss,” she said in an oily voice, and Laura followed her.
26 She found herself in a wretched little low kitchen, lighted by a smoky lamp. There was a woman sitting before the fire. “Em,” said the little creature who had let her in. “Em! It’s a young lady.”
31 She turned to Laura. She said meaningly, “I’m ’er sister, miss. You’ll excuse ’er, won’t you?” “Oh, but of course!” said Laura. “Please, please don’t disturb her. I—I only want to leave—”
36 But at that moment the woman at the fire turned round. Her face, puffed up, red, with swollen eyes and swollen lips, looked terrible. She seemed as though she couldn’t understand why Laura was there. What did it mean? Why was this stranger standing in the kitchen with a basket? What was it all about? And the
41 poor face puckered up again. “All right, my dear,” said the other. “I’ll thenk the young lady.” And again she began, “You’ll excuse her, miss, I’m sure,” and her face,
46 swollen too, tried an oily smile. Laura only wanted to get out, to get away. She was back in the passage. The door opened. She walked straight through into the bedroom, where the dead man was lying.
51 “You’d like a look at ’im, wouldn’t you?” said Em’s sister, and she brushed past Laura over to the bed. “Don’t be afraid, my lass,”—and now her voice sounded fond and sly, and fondly she drew down the sheet—“’e looks a picture. There’s nothing to show. Come along, my dear.”
56 Laura came. There lay a young man, fast asleep—sleeping so soundly, so deeply, that he was far, far away from them both. Oh, so remote, so peaceful. He was dreaming.
61 Never wake him up again. His head was sunk in the pillow, his eyes were closed; they were blind under the closed eyelids. He was given up to his dream. What did garden-parties and baskets and lace frocks matter to him? He was far from all those things. He was wonderful, beautiful. While they were laughing and while the band was playing, this marvel had come to the lane.
66 Happy... happy.... All is well, said that sleeping face. This is just as it should be. I am content. But all the same you had to cry, and she couldn’t go out of the room without saying something to him. Laura gave a loud childish sob.
71 “Forgive my hat,” she said. And this time she didn’t wait for Em’s sister. She found her way out of the door, down the path, past all those dark people. At the corner of the lane she
76 met Laurie. He stepped out of the shadow. “Is that you, Laura?” “Yes.”
81 “Mother was getting anxious. Was it all right?” “Yes, quite. Oh, Laurie!” She took his arm, she pressed up against him.
86 “I say, you’re not crying, are you?” asked her brother. Laura shook her head. She was. Laurie put his arm round her shoulder. “Don’t cry,” he said in his warm,
91 loving voice. “Was it awful?” “No,” sobbed Laura. “It was simply marvellous. But Laurie—” She stopped, she looked at her brother. “Isn’t life,” she stammered, “isn’t life—” But what life was she couldn’t explain. No matter. He quite understood.
96 “Isn’t it, darling?” said Laurie.
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 Laura think this was?
- The house
- The shop
- The school
[1 mark]
1.2 Where did the people stand?
- Outside
- Inside
- At the door
[1 mark]
1.3 What were the old, old woman's feet on?
- A newspaper
- A cushion
- A footstool
[1 mark]
1.4 What did the group do as Laura drew near?
- Parted
- Watched
- Chattered
[1 mark]
Question 2
Look in detail at this extract, from lines 6 to 15 of the source:
6 Laura was terribly nervous. Tossing the velvet ribbon over her shoulder, she said to a woman standing by, “Is this Mrs. Scott’s house?” and the woman, smiling queerly, said, “It is, my lass.”
11 Oh, to be away from this! She actually said, “Help me, God,” as she walked up the tiny path and knocked. To be away from those staring eyes, or to be covered up in anything, one of those women’s shawls even. I’ll just leave the basket and go, she decided. I shan’t even wait for it to be emptied.
How does the writer use language here to present Laura’s feelings as she approaches the house? 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 end of a story.
How has the writer structured the text to create a sense of revelation?
You could write about:
- how revelation 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, Laura’s apology to the dead man for her hat seems a strange thing to do. The writer suggests that seeing him makes her realise her wealthy life and fancy clothes are not important.
To what extent do you agree and/or disagree with this statement?
In your response, you could:
- consider your impressions of Laura's apology for her hat
- comment on the methods the writer uses to portray Laura's new understanding of life
- support your response with references to the text.
[20 marks]
Question 5
During Careers Week at your college, you are asked to submit a short creative piece about working life behind the scenes.
Choose one of the options below for your entry.
-
Option A: Describe a print shop under deadline from your imagination. You may choose to use the picture provided for ideas:
-
Option B: Write the opening of a story about starting a first job.
(24 marks for content and organisation, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]