Insert
The source that follows is:
- Source A: 19th-century prose fiction
- The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe
An extract from a work first published in 1843.
This extract is from The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe, as the unnamed narrator describes his temperament and home life, foreshadowing a dark turn in tone as his behaviour deteriorates and introducing themes of superstition, guilt, and the uneasy boundary between reason and madness.
Source A
1 At Paris, just after dark one gusty evening in the autumn of 18-, I was enjoying the twofold luxury of meditation and a meerschaum, in company with my friend C. Auguste Dupin, in his little back library, or book-closet, au troisième, No. 33, Rue Dunôt, Faubourg St. Germain. For one hour at least we had maintained a profound silence; while each, to any casual observer,
6 might have seemed intently and exclusively occupied with the curling eddies of smoke that oppressed the atmosphere of the chamber. For myself, however, I was mentally discussing certain topics which had formed matter for conversation between us at an earlier period of the evening; I mean the affair of the Rue Morgue, and the mystery attending the murder of Marie Rogêt. I looked upon it,
11 therefore, as something of a coincidence, when the door of our apartment was thrown open and admitted our old acquaintance, Monsieur G——, the Prefect of the Parisian police. We gave him a hearty welcome; for there was nearly half as much of the
16 entertaining as of the contemptible about the man, and we had not seen him for several years. We had been sitting in the dark, and Dupin now arose for the purpose of lighting a lamp, but sat down again, without doing so, upon G.‘s saying that he had called to consult us, or rather to ask the opinion of my friend, about some official business which had occasioned a great deal of
21 trouble. “If it is any point requiring reflection,” observed Dupin, as he forebore to enkindle the wick, “we shall examine it to better purpose in the dark.”
26 “That is another of your odd notions,” said the Prefect, who had a fashion of calling every thing “odd” that was beyond his comprehension, and thus lived amid an absolute legion of “oddities.” “Very true,” said Dupin, as he supplied his visitor with a pipe, and rolled
31 towards him a comfortable chair. “And what is the difficulty now?” I asked. “Nothing more in the assassination way, I hope?”
36 “Oh no; nothing of that nature. The fact is, the business is very simple indeed, and I make no doubt that we can manage it sufficiently well ourselves; but then I thought Dupin would like to hear the details of it, because it is so excessively odd.”
41 “Simple and odd,” said Dupin. “Why, yes; and not exactly that, either. The fact is, we have all been a good deal puzzled because the affair is so simple, and yet baffles us altogether.”
46 “Perhaps it is the very simplicity of the thing which puts you at fault,” said my friend. “What nonsense you do talk!” replied the Prefect, laughing heartily.
51 “Perhaps the mystery is a little too plain,” said Dupin. “Oh, good heavens! who ever heard of such an idea?” “A little too self-evident.”
56 “Ha! ha! ha—ha! ha! ha!—ho! ho! ho!” roared our visitor, profoundly amused, “oh, Dupin, you will be the death of me yet!” “And what, after all, is the matter on hand?” I asked.
61 “Why, I will tell you,” replied the Prefect, as he gave a long, steady and contemplative puff, and settled himself in his chair. “I will tell you in a few words; but, before I begin, let me caution you that this is an affair demanding the greatest secrecy, and that I should most probably lose the
66 position I now hold, were it known that I confided it to any one.” “Proceed,” said I. “Or not,” said Dupin.
71 “Well, then; I have received personal information, from a very high quarter, that a certain document of the last importance has been purloined from the royal apartments. The individual who purloined it is known; this beyond a doubt; he was seen to take it. It is known, also, that it still remains in his
76 possession.” “How is this known?” asked Dupin. “It is clearly inferred,” replied the Prefect, “from the nature of the
81 document, and from the non-appearance of certain results which would at once arise from its passing out of the robber’s possession; that is to say, from his employing it as he must design in the end to employ it.” “Be a little more explicit,” I said.
86 “Well, I may venture so far as to say that the paper gives its holder a certain power in a certain quarter where such power is immensely valuable.” The Prefect was fond of the cant of diplomacy.
91 “Still I do not quite understand,” said Dupin. “No? Well; the disclosure of the document to a third person, who shall be nameless, would bring in question the honor of a personage of most exalted station; and this fact gives the holder of the document an ascendancy over the
96 illustrious personage whose honor and peace are so jeopardized.”
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 city is named at the start?
- Paris
- Dijon
- Tours
[1 mark]
1.2 Which season is mentioned?
- autumn
- spring
- winter
[1 mark]
1.3 Which house number is given in the address?
- No. 33
- No. 23
- No. 39
[1 mark]
1.4 Which floor is specified for the room?
- au troisième
- au deuxième
- au quatrième
[1 mark]
Question 2
Look in detail at this extract, from lines 1 to 15 of the source:
1 At Paris, just after dark one gusty evening in the autumn of 18-, I was enjoying the twofold luxury of meditation and a meerschaum, in company with my friend C. Auguste Dupin, in his little back library, or book-closet, au troisième, No. 33, Rue Dunôt, Faubourg St. Germain. For one hour at least we had maintained a profound silence; while each, to any casual observer,
6 might have seemed intently and exclusively occupied with the curling eddies of smoke that oppressed the atmosphere of the chamber. For myself, however, I was mentally discussing certain topics which had formed matter for conversation between us at an earlier period of the evening; I mean the affair of the Rue Morgue, and the mystery attending the murder of Marie Rogêt. I looked upon it,
11 therefore, as something of a coincidence, when the door of our apartment was thrown open and admitted our old acquaintance, Monsieur G——, the Prefect of the Parisian police. We gave him a hearty welcome; for there was nearly half as much of the
How does the writer use language here to present the heavy air of the room and the narrator’s thoughts before their visitor arrives? 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 mystery?
You could write about:
- how mystery 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 21 to the end.
In this part of the source, the Prefect of Police laughs loudly at Dupin’s ideas and calls them ‘odd’. The writer suggests that this powerful man is not as clever as his job title suggests and cannot understand Dupin's way of thinking.
To what extent do you agree and/or disagree with this statement?
In your response, you could:
- consider your impressions of the Prefect's reaction to Dupin's ideas
- comment on the methods the writer uses to suggest the Prefect's intellectual limits
- support your response with references to the text.
[20 marks]
Question 5
A journal on maritime life is inviting submissions for a special edition on work at sea.
Choose one of the options below for your entry.
-
Option A: Describe the deck of a large vessel in rough seas from your imagination. You may choose to use the picture provided for ideas:
-
Option B: Write the opening of a story about a difficult decision made during a long voyage.
(24 marks for content and organisation, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]