Insert
The source that follows is:
- Source A: 19th-century prose fiction
- Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë
An extract from a work first published in 1847.
This extract is from Anne Brontë’s Agnes Grey, where the young governess challenges a boy’s cruelty to nestlings and the adults who enable it, revealing moral conviction, cruelty versus compassion, and the fraught power dynamics of a governess within a wealthy household.
Source A
1 Happily, however, during that spring, they never, but once, got anything but empty nests, or eggs—being too impatient to leave them till the birds were hatched; that once, Tom, who had been with his uncle into the neighbouring plantation, came running in high glee into the garden, with a brood of little callow nestlings in his hands. Mary Ann and Fanny, whom I was just bringing
6 out, ran to admire his spoils, and to beg each a bird for themselves. “No, not one!” cried Tom. “They’re all mine; uncle Robson gave them to me—one, two, three, four, five—you shan’t touch one of them! no, not one, for your lives!” continued he, exultingly; laying the nest on the ground, and standing over it with his legs wide apart, his hands thrust into his breeches-pockets, his body
11 bent forward, and his face twisted into all manner of contortions in the ecstasy of his delight. “But you shall see me fettle ’em off. My word, but I will wallop ’em? See if I don’t now. By gum! but there’s rare sport for me in that nest.”
16 “But, Tom,” said I, “I shall not allow you to torture those birds. They must either be killed at once or carried back to the place you took them from, that the old birds may continue to feed them.”
21 “But you don’t know where that is, Madam: it’s only me and uncle Robson that knows that.” “But if you don’t tell me, I shall kill them myself—much as I hate it.”
26 “You daren’t. You daren’t touch them for your life! because you know papa and mamma, and uncle Robson, would be angry. Ha, ha! I’ve caught you there, Miss!” “I shall do what I think right in a case of this sort without consulting any one. If your papa and mamma don’t happen to approve of it, I shall be sorry to
31 offend them; but your uncle Robson’s opinions, of course, are nothing to me.” So saying—urged by a sense of duty—at the risk of both making myself sick and incurring the wrath of my employers—I got a large flat stone, that had been reared up for a mouse-trap by the gardener; then, having once more vainly
36 endeavoured to persuade the little tyrant to let the birds be carried back, I asked what he intended to do with them. With fiendish glee he commenced a list of torments; and while he was busied in the relation, I dropped the stone upon his intended victims and crushed them flat beneath it. Loud were the outcries, terrible the execrations, consequent upon this daring outrage; uncle Robson
41 had been coming up the walk with his gun, and was just then pausing to kick his dog. Tom flew towards him, vowing he would make him kick me instead of Juno. Mr. Robson leant upon his gun, and laughed excessively at the violence of his nephew’s passion, and the bitter maledictions and opprobrious epithets he heaped upon me. “Well, you are a good ’un!” exclaimed he, at length,
46 taking up his weapon and proceeding towards the house. “Damme, but the lad has some spunk in him, too. Curse me, if ever I saw a nobler little scoundrel than that. He’s beyond petticoat government already: by God! he defies mother, granny, governess, and all! Ha, ha, ha! Never mind, Tom, I’ll get you another brood to-morrow.”
51 “If you do, Mr. Robson, I shall kill them too,” said I. “Humph!” replied he, and having honoured me with a broad stare—which, contrary to his expectations, I sustained without flinching—he turned away with an air
56 of supreme contempt, and stalked into the house. Tom next went to tell his mamma. It was not her way to say much on any subject; but, when she next saw me, her aspect and demeanour were doubly dark and chilled. After some casual remark about the weather, she observed—“I am sorry, Miss Grey, you should think it necessary to interfere with Master Bloomfield’s amusements; he was
61 very much distressed about your destroying the birds.” “When Master Bloomfield’s amusements consist in injuring sentient creatures,” I answered, “I think it my duty to interfere.”
66 “You seemed to have forgotten,” said she, calmly, “that the creatures were all created for our convenience.” I thought that doctrine admitted some doubt, but merely replied—“If they were, we have no right to torment them for our amusement.”
71 “I think,” said she, “a child’s amusement is scarcely to be weighed against the welfare of a soulless brute.” “But, for the child’s own sake, it ought not to be encouraged to have such
76 amusements,” answered I, as meekly as I could, to make up for such unusual pertinacity. “‘Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.’” “Oh! of course; but that refers to our conduct towards each other.”
81 “‘The merciful man shows mercy to his beast,’” I ventured to add. “I think you have not shown much mercy,” replied she, with a short, bitter laugh; “killing the poor birds by wholesale in that shocking manner, and putting the dear boy to such misery for a mere whim.”
86 I judged it prudent to say no more. This was the nearest approach to a quarrel I ever had with Mrs. Bloomfield; as well as the greatest number of words I ever exchanged with her at one time, since the day of my first arrival.
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 Where had Tom been before he ran into the garden carrying baby birds?
- With Tom's uncle in the neighbouring plantation
- With Tom's aunt in the village
- With Tom's father by the river
[1 mark]
1.2 Who had Tom been with before entering the garden?
- his uncle
- the narrator
- Mary Ann and Fanny
[1 mark]
1.3 How did Tom come into the garden?
- running in high glee
- walking in weary silence
- hurrying in sullen anger
[1 mark]
1.4 What does Tom bring into the garden?
- a group of very young birds
- a bunch of freshly cut flowers
- a small spade and rake
[1 mark]
Question 2
Look in detail at this extract, from lines 31 to 45 of the source:
31 offend them; but your uncle Robson’s opinions, of course, are nothing to me.” So saying—urged by a sense of duty—at the risk of both making myself sick and incurring the wrath of my employers—I got a large flat stone, that had been reared up for a mouse-trap by the gardener; then, having once more vainly
36 endeavoured to persuade the little tyrant to let the birds be carried back, I asked what he intended to do with them. With fiendish glee he commenced a list of torments; and while he was busied in the relation, I dropped the stone upon his intended victims and crushed them flat beneath it. Loud were the outcries, terrible the execrations, consequent upon this daring outrage; uncle Robson
41 had been coming up the walk with his gun, and was just then pausing to kick his dog. Tom flew towards him, vowing he would make him kick me instead of Juno. Mr. Robson leant upon his gun, and laughed excessively at the violence of his nephew’s passion, and the bitter maledictions and opprobrious epithets he heaped upon me. “Well, you are a good ’un!” exclaimed he, at length,
How does the writer use language here to present the narrator’s actions and the reactions of others? 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 middle of a novel.
How has the writer structured the text to create a sense of chaos?
You could write about:
- how chaos unfolds 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 31 to the end.
In this part of the source, where Uncle Robson laughs at Tom's cruelty, his reaction feels more shocking than the boy’s tantrum. The writer suggests that it is the adults who are truly to blame for the child's bad character.
To what extent do you agree and/or disagree with this statement?
In your response, you could:
- consider your impressions of Uncle Robson's shocking behaviour
- comment on the methods the writer uses to suggest the adults' blame for Tom's cruelty
- support your response with references to the text.
[20 marks]
Question 5
A team designing a new city app is looking for creative writing to feature on its launch screen.
Choose one of the options below for your entry.
-
Option A: Describe an interactive information kiosk late at night from your imagination. You may choose to use the picture provided for ideas:
-
Option B: Write the opening of a story about a message that appears in the wrong place.
(24 marks for content and organisation, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]