Insert
The source that follows is:
- Source A: 20th-century prose fiction
- Odour of Chrysanthemums by D. H. Lawrence
An extract from a work first published in 1911.
This extract is from D. H. Lawrence’s Odour of Chrysanthemums, where a miner’s body is brought home and Elizabeth calms her children and, with his mother, lays out his body, revealing the realities and restrained grief of a mining community and complex bonds of family.
Source A
1 The three men waited in silence while she mopped up the water with a duster. "Eh, what a job, what a job, to be sure!" the manager was saying, rubbing his brow with trouble and perplexity. "Never knew such a thing in my life, never! He'd no business to ha' been left. I never knew such a thing in my life! Fell over him clean as a whistle, an' shut him in. Not four foot of space, there
6 wasn't--yet it scarce bruised him." He looked down at the dead man, lying prone, half naked, all grimed with coal-dust. "''Sphyxiated,' the doctor said. It is the most terrible job I've ever known. Seems as if it was done o' purpose. Clean over him, an' shut 'im in, like a mouse-trap"--he made a sharp, descending gesture with his hand. The colliers standing by jerked aside their
11 heads in hopeless comment. The horror of the thing bristled upon them all. Then they heard the girl's voice upstairs calling shrilly: "Mother, mother-- who is it? Mother, who is it?" Elizabeth hurried to the foot of the stairs and opened the door:
16 "Go to sleep!" she commanded sharply. "What are you shouting about. Go to sleep at once--there's nothing--" Then she began to mount the stairs. They could hear her on the boards, and on the plaster floor of the little bedroom. They could hear her distinctly: "What's the matter now?--what's the matter with you, silly thing?"--her voice was much agitated, with an unreal
21 gentleness. "I thought it was some men come," said the plaintive voice of the child. "Has he come?" "Yes, they've brought him. There's nothing to make a fuss about. Go to sleep now, like a good child." They could hear her voice in the bedroom, they waited
26 whilst she covered the children under the bedclothes. "Is he drunk?" asked the girl, timidly, faintly. "No! No--he's not! He--he's asleep." "Is he asleep downstairs?" "Yes--and don't make a noise." There was silence for a moment, then the men heard the frightened child again: "What's that
31 noise?" "It's nothing, I tell you, what are you bothering for?" The noise was the grandmother moaning. She was oblivious of everything, sitting on her chair rocking and moaning. The manager put his hand on her arm and bade her "Sh--
36 sh!!" The old woman opened her eyes and looked at him. She was shocked by this interruption, and seemed to wonder. "What time is it?"--the plaintive thin voice of the child, sinking back unhappily into sleep, asked this last question. "Ten o'clock," answered the mother more softly. Then she must have bent down and kissed the children. Matthews beckoned to the men to come away.
41 They put on their caps and took up the stretcher. Stepping over the body, they tiptoed out of the house. None of them spoke till they were far from the wakeful children. When Elizabeth came down she found her mother alone on the parlour floor, leaning over the dead man, the tears dropping on him. "We must lay him out," the wife said. She put on the kettle, then returning knelt at
46 the feet, and began to unfasten the knotted leather laces. The room was clammy and dim with only one candle, so that she had to bend her face almost to the floor. At last she got off the heavy boots and put them away. "You must help me now," she whispered to the old woman. Together they stripped the man. When they arose, saw him lying in the naïve dignity of death, the women stood
51 arrested in fear and respect. For a few moments they remained still, looking down, the old mother whimpering. Elizabeth felt countermanded. She saw him, how utterly inviolable he lay in himself. She had nothing to do with him. She could not accept it. Stooping, she laid her hand on him, in claim. He was still warm, for the mine was hot where he had died. His mother had his face
56 between her hands, and was murmuring incoherently. The old tears fell in succession as drops from wet leaves; the mother was not weeping, merely her tears flowed. Elizabeth embraced the body of her husband, with cheek and lips.
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 How many men waited in silence?
- two men
- three men
- four men
[1 mark]
1.2 How many men waited in silence while the water was mopped up?
- Two
- Three
- Five
[1 mark]
1.3 What did the manager rub while speaking?
- his brow
- his chin
- his hands
[1 mark]
1.4 Which simile is used to describe the fall?
- clean as a whistle
- quick as a flash
- light as a feather
[1 mark]
Question 2
Look in detail at this extract, from lines 6 to 15 of the source:
6 wasn't--yet it scarce bruised him." He looked down at the dead man, lying prone, half naked, all grimed with coal-dust. "''Sphyxiated,' the doctor said. It is the most terrible job I've ever known. Seems as if it was done o' purpose. Clean over him, an' shut 'im in, like a mouse-trap"--he made a sharp, descending gesture with his hand. The colliers standing by jerked aside their
11 heads in hopeless comment. The horror of the thing bristled upon them all. Then they heard the girl's voice upstairs calling shrilly: "Mother, mother-- who is it? Mother, who is it?" Elizabeth hurried to the foot of the stairs and opened the door:
How does the writer use language here to convey the horror of what has happened and the shock in 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 calm?
You could write about:
- how calm deepens 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, where the child asks if her father is drunk again, it shows what life was normally like. The writer suggests this makes the quiet horror of his death feel even more shocking.
To what extent do you agree and/or disagree with this statement?
In your response, you could:
- consider your impressions of the child and what her question reveals
- comment on the methods the writer uses to portray the horror of the father's death
- support your response with references to the text.
[20 marks]
Question 5
A science journal for young people is seeking creative writing for a special deep-sea edition.
Choose one of the options below for your entry.
-
Option A: Write a description of an underwater research station from your imagination. You may choose to use the picture provided for ideas:
-
Option B: Write the opening of a story about an unexpected discovery.
(24 marks for content and organisation, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]