Insert
The source that follows is:
- Source A: 19th-century prose fiction
- The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant
An extract from a work first published in 1884.
This extract is taken from The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant (1884), set in 19th-century Paris; it centres on Mathilde Loisel’s dissatisfaction with her modest life, and here her craving for elegance and status shapes her behaviour and heightens strains within her marriage.
Source A
1 He spoke French, they spoke Breton, and the clerk who acted as interpreter appeared not to understand either. It lasted a long time, a very long time. Varajou looked at his
6 brother-in-law and thought: “What a fool!” Padoie must have been almost fifty. He was tall, thin, bony, slow, hairy, with heavy arched eyebrows. He wore a velvet skull cap with a gold cord vandyke design round it. His look was gentle, like his actions. His speech, his gestures, his
11 thoughts, all were soft. Varajou said to himself, “What a fool!” He, himself, was one of those noisy roysterers for whom the greatest pleasures in life are the cafe and abandoned women. He understood
16 nothing outside of these conditions of existence. A boisterous braggart, filled with contempt for the rest of the world, he despised the entire universe from the height of his ignorance. When
21 he said: “Nom d'un chien, what a spree!” he expressed the highest degree of admiration of which his mind was capable. Having finally got rid of his peasants, Padoie inquired:
26 “How are you?” “Pretty well, as you see. And how are you?” “Quite well, thank you. It is very kind of you to have thought of coming
31 to see us.” “Oh, I have been thinking of it for some time; but, you know, in the military
36 profession one has not much freedom.” “Oh, I know, I know. All the same, it is very kind of you.” “And Josephine, is she well?”
41 “Yes, yes, thank you; you will see her presently.” “Where is she?” “She is making some calls. We have a great many friends here; it is a very
46 nice town.” “I thought so.” The door opened and Mme. Padoie appeared. She went over to her brother
51 without any eagerness, held her cheek for him to kiss, and asked: “Have you been here long?”
56 “No, hardly half an hour.” “Oh, I thought the train would be late. Will you come into the parlor?” They went into the adjoining room, leaving Padoie to his accounts and
61 his taxpayers. As soon as they were alone, she said: “I have heard nice things about you!”
66 “What have you heard?” “It seems that you are behaving like a blackguard, getting drunk and contracting debts.”
71 He appeared very much astonished. “I! never in the world!” “Oh, do not deny it, I know it.” He attempted to defend himself, but she gave him such a lecture that he
76 could say nothing more. She then resumed: “We dine at six o'clock, and you can amuse yourself until then. I cannot entertain you, as I have so many things to do.”
81 When he was alone he hesitated as to whether he should sleep or take a walk. He looked first at the door leading to his room and then at the hall door, and
86 decided to go out. He sauntered slowly through the quiet Breton town, so sleepy, so calm, so dead, on the shores of its inland bay that is called “le Morbihan.” He looked at the little gray houses,
91 the occasional pedestrians, the empty stores, and he murmured: “Vannes is certainly not gay, not lively. It was a sad idea, my coming here.”
96 He reached the harbor, the desolate harbor, walked back along a lonely, deserted boulevard, and got home before five o'clock. Then he threw himself on his bed to sleep till dinner time. The maid woke him,
101 knocking at the door. “Dinner is ready, sir:” He went downstairs. In the damp dining-room with the paper peeling from the
106 walls near the floor, he saw a soup tureen on a round table without any table cloth, on which were also three melancholy soup-plates. M. and Mme. Padoie entered the room at the same time as Varajou. They all sat down to table, and
111 the husband and wife crossed themselves over the pit of their stomachs, after which Padoie helped the soup, a meat soup. It was the day for pot-roast. After the soup, they had the beef, which was done to rags, melted,
116 greasy, like pap. The officer ate slowly, with disgust, weariness and rage. Mme. Padoie said to her husband:
121 “Are you going to the judge's house this evening?” “Yes, dear.” “Do not stay late.
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 Padoie must have been almost how old?
- fifty
- forty
- sixty
[1 mark]
1.2 What was round Padoie's skull cap?
- a gold cord vandyke design
- a silver braid chevron design
- a bronze cord lattice design
[1 mark]
1.3 To what is Padoie's look compared?
- Padoie's actions
- Padoie's clothes
- Padoie's age
[1 mark]
1.4 How are Padoie's speech, gestures and thoughts described?
- all were soft
- all were slow
- all were harsh
[1 mark]
Question 2
Look in detail at this extract, from lines 101 to 115 of the source:
101 knocking at the door. “Dinner is ready, sir:” He went downstairs. In the damp dining-room with the paper peeling from the
106 walls near the floor, he saw a soup tureen on a round table without any table cloth, on which were also three melancholy soup-plates. M. and Mme. Padoie entered the room at the same time as Varajou. They all sat down to table, and
111 the husband and wife crossed themselves over the pit of their stomachs, after which Padoie helped the soup, a meat soup. It was the day for pot-roast. After the soup, they had the beef, which was done to rags, melted,
How does the writer use language here to present the room, the meal and the mood at the table? 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 melancholy?
You could write about:
- how melancholy builds 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 81 to the end.
In this part of the source, the description of the greasy, disgusting meal makes the visit feel miserable. The writer suggests that Varajou’s family life is just as bleak and unwelcoming as the town he hates.
To what extent do you agree and/or disagree with this statement?
In your response, you could:
- consider your impressions of Varajou's bleak and unwelcoming family life
- comment on the methods the writer uses to portray the miserable family meal
- support your response with references to the text.
[20 marks]
Question 5
A national farming journal is inviting young people to contribute creative pieces.
Choose one of the options below for your entry.
-
Option A: Describe a sheepdog trial from your imagination. You may choose to use the picture provided for ideas:
-
Option B: Write the opening of a story about a bond between a farmer and an animal.
(24 marks for content and organisation, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]