Insert
The source that follows is:
- Source A: 19th-century prose fiction
- The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe
An extract from a work first published in 1843.
This extract is from The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe. The narrator explains away a chilling wall-image left by a fire, then meets and adopts a second black cat whose one-eyed likeness to his former pet unsettles him, stirring shame and growing hatred.
Source A
1 The impression was given with an accuracy truly marvellous. There was a rope about the animal’s neck. When I first beheld this apparition—for I could scarcely regard it as less—my wonder and my terror were extreme.
6 But at length reflection came to my aid. The cat, I remembered, had been hung in a garden adjacent to the house. Upon the alarm of fire, this garden had been immediately filled by the crowd—by some one of
11 whom the animal must have been cut from the tree and thrown, through an open window, into my chamber. This had probably been done with the view of
16 arousing me from sleep. The falling of other walls had compressed the victim of my cruelty into the substance of the freshly-spread plaster; the lime of which, with
21 the flames, and the ammonia from the carcass, had then accomplished the portraiture as I saw it. Although I thus readily accounted to my reason, if not altogether to my conscience, for
26 the startling fact just detailed, it did not the less fail to make a deep impression upon my fancy. For months I could not rid myself of the phantasm of the cat; and,
31 during this period, there came back into my spirit a half-sentiment that seemed, but was not, remorse. I went so far as to regret the loss of the animal, and to look about me, among the
36 vile haunts which I now habitually frequented, for another pet of the same species, and of somewhat similar appearance, with which to supply its place. One night as I sat, half stupefied, in a den of more than infamy,
41 my attention was suddenly drawn to some black object, reposing upon the head of one of the immense hogsheads of gin, or of rum, which constituted the chief furniture of the apartment. I had
46 been looking steadily at the top of this hogshead for some minutes, and what now caused me surprise was the fact that I had not sooner perceived the
51 object thereupon. I approached it, and touched it with my hand. It was a black cat—a very large one—fully as large as Pluto, and closely resembling him in every
56 respect but one. Pluto had not a white hair upon any portion of his body; but this cat had a large, although indefinite splotch of white, covering nearly the whole region of the breast. Upon
61 my touching him, he immediately arose, purred loudly, rubbed against my hand, and appeared delighted with my notice. This, then, was the very creature of which I was in search. I at once offered to
66 purchase it of the landlord; but this person made no claim to it—knew nothing of it—had never seen it before. I continued my caresses, and, when I prepared to go home, the
71 animal evinced a disposition to accompany me. I permitted it to do so; occasionally stooping and patting it as I proceeded. When it reached the house it domesticated itself at once, and became immediately a great favorite with my wife. For my own part, I soon found a
76 dislike to it arising within me. This was just the reverse of what I had anticipated; but—I know not how or why it was—its evident fondness for myself rather disgusted and annoyed. By slow degrees, these feelings of
81 disgust and annoyance rose into the bitterness of hatred. I avoided the creature; a certain sense of shame, and the remembrance of my former deed of cruelty, preventing me from physically abusing it. I did not, for some
86 weeks, strike, or otherwise violently ill use it; but gradually—very gradually—I came to look upon it with unutterable loathing, and to flee silently from its odious
91 presence, as from the breath of a pestilence. What added, no doubt, to my hatred of the beast, was the discovery, on the morning after I brought it home, that, like Pluto, it also had been
96 deprived of one of its eyes. This circumstance, however, only endeared it to my wife, who, as I have already said, possessed, in a high degree, that humanity of
101 feeling which had once been my distinguishing trait, and the source of many of my simplest and purest pleasures. With my aversion to this cat, however, its partiality for myself seemed to
106 increase.
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 the narrator notice around the animal’s neck?
- a rope
- a chain
- a collar
[1 mark]
1.2 According to the narrator, what was around the animal's neck?
- a collar
- a chain
- a rope
[1 mark]
1.3 What does the narrator describe as being around the animal's neck?
- A rope
- A collar with a bell
- A chain
[1 mark]
1.4 When the narrator first sees the apparition, what is around the animal’s neck?
- a rope
- a chain
- a collar
[1 mark]
Question 2
Look in detail at this extract, from lines 6 to 15 of the source:
6 But at length reflection came to my aid. The cat, I remembered, had been hung in a garden adjacent to the house. Upon the alarm of fire, this garden had been immediately filled by the crowd—by some one of
11 whom the animal must have been cut from the tree and thrown, through an open window, into my chamber. This had probably been done with the view of
How does the writer use language here to present the narrator’s attempt to make sense of what he saw? 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 story.
How has the writer structured the text to create a sense of eeriness?
You could write about:
- how eeriness intensifies from beginning to end
- 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 66 to the end.
In this part of the source, the narrator’s sudden hatred for the affectionate cat seems completely irrational. The writer suggests this reaction comes from the narrator's own guilt, not from anything the cat has actually done.
To what extent do you agree and/or disagree with this statement?
In your response, you could:
- consider your impressions of the narrator's irrational hatred for the new cat
- comment on the methods the writer uses to suggest the narrator's guilt
- support your response with references to the text.
[20 marks]
Question 5
An international conservation charity is gathering creative writing for its youth magazine.
Choose one of the options below for your entry.
-
Option A: Describe a remote place where a rare animal lives from your imagination. You may choose to use the picture provided for ideas:
-
Option B: Write the opening of a story about a long journey to find something precious.
(24 marks for content and organisation, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]