Section A
1) ‘hoods up’
2) The writer in this extract uses language to prevent danger.
The opening of the extract informs the reader that the women was driving ‘cautiously’, this
adjective suggests to the reader that she is weary of the dangers that she may face on the
road, and that she is tyring to prevent such dangers by driving with caution. This opening of
the extract is foreshadowing the dangerous events that lay ahead for the character.
The men that approached the car where ‘three buzz-cut-bald men’, as they are all described
in the same way, it suggests to the reader that they are a unit and as one; they are not
individuals but rather a gang or cult. The idea that they are gang is continued with the idea
that they were ‘chanting’. The chanting shows that they are saying the same things and
speaking as one. Gangs are often seen as being scary and intimidating, so this suggests that
these men were making the women feel scared and in danger. The gang like description also
emphasises the idea that the women is on her own and is weaker than the men, therefore
suggesting to the reader the extent that she is in danger.
The women ‘didn’t recognise’ the chanting which emphasises the idea that it was a new
situation for her, new situations are often surrounded with anxiety of fear and are often
uncomfortable. This suggests to the reader that the woman was uncomfortable and felt like
she was in danger.
3) ‘servants’. Rich enough to have servants.
4) The writer is successful with informing and engaging the reader in this extract.
The beginning of the extracts infers to the reader that the boy Jim is ‘trying to keep up his
spirits’ this suggests to the reader that the boy is going through a difficult time and that he is
resilient and optimistic for wanting to ‘keep up his spirits’. This from the beginning of the
extract informs to the reader the idea that this boy is innocent and should not be going
through such a tragedy.
The pool is described as once being a ‘mysterious world’, this description is how children see
the world. The pool has the tone of being very warm and like the boy is reflecting on a good
memory, the ‘wavering blue lines, glimpsed through a casade of bubbles’ the world
‘glimpsed’ empathises the idea of the description being positive and good; the word
‘bubbles’ continues the idea of innocence from the boy. The pool soon ‘vanished into a
watery abyss’ which shows that with time everything becomes bad and because of the war
the pool is no longer a lovely and good memory, but rather a horrible reality. It also could
reflect the idea that all children grow up to be adults, and that everyone loses the innocents
of being a child and become infected with the disease of society and the world.
The boy cuts his knee and is bleeding onto the tiles, and a ‘fly settled on it instantly’ this
could be a metaphor that suggests to the reader that the boy’s pain (the war) could be not
benefitable for him but for the fly (people in power).
Another metaphor is used by the writer to suggest the idea that life hasn’t always been so
negative for the boy. These memories are a ‘small museum of past summers’ that he is
revisiting to find peace and comfort. The boy is travel through his memories to find comfort
in this isolating time for him; he is trying to relive positive moments rather than the pain that
he is feeling in the present.
The pool being drained is a metaphor by the writer, it is comparative to the war and
suggests to the audience that the boy is aware of such pain that surrounds him in the world.
The writer uses a rhetorical question which suggests to the reader that the boy is
questioning, and that after all the boy is a child; children are known for questioning what’s
around them. The extended metaphors and descriptions of the world around the boy is
followed by the boy cycling around his house and having fun. This contrast between the
paragraphs creates a very hard-hitting realisation to the reader. Its impactful and powerful
because this young boy, who is having fun in a world that’s in pain, is innocent and is
surrounded by war. The boy shouldn’t’ have to go through what he is going through.
5) Both main characters in the extracts are in a situation that is unfamiliar with them. In text 1
the girl travelled through ‘unfamiliar roads’ and in text 2 the boy ‘always longed to’ bicycle
around his house.
Both extracts are based on the characters experience after a horrific event. Text 1 is ‘in the
aftermath of the epidemic’ and text 2 is ‘after the attack on pearl harbour’.
Both extracts see the main characters travel to a different environment, in text 1 the women
‘drove cautiously’ around the city to ‘drive(ing) home’ and in text 2 the boy ‘(left) the
garden’.
6) Both extracts present what the characters are doing after a catastrophe.
The main idea of text 1 is to present a women’s point of view after a deadly virus hit her city,
whereas text 2 follows a young boy after an attack on his home town. This difference of
character that is followed makes the texts differ. In text 1 the world is seen through the eyes
of a mature women but in text 2 its seen through the innocents of a boy. Text 1 could be
how the reader sees the world but text 2 is a different way of viewing society, a more
immature and innocent way.
Text 2 explores a boy after a catastrophe, the environment reminded the boy of ‘concrete
bunkers in Tsingtao’, this comparison empathises to the reader the lack of life that can be
seen in the world. Yet, it does contrast with the life that continues within the boy even in a
lifeless world. ‘concrete’ could be metaphoric and suggest to the reader that the tone of the
atmosphere is cold and grey, often like concrete is. Text 1 has the use of metaphoric
language also, the city is described as ‘a city that could explode into pitched battled’, this
metaphor highlights what could happen to London, yet it seems like what ‘could’ happen has
in fact happened to London. ‘Pitched battled’ highlights to the reader that like a battle the
atmosphere seems very depressing and lacks optimism, yet to contrast to this London has
‘explode(d)’ which suggests bright and powerful colours. Both extracts express the contrast
of life/light and dark/death.
Both main characters in the extract reflect on the past. Text 1 shows the character
wondering if the roads were like what they had ‘been in the old’ days and in Text 2 the
young boy is seen ‘looking at a museum of past summers. Both characters are leaving the
present tense and travelling to the past because they don’t want to be surrounded by the
pain and loss that surrounds them. They are trying to escape there reality mentally because
they can’t physically leave.
The way that the characters act after the catastrophes greatly differ. In the 1st extract the
women ‘drove cautiously’, this suggests to the reader that the women, fears and worries
that something bad in fact is going to harm her. In text 2 the extract opens up with the
statement that the boy is ‘trying to keep up his spirits’, this suggests that even though he
may be struggling in this time he is trying to be optimistic and view the situation in a brighter
light. The contrast in how the characters react could be correlated to their age difference,
the women’s anxieties could stem from the years that she had to be able to develop them
and the boy may be seeing the world in more of a black and white way, he may not
understand what the point of worrying is as it won’t change anything.
Both extracts might explore the aftermaths of catastrophes, but they greatly differ in how
the aftermath is presented.
Section B
The empty field was surrounded by a consuming mist. I had woken up early to see the
sunrise, but I instead was faced with the night; the moon was yet to set, and death was yet
to settle. I expected the sun and the bright light, but my mind had given me a blackhole that
covered me.
I continued to run even though the weather had unsettled me, I wasn’t expecting the moon
when the sun’s rays had been reflecting of my skin my whole existence. The change scared
me; I didn’t know what this meant for me. Did I have the energy to be able to run in the
dark?
My normal run was a familiarised route, I knew the exact turns and where there was risk of
falling. I even knew who I would see and where we would collide, it’s because I left for every
run at the exact same time. Day after Day, run after run; It all ended up blending. I had my
life in order, I was satisfied and comfortable with being able to predict tomorrow. But the
day that I woke up to the sun being blocked, was the day that I could no longer predict what
would happen next. I didn’t know what paths laid ahead of me.
I attempted to run my normal route, but the paths had changed, and I couldn’t clearly see
what was ahead. I was running into the unknown and I was quick to run into a tree, my head
initially met the trunk and soon followed, my heart. My soul and body were in agony, but I
wanted to finish the run; I did want to cut it short though. But I knew that the new path (no
matter how much pain the run might have brought) would lead me to new views and a
brighter day.
I was a plant that had outgrown my pot and was now put into a field; the transfer might
have been painful and damaged some of my roots, but I now had the chance to grow.
My quick pace soon altered into a pace like a fish trying to walk. My muscles began to ache, I
could sense the lactic acid increasing. Every step I took caused more pain than joy. I wanted
the run to end more than I had ever wanted it to stop. All the pain that I had ever felt
consumed me, the mist still shadowed my every move and no matter how fast I ran it was
impossible to escape it. I was scared; I wanted the pain to go away but I didn’t want my run
to end.
Soon my cold and aching body was met with light rays, but they were not ones that I had
ever had contact with before; they had particles of hope in them. They were brighter and
better. The pain soon evaporated, and my run started to give life. The mist soon ran. Took its
place was comfort and a canvas that had every existing colour perfectly placed onto it.
The empty field was now a farm filled with light, opportunities, and chances to grow.