The Writer’s voice grade boundary Nov 2013:
A* A B C D E
Raw 64 48 40 32 25 18 14
Of Mice and Men
Of Mice and Men
Extract taken from Section II
A tall man stood in the doorway. He held a crushed Stetson hat under his arm while he
combed his long, black, damp hair straight back. Like the others he wore blue jeans and
a short denim jacket. When he had finished combing his hair he moved into the room,
and he moved with a majesty only achieved by royalty and master craftsmen. He was
a jerkline skinner, the prince of the ranch, capable of driving ten, sixteen, even twenty
mules with a single line to the leaders. He was capable of killing a fly on the wheeler’s
butt with a bull whip without touching the mule. There was a gravity in his manner and
a quiet so profound that all talk stopped when he spoke. His authority was so great
that his word was taken on any subject, be it politics or love. This was Slim, the jerkline
skinner. His hatchet face was ageless. He might have been thirty-five or fifty. His ear
heard more than was said to him, and his slow speech had overtones not of thought, but
of understanding beyond thought. His hands, large and lean, were as delicate in their
action as those of a temple dancer.
He smoothed out his crushed hat, creased it in the middle and put it on. He looked
kindly at the two in the bunk house. ‘It’s brighter’n a bitch outside,’ he said gently. ‘ Can’t
hardly see nothing in here. You the new guys?’
‘Just come,’ said George.
‘Gonna buck barley?’
‘That’s what the boss says.’
Slim sat down on a box across the table from George. He studied the solitaire hand that
was upside down to him. ‘Hope you get on my team,’ he said. His voice was very gentle. ‘I
gotta pair of punks on my team that don’t know a barley bag from a blue ball. You guys
ever bucked any barley?’
‘Hell, yes,’ said George. ‘I ain’t nothing to scream about, but that big bastard there can put
up more grain alone than most pairs can.’
Lennie, who had been following the conversation back and forth with his eyes, smiled
complacently at the compliment. Slim looked approvingly at George for having given
the compliment. He leaned over the table and snapped the corner of a loose card.
‘You guys travel around together?’ His tone was friendly. It invited confidence without
demanding it.
‘Sure,’ said George. ‘We kinda look after each other.’ He indicated Lennie with his thumb.
‘He ain’t bright. Hell of a good worker, though. Hell of a nice fella, but he ain’t bright.
I’ve knew him for a long time.’
Slim looked through George and beyond him. ‘Ain’t many guys travel around together,’
he mused. ‘I don’t know why. Maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of
each other.’
5 Answer all parts of the following question.
(a) Explore how the language in the extract influences
your view of Slim.
You must include examples of language features in
your answer.
(16)
(b) Slim is one of the male characters in the novel.
Explore how the writer presents another male
character in one other part of the
novel.
You must use examples of the language the writer
uses to support your ideas.
(24)
(Total for Question 5 = 40 marks)
June 2011
Of Mice and Men
Extract taken from Section 3.
‘George, how long’s it gonna be till we get that little place an’ live on the fatta the lan’ –
an’ rabbits?’
‘I don’t know,’ said George. ‘We gotta get a big stake together. I know a little place we
can get cheap, but they ain’t givin’ it away.’
Old Candy turned slowly over. His eyes were wide open. He watched George carefully.
Lennie said, ‘Tell about that place, George.’
‘I jus’ tol’ you, jus’ las’ night.’
‘Go on – tell again, George.’
‘Well, it’s ten acres,’ said George. ‘Got a little win’mill. Got a little shack on it, an’ a chicken
run. Got a kitchen, orchard, cherries, apples, peaches, ’cots, nuts, got a few berries. They’s
a place for alfalfa and plenty water to flood it. They’s a pig pen – ‘
‘An’ rabbits, George.’
‘No place for rabbits now, but I could easy build a few hutches and you could feed alfalfa
to the rabbits.’
‘Damn right, I could,’ said Lennie. ‘You God damn right I could.’
George’s hands stopped working with the cards. His voice was growing warmer. ‘An’ we
could have a few pigs. I could build a smoke house like the one gran’pa had, an’ when
we kill a pig we can smoke the bacon and the hams, and make sausage an’ all like that.
An’ when the salmon run up river we could catch a hundred of ’em an’ salt ’em down or
smoke ’em. We could have them for breakfast. They ain’t nothing so nice as smoked
salmon. When the fruit come in we could can it – and tomatoes, they’re easy to can.
Ever’ Sunday we’d kill a chicken or a rabbit. Maybe we’d have a cow or a goat, and the
cream is so God damn thick you got to cut it with a knife and take it out with a spoon.’
Lennie watched him with wide eyes, and old Candy watched him too. Lennie said softly,
‘We could live off the fatta the lan’.’
‘Sure,’ said George. ‘All kin’s a vegetables in the garden, and if we want a little whisky we
can sell a few eggs or something, or some milk. We’d jus’ live there. We’d belong there.
There wouldn’t be no more runnin’ round the country and getting’ fed by a Jap cook. No,
sir, we’d have our own place where we belonged and not sleep in no bunk house.’
‘Tell about the house, George,’ Lennie begged.
‘Sure, we’d have a little house an’ a room to ourself. Little fat iron stove, an’ in the winter
we’d keep a fire goin’ in it. It ain’t enough land so we’d have to work too hard. Maybe six,
seven hours a day. We wouldn’t have to buck no barley eleven hours a day. An’ when
we put in a crop, why, we’d be there to take the crop up. We’d know what come of our
planting.’
‘An’ rabbits,’ Lennie said eagerly. ‘An’ I’d take care of ’em. Tell how I’d do that, George.’
Of Mice and Men
5 Answer all parts of the following question.
(a) Explore how the language in the extract
influences your view of George’s and
Lennie’s hopes and dreams for the future.
You must include examples of language features in
your answer.
(16)
(b) In the novel, hopes and dreams for the future
are important.
Explore what you learn about hopes and dreams in
one other part of the novel.
You must use examples of the language the writer
uses to support your ideas.
(24)
January 2012
Of Mice and Men
Extract taken from Section 5.
He looked down at her, and carefully he removed his hand from over her mouth, and
she lay still. ‘I don’t want ta hurt you,’ he said, ‘but George’ll be mad if you yell.’ When she
didn’t answer nor move he bent closely over her. He lifted her arm and let it drop. For a
moment he seemed bewildered. And then he whispered in fright, ‘I done a bad thing.’
‘I done another bad thing.’
He pawed up the hay until it partly covered her.
From outside the barn came a cry of men and the double clang of shoes on metal. For
the first time Lennie became conscious of the outside. He crouched down in the hay and
listened. ‘I done a real bad thing,’ he said. ‘I shouldn’t of did that. George’ll be mad.
An’ … he said … an’ hide in the brush till he come. He’s gonna be mad. In the brush till
he come. Tha’s what he said.’ Lennie went back and looked at the dead girl. The puppy
lay close to her. Lennie picked it up. ‘I’ll throw him away,’ he said. ‘It’s bad enough like it
is.’ He put the pup under his coat, and he crept to the barn wall and peered out between
the cracks, toward the horseshoe game. And then he crept around the end of the last
manger and disappeared.
The sun streaks were high on the wall by now, and the light was growing soft in the barn.
Curley’s wife lay on her back, and she was half covered with hay.
It was very quiet in the barn, and the quiet of the afternoon was on the ranch. Even the
clang of the pitched shoes, even the voices of the men in the game seemed to grow
more quiet. The air in the barn was dusky in advance of the outside day. A pigeon flew
in through the open hay door and circled and flew out again. Around the last stall came
a shepherd bitch, lean and long, with heavy, hanging dugs. Halfway to the packing box
where the puppies were she caught the dead scent of Curley’s wife, and the hair rose
along her spine. She whimpered and cringed to the packing box, and jumped in among
the puppies.
Curley’s wife lay with a half-covering of yellow hay. And the meanness and the plannings
and the discontent and the ache for attention were all gone from her face. She was
very pretty and simple, and her face was sweet and young. Now her rouged cheeks and
her reddened lips made her seem alive and sleeping very lightly. The curls, tiny little
sausages, were spread on the hay behind her head, and her lips were parted.
As happens sometimes, a moment settled and hovered and remained for much more
than a moment. And sound stopped and movement stopped for much, much more than
a moment.
Of Mice and Men
5 Answer all parts of the following
question.
(a) Explore how the language in the extract
influences your view of what takes place
after the death of Curley’s wife.
You must include examples of language
features in your response.
(16)
(b) This extract shows an important event.
Explore how an important event is
presented in one other part of the novel.
Use examples of the language the writer
uses to support your ideas.
(24)
June 2012
Mice and Men Chapter 3
Then Curley's rage exploded. "Come on, ya big bastard. Get up on
your feet. No big son-of-a-bitch is gonna laugh at me. I'll show ya
who's yella."
Lennie looked helplessly at George, and then he got up and tried
to retreat. Curley was balanced and poised. He slashed at Lennie
with his left, and then smashed down his nose with a right. Lennie
gave a cry of terror. Blood welled from his nose. "George," he
cried. "Make 'um let me alone, George." He backed until he was against
the wall, and Curley followed, slugging him in the face. Lennie's
hands remained at his sides; he was too frightened to defend himself.
George was on his feet yelling, "Get him, Lennie. Don't let him do
it."
Lennie covered his face with his huge paws and bleated with
terror. He cried, "Make 'um stop, George." Then Curley attacked his
stomach and cut off his wind.
Slim jumped up. "The dirty little rat," he cried, "I'll get 'um
myself."
George put out his hand and grabbed Slim. "Wait a minute," he
shouted. He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "Get 'im,
Lennie!"
Lennie took his hands away from his face and looked about for
George, and Curley slashed at his eyes. The big face was covered
with blood. George yelled again, "I said get him."
Curley's fist was swinging when Lennie reached for it. The next
minute Curley was flopping like a fish on a line, and his closed
fist was lost in Lennie's big hand. George ran down the room. "Leggo
of him, Lennie. Let go."
But Lennie watched in terror the flopping little man whom he held.
Blood ran down Lennie's face, one of his eyes was cut and closed.
George slapped him in the face again and again, and still Lennie
held on to the closed fist. Curley was white and shrunken by now,
and his struggling had become weak. He stood crying, his fist lost
in Lennie's paw.
George shouted over and over. "Leggo his hand, Lennie. Leggo.
Slim, come help me while the guy got any hand left."
Suddenly Lennie let go his hold. He crouched cowering against the
wall. "You tol' me to, George," he said miserably.
Curley sat down on the floor, looking in wonder at his crushed hand.
Slim and Carlson bent over him. Then Slim straightened up and regarded
Lennie with horror. "We got to get him in to a doctor," he said.
"Looks to me like ever' bone in his han' is bust."
"I didn't wanta," Lennie cried. "I didn't wanta hurt him."
Of Mice and Men
5 Answer all parts of the following question.
(a) Explore how the language in the extract
influences your view of Curley.
You must include examples of language features in
your answer.
(16)
(b)
Explore what you learn about Curley in one other
part of the novel.
You must use examples of the language the writer
uses to support your ideas.
(24)
November 2012
Extract taken from Section 3.
From his pocket Carlson took a little leather thong. He stooped over and tied it around
the dog’s neck. All the men except Candy watched him. ‘Come, boy. Come on, boy,’ he
said gently. And he said apologetically to Candy, ‘He won’t even feel it.’ Candy did not
move nor answer him. He twitched the thong. ‘Come on, boy.’ The old dog got slowly
and stiffly to his feet and followed the gently pulling leash.
Slim said, ‘Carlson.’
‘Yeah?’
‘You know what to do.’
‘What ya mean, Slim?’
‘Take a shovel,’ said Slim shortly.
‘Oh, sure! I get you.’ He led the dog out into the darkness.
George followed to the door and shut the door and set the latch gently in its place.
Candy lay rigidly on his bed staring at the ceiling.
Slim said loudly, ‘One of my lead mules got a bad hoof. Got to get some tar on it.’ His
voice trailed off. It was silent outside. Carlson’s footsteps died away. The silence came
into the room. And the silence lasted.
George chuckled, ‘I bet Lennie’s right out there in the barn with his pup. He won’t want
to come in here no more now he’s got a pup.’
Slim said, ‘Candy, you can have any one of them pups you want.’
Candy did not answer. The silence fell on the room again. It came out of the night and
invaded the room. George said, ‘Anybody like to play a little euchre?’
‘I’ll play out a few with you,’ said Whit.
They took places opposite each other at the table under the light, but George did not
shuffle the cards. He rippled the edge of the deck nervously, and the little snapping
noise drew the eyes of all the men in the room, so that he stopped doing it. The silence
fell on the room again. A minute passed, and another minute. Candy lay still, staring
at the ceiling. Slim gazed at him for a moment and then looked down at his hands; he
subdued one hand with the other, and held it down. There came a little gnawing sound
from under the floor and all the men looked down toward it gratefully. Only Candy
continued to stare at the ceiling.
‘Sounds like there was a rat under there,’ said George. ‘We ought to get a trap down
there.’
Whit broke out, ‘What the hell’s takin’ him so long? Lay out some cards, why don’t you?
We ain’t going to get no euchre played this way.’
George brought the cards together tightly and studied the backs of them. The silence
was in the room again.
A shot sounded in the distance. The men looked quickly at the old man. Every head
turned toward him.
For a moment he continued to stare at the ceiling. Then he rolled slowly over and faced
the wall and lay silent.
Of Mice and Men
5 Answer (a) and (b).
(a) Explore how the language in the extract influences your
view of the reactions to
the events described.
You must include examples of language features in your
answer.
(16)
(b) In the extract, the men react to the incident involving
Candy’s dog.
Explore an event and the reactions to it in one other part of
the novel.
You must use examples of the language the writer uses to
support your ideas.
(24)
January 2013
Of Mice and Men
Extract taken from Section 3.
Slim and George came into the darkening bunk house together. Slim reached up over
the card table and turned on the tin-shaded electric light. Instantly the table was brilliant
with light, and the cone of the shade threw its brightness straight downward, leaving
the corners of the bunk house still in dusk. Slim sat down on a box and George took his
place opposite.
‘It wasn’t nothing,’ said Slim. ‘I would of had to drowned most of ’em anyways. No need
to thank me about that.’
George said, ‘It wasn’t much to you, maybe, but it was a hell of a lot to him. Jesus Christ,
I don’t know how we’re gonna get him to sleep in here. He’ll want to sleep right out in
the barn with ’em. We’ll have trouble keepin’ him from getting right in the box with them
pups.’
‘It wasn’t nothing,’ Slim repeated. ‘Say, you sure was right about him. Maybe he ain’t
bright but I never seen such a worker. He damn near killed his partner buckin’ barley.
There ain’t nobody can keep up with him. God awmighty I never seen such a strong guy.’
George spoke proudly. ‘Jus’ tell Lennie what to do an’ he’ll do it if it don’t take no figuring.
He can’t think of nothing to do himself, but he sure can take orders.’
There was a clang of horseshoe on iron stake outside and a little cheer of voices.
Slim moved back slightly so the light was not on his face. ‘Funny how you an’ him string
along together.’ It was Slim’s calm invitation to confidence.
‘What’s funny about it?’ George demanded defensively.
‘Oh, I dunno. Hardly none of the guys ever travel together. I hardly never seen two
guys travel together. You know how the hands are, they just come in and get their bunk
and work a month, and then they quit and go out alone. Never seem to give a damn
about nobody. It jus’ seems kinda funny a cuckoo like him and a smart little guy like you
travelin’ together.’
‘He ain’t no cuckoo,’ said George. ‘He’s dumb as hell, but he ain’t crazy. An’ I ain’t so bright
neither, or I wouldn’t be buckin’ barley for my fifty and found. If I was bright, if I was even
a little bit smart, I’d have my own little place, an’ I’d be bringin’ in my own crops, ’stead of
doin’ all the work and not getting what comes up outta the ground.’ George fell silent.
He wanted to talk. Slim neither encouraged nor discouraged him. He just sat back quiet
and receptive.
‘It ain’t so funny, him an’ me goin’ aroun’ together,’ George said at last. ‘Him and me was
both born in Auburn. I knowed his Aunt Clara. She took him when he was a baby and
raised him up. When his Aunt Clara died, Lennie just come along with me out workin’.
Got kinda used to each other after a little while.’
Of Mice and Men
5 Answer all parts of the following question.
(a) Explore how the language in the extract
influences your view of the relationship
between Slim and George.
You must include examples of language features
in your response.
(16)
(b) In this extract, we learn about George’s
character.
Explore the character of George in one other part
of the novel.
You must use examples of the language the writer
uses to support your ideas.
(24)
June 2013
To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird
Extract taken from Chapter XXVIII
I felt the sand go cold under my feet and I knew we were near the big oak. Jem pressed
my head. We stopped and listened.
Shuffle-foot had not stopped with us this time. His trousers swished softly and steadily.
Then they stopped. He was running, running towards us with no child’s steps.
‘Run, Scout! Run! Run!’ Jem screamed.
I took one giant step and found myself reeling: my arms useless, in the dark, I could not
keep my balance.
‘Jem, Jem, help me, Jem!’
Something crushed the chicken wire around me. Metal ripped on metal and I fell to
the ground and rolled as far as I could, floundering to escape my wire prison. From
somewhere near by came scuffling, kicking sounds, sounds of shoes and flesh scraping
dirt and roots. Someone rolled against me and I felt Jem. He was up like lightning and
pulling me with him but though my head and shoulders were free, I was so entangled we
didn’t get very far.
We were nearly to the road when I felt Jem’s hand leave me, felt him jerk backwards to
the ground. More scuffling, and there came a dull crunching sound and Jem screamed.
I ran in the direction of Jem’s scream and sank into a flabby male stomach. Its owner
said, ‘Uff!’ and tried to catch my arms, but they were tightly pinioned. His stomach was
soft but his arms were like steel. He slowly squeezed the breath out of me. I could not
move. Suddenly he was jerked backwards and flung to the ground, almost carrying me
with him. I thought, Jem’s up.
One’s mind works very slowly at times. Stunned, I stood there dumbly. The scuffling
noises were dying; someone wheezed and the night was still again.
Still but for a man breathing heavily, breathing heavily and staggering. I thought he
went to the tree and leaned against it. He coughed violently, a sobbing, bone-shaking
cough.
‘Jem?’
There was no answer but the man’s heavy breathing.
‘Jem?’
Jem didn’t answer.
The man began moving around, as if searching for something. I heard him groan and
pull something heavy along the ground. It was slowly coming to me that there were
now four people under the tree.
‘Atticus…?’
The man was walking heavily and unsteadily towards the road.
I went to where I thought he had been and felt frantically along the ground, reaching out
with my toes. Presently I touched someone.
‘Jem?’
My toes touched trousers, a belt-buckle, buttons, something I could not identify, a collar
and a face. A prickly stubble on the face told me it was not Jem’s. I smelled stale whisky.
To Kill a Mockingbird
8 Answer all parts of the following question.
(a) Explore how the language in the extract influences your
view of Scout’s terrifying
experience.
You must include examples of language features in your
answer.
(16)
(b) The extract describes an important event.
Explore how the writer presents an important event which
takes place in one
other part of the novel.
You must use examples of the language the writer uses to
support your ideas.
(24)
(Total for Question 8 = 40 marks)
June 2011
To Kill a Mockingbird
Extract taken from Chapter XI.
What Jem did was something I’d do as a matter of course had I not been under Atticus’s
interdict, which I assumed included not fighting horrible old ladies. We had just come
to her gate when Jem snatched my baton and ran flailing wildly up the steps into
Mrs Dubose’s front yard, forgetting everything Atticus had said, forgetting that she
packed a pistol under her shawls, forgetting that if Mrs Dubose missed, her girl Jessie
probably wouldn’t.
He did not begin to calm down until he had cut the tops off every camellia bush Mrs
Dubose owned, until the ground was littered with green buds and leaves. He bent my
baton against his knee, snapped it in two and threw it down.
By that time I was shrieking. Jem yanked my hair, said he didn’t care, he’d do it again if he
got a chance, and if I didn’t shut up he’d pull every hair out of my head. I didn’t shut up
and he kicked me. I lost my balance and fell on my face. Jem picked me up roughly but
looked like he was sorry. There was nothing to say.
We did not choose to meet Atticus coming home that evening. We skulked around the
kitchen until Calpurnia threw us out. By some voo-doo system Calpurnia seemed to
know all about it. She was a less than satisfactory source of palliation, but she did give
Jem a hot biscuit-and-butter which he tore in half and shared with me. It tasted like
cotton.
We went to the living room. I picked up a football magazine, found a picture of Dixie
Howell, showed it to Jem and said, ‘This looks like you.’ That was the nicest thing I could
think to say to him, but it was no help. He sat by the windows, hunched down in a
rocking chair, scowling, waiting. Daylight faded.
Two geological ages later, we heard the soles of Atticus’s shoes scrape the front steps.
The screen door slammed, there was a pause – Atticus was at the hat-rack in the hall –
and we heard him call, ‘Jem!’ His voice was like the winter wind.
Atticus switched on the ceiling-light in the living-room and found us there, frozen still.
He carried my baton in one hand; its filthy yellow tassel trailed on the rug. He held out
his other hand; it contained fat camellia buds.
‘Jem,’ he said, ‘are you responsible for this?’
‘Yes sir.’
‘Why’d you do it?’
Jem said softly, ‘She said you lawed for niggers and trash.’
‘You did this because she said that?’
Jem’s lips moved, but his, ‘Yes sir,’ was inaudible.
‘Son, I have no doubt that you’ve been annoyed by your contemporaries about
me lawing for niggers, as you say, but to do something like this to a sick old lady is
inexcusable. I strongly advise you to go down and have a talk with Mrs Dubose,’ said
Atticus. ‘Come straight home afterwards.’
To Kill a Mockingbird
8 Answer all parts of the following question.
(a) Explore how the language in the extract influences
your view of Jem’s relationship
with his family.
You must include examples of language features in
your answer.
(16)
(b) In the extract we see the importance of family
relationships.
Explore the relationships in the Finch family in one
other part of the novel.
You must use examples of the language the writer
uses to support your ideas.
(24)
(Total for Question 8 = 40 marks)
January 2012
To Kill a Mockingbird
Extract taken from Chapter VII.
That fall was a long one, hardly cool enough for a light jacket. Jem and I were trotting in
our orbit one mild October afternoon when our knot-hole stopped us again. Something
white was inside this time.
Jem let me do the honours; I pulled out two small images carved in soap. One was the
figure of a boy, the other wore a crude dress.
Before I remembered that there was no such thing as hoo-dooing, I shrieked and threw
them down.
Jem snatched them up. ‘What’s the matter with you? he yelled. He rubbed the figures free
of red dust. ‘These are good,’ he said. ‘I’ve never seen any these good.’
He held them down to me. They were almost perfect miniatures of two children. The boy
had on shorts, and a shock of soapy hair fell to his eyebrows. I looked up at Jem. A point
of straight brown hair kicked downwards from his parting. I had never noticed it before.
Jem looked from the girl-doll to me. The girl-doll wore bangs. So did I.
‘These are us,’ he said.
‘Who did ’em, you reckon?’
‘Who do we know around here who whittles?’ he asked.
‘Mr Avery.’
‘Mr Avery just does like this. I mean carves.’
Mr Avery averaged a stick of stovewood per week; he honed it down to a toothpick and
chewed it.
‘There’s old Miss Stephanie Crawford’s sweetheart,’ I said.
‘He carves all right, but he lives down the country. When would he ever pay any attention
to us?’
‘Maybe he sits on the porch and looks at us instead of Miss Stephanie. If I was him, I would.’
Jem stared at me so long I asked what was the matter, but got Nothing, Scout for an
answer. When we went home, Jem put the dolls in his trunk.
Less than two weeks later we found a whole package of chewing-gum, which we enjoyed,
the fact that everything on the Radley Place was poison having slipped Jem’s memory.
The following week the knot-hole yielded a tarnished medal. Jem showed it to Atticus,
who said it was a spelling medal, that before we were born the Maycomb County schools
had spelling contests and awarded medals to the winners. Atticus said someone must
have lost it, and had we asked around? Jem camel-kicked me when I tried to say where we
had found it. Jem asked Atticus if he remembered anybody who ever won one, and Atticus
said no.
Our biggest prize appeared four days later. It was a pocket-watch that wouldn’t run, on a
chain with an aluminium knife.
‘You reckon it’s white gold, Jem?’
‘Don’t know. I’ll show it to Atticus.’
Atticus said it would probably be worth ten dollars, knife, chain and all, if it were new.
To Kill a Mockingbird
8 Answer all parts of the following question.
(a) Explore how the language in the extract influences
your view of the incident of
the gifts in the knot-hole.
You must include examples of language features in your
answer.
(16)
(b) This extract shows how Jem and Scout react to this
important incident.
Explore how Scout reacts to an important incident in
one other part of the novel.
You must use examples of the language the writer uses
to support your ideas.
(24)
June 2012
To kill a mocking bird Chapter 21
Atticus had stopped his tranquil journey and had put his foot onto the bottom rung
of a chair; as he listened to what Mr. Tate was saying, he ran his hand slowly up and
down his thigh. I expected Mr. Tate to say any minute, “Take him, Mr. Finch…” But
Mr. Tate said, “This court will come to order,” in a voice that rang with authority, and
the heads below us jerked up. Mr. Tate left the room and returned with Tom
Robinson. He steered Tom to his place beside Atticus, and stood there. Judge Taylor
had roused himself to sudden alertness and was sitting up straight, looking at the
empty jury box. What happened after that had a dreamlike quality: in a dream I saw
the jury return, moving like underwater swimmers, and Judge Taylor’s voice came
from far away and was tiny. I saw something only a lawyer’s child could be expected
to see, could be expected to watch for, and it was like watching Atticus walk into the
street, raise a rifle to his shoulder and pull the trigger, but watching all the time
knowing that the gun was empty. A jury never looks at a defendant it has convicted,
and when this jury came in, not one of them looked at Tom Robinson. The foreman
handed a piece of paper to Mr. Tate who handed it to the clerk who handed it to the
judge… I shut my eyes. Judge Taylor was polling the jury: “Guilty… guilty… guilty…
guilty…” I peeked at Jem: his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and
his shoulders jerked as if each “guilty” was a separate stab between them. Judge
Taylor was saying something. His gavel was in his fist, but he wasn’t using it. Dimly, I
saw Atticus pushing papers from the table into his briefcase. He snapped it shut,
went to the court reporter and said something, nodded to Mr. Gilmer, and then went
to Tom Robinson and whispered something to him. Atticus put his hand on Tom’s
shoulder as he whispered. Atticus took his coat off the back of his chair and pulled it
over his shoulder. Then he left the courtroom, but not by his usual exit. He must
have wanted to go home the short way, because he walked quickly down the middle
aisle toward the south exit. I followed the top of his head as he made his way to the
door. He did not look up. Someone was punching me, but I was reluctant to take my
eyes from the people below us, and from the image of Atticus’s lonely walk down
the aisle. “Miss Jean Louise?” I looked around. They were standing. All around us
and in the balcony on the opposite wall, the Negroes were getting to their feet.
Reverend Sykes’s voice was as distant as Judge Taylor’s: “Miss Jean Louise, stand up.
Your father’s passin’.”
To Kill a Mockingbird
8 Answer all parts of the following question.
(a) Explore how the language in the extract influences
your view of Scou’t description of events in the
courtroom.
You must include examples of language features in
your answer.
(16)
(b) In the extract we see a dramatic event
Explore another dramatic event in one other part of
the novel.
You must use examples of the language the writer
uses to support your ideas.
(24)
(Total for Question 8 = 40 marks)
November 2012
To Kill a Mockingbird
Extract taken from Chapter XII.
First Purchase African M.E. Church was in the Quarters outside the southern town limits, across
the old sawmill tracks. It was an ancient paint-peeled frame building, the only church in
Maycomb with a steeple and bell, called First Purchase because it was paid for from the first
earnings of freed slaves. Negroes worshipped in it on Sundays and white men gambled in it on
weekdays.
The churchyard was brick-hard clay, as was the cemetery beside it. If someone died during a
dry spell, the body was covered with chunks of ice until rain softened the earth. A few graves in
the cemetery were marked with crumbling tombstones; newer ones were outlined with brightly
coloured glass and broken Coca-Cola bottles. Lightning rods guarding some graves denoted
dead who rested uneasily; stumps of burned-out candles stood at the heads of infant graves. It
was a happy cemetery.
The warm bittersweet smell of clean Negro welcomed us as we entered the churchyard—Hearts
of Love hairdressing mingled with asafoetida, snuff, Hoyt’s Cologne, Brown’s Mule, peppermint,
and lilac talcum.
When they saw Jem and me with Calpurnia, the men stepped back and took off their hats;
the women crossed their arms at their waists, weekday gestures of respectful attention. They
parted and made a small pathway to the church door for us. Calpurnia walked between Jem
and me, responding to the greetings of her brightly clad neighbours.
‘What you up to, Miss Cal?’ said a voice behind us.
Calpurnia’s hands went to our shoulders and we stopped and looked around; standing in the
path behind us was a tall Negro woman. Her weight was on one leg; she rested her left elbow
in the curve of her hip, pointing at us with upturned palm. She was bullet-headed with strange
almond-shaped eyes, straight nose, and an Indian-bow mouth. She seemed seven feet high.
I felt Calpurnia’s hand dig into my shoulder. ‘What you want, Lula?’ she asked, in tones I had
never heard her use. She spoke quietly, contemptuously.
‘I wants to know why you bringin’ white chillun to nigger church.’
‘They’s my comp’ny,’ said Calpurnia. Again I thought her voice strange: she was talking like the
rest of them.
‘Yeah, an’ I reckon you’s comp’ny at the Finch house durin’ the week.’
A murmur ran through the crowd. ‘Don’t you fret,’ Calpurnia whispered to me, but the roses on
her hat trembled indignantly.
When Lula came up the pathway towards us Calpurnia said, ‘Stop right there, nigger.’
Lula stopped, but she said, ‘You ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillun here—they got their
church, we got our’n. It is our church, ain’t it, Miss Cal?’
Calpurnia said, ‘It’s the same God, ain’t it?’
Jem said, ‘Let’s go home, Cal, they don’t want us here—’
I agreed: they did not want us here. I sensed, rather than saw, that we were being advanced
upon. They seemed to be drawing closer to us, but when I looked up at Calpurnia there was
amusement in her eyes.
To Kill a Mockingbird
8 Answer (a) and (b).
(a) Explore how the language in the extract
influences your view of the visit of Scout
and Jem to the church.
You must include examples of language features
in your answer.
(16)
(b) Scout and Jem visit different places in
Maycomb County.
Explore how Scout and Jem react to a place they
visit in one other part of the
novel.
You must use examples of the language the
writer uses to support your ideas.
(24)
January 2013
To Kill a Mockingbird
Extract taken from Chapter 10 (X).
Tim Johnson was advancing at a snail’s pace, but he was not playing or sniffing at foliage:
he seemed dedicated to one course and motivated by an invisible force that was inching
him towards us. We could see him shiver like a horse shedding flies; his jaw opened and
shut; he was alist, but he was being pulled gradually towards us.
‘He’s lookin’ for a place to die,’ said Jem.
Mr Tate turned around. ‘He’s far from dead, Jem, he hasn’t got started yet.’
Tim Johnson reached the side-street that ran in front of the Radley Place, and what
remained of his poor mind made him pause and seem to consider which road he would
take. He made a few hesitant steps and stopped in front of the Radley gate; then he tried
to turn around, but was having difficulty.
Atticus said, ‘He’s within range, Heck. You better get him now before he goes down the
side street – Lord knows who’s around the corner. Go inside, Cal.’
Calpurnia opened the screen door, latched it behind her, then unlatched it and held on to
the hook. She tried to block Jem and me with her body, but we looked out from beneath
her arms.
‘Take him, Mr Finch.’ Mr Tate handed the rifle to Atticus; Jem and I nearly fainted.
‘Don’t waste time, Heck,’ said Atticus. ‘Go on.’
‘Mr Finch, this is a one-shot job.’
Atticus shook his head vehemently: ‘Don’t just stand there, Heck! He won’t wait all day
for you – ’
‘For God’s sake, Mr Finch, look where he is! Miss and you’ll go straight into the Radley
house! I can’t shoot that well and you know it!’
‘I haven’t shot a gun in thirty years – ’
Mr Tate almost threw the rifle at Atticus. ‘I’d feel mighty comfortable if you did now,’ he
said.
In a fog, Jem and I watched our father take the gun and walk out into the middle of the
street. He walked quickly, but I thought he moved like an underwater swimmer; time
had slowed to a nauseating crawl.
When Atticus raised his glasses Calpurnia murmured, ‘Sweet Jesus help him,’ and put her
hands to her cheeks.
Atticus pushed his glasses to his forehead; they slipped down, and he dropped them in
the street. In the silence, I heard them crack. Atticus rubbed his eyes and chin; we saw
him blink hard.
In front of the Radley gate, Tim Johnson had made up what was left of his mind. He had
finally turned himself around, to pursue his original course up our street. He made two
steps forward, then stopped and raised his head. We saw his body go rigid.
With movements so swift they seemed simultaneous, Atticus’s hand yanked a ball-tipped
lever as he brought the gun to his shoulder.
The rifle cracked. Tim Johnson leaped, flopped over and crumpled on the sidewalk in a
brown-and-white heap. He didn’t know what hit him.
To Kill a Mockingbird
8 Answer all parts of the following question.
(a) Explore how the language in the extract
influences your view of the character of
Atticus.
You must include examples of language features
in your response.
(16)
(b) In this extract, the character of Atticus is
presented.
Explore the character of Atticus in one other
part of the novel.
You must use examples of the language the
writer uses to support your ideas.
(24)
June 2013
SECTION B: WRITING - 24 marks
Answer ONE question in this section.
EITHER
9 Your local newspaper is publishing a special edition about the 2012 London Olympic
Games. The newspaper wants to include young people’s views.
Write a contribution which gives your views about the 2012 London Olympic Games.
OR
10 Write a magazine article which explains the importance of one modern invention that
you think has really changed people’s lives.
9 Write an article on personal safety for a website for young people.
OR
10 Your local newspaper has published an article with the title ‘Mobile phones are
essential for modern life’.
Write a letter to the newspaper giving your views on this topic.
*9 There have been a number of serious traffic accidents involving children on a busy
road in your area.
Write a letter to your local Council, suggesting ways in which such accidents could be
avoided.
OR
*10Write an article for a teenage magazine in which you explain what changes teenagers
could make to their lives and why.
*9 ‘Young people spend too much money on clothes and are too often influenced by
brands and designer labels.’
Write an article to be included in an online magazine, giving your views on this topic.
OR
*1 0 Your School or College Council wants to appoint new student members to make sure
students’ views are represented.
Write the text of a speech you would deliver to the Council giving reasons why you
should be appointed.
*9 A teenage magazine is including articles on the topic ‘Everybody needs a role model’.
Write an article for the magazine describing your chosen role model.
OR
*1 0 Many schools and colleges help a charity by having a ‘Make a Difference Day’.
Write the text for a speech to give to a class or group, explaining your ideas for such a
day in your school or college.