Insert
The source that follows is:
- Source A: 20th-century prose fiction
- An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
An extract from a work first published in 1925.
This extract is taken from Theodore Dreiser’s An American Tragedy (1925), as a young woman, terrified of scandal and family shame, seeks medical help for a suspected pregnancy; the doctor, wary and moralizing, avoids involvement, exposing social pressures, judgment, and the limits of compassion.
Source A
1 I have to get out of this in some way! I have to. It isn't like I told you at all. I'm not married. I haven't any husband at all. But, oh, you don't know what this means to me. My family! My
6 father! My mother! I can't tell you. But I must get out of it. I must! I must! Oh, you don't know, you don't know! I must! I must!" She began to rock backward and forward, at the same time swaying from side to
11 side as in a trance. And Glenn, surprised and startled by this sudden demonstration as well as emotionally affected, and yet at the same time advised thereby that his original surmise had been correct, and hence
16 that Roberta had been lying, as well as that if he wished to keep himself out of this he must now assume a firm and even heartless attitude, asked solemnly: "You are
21 not married, you say?" For answer now Roberta merely shook her head negatively and continued to cry. And at last gathering the full import of her situation, Dr. Glenn got up, his
26 face a study of troubled and yet conservative caution and sympathy. But without saying anything at first he merely looked at her as she wept. Later he added: "Well, well, this is too bad. I'm
31 sorry." But fearing to commit himself in any way, he merely paused, adding after a time soothingly and dubiously: "You mustn't cry. That won't help you any." He then paused again, still
36 determined not to have anything to do with this case. Yet a bit curious as to the true nature of the story he finally asked: "Well, then where is the young man who
41 is the cause of your trouble? Is he here?" Still too overcome by shame and despair to speak, Roberta merely shook her head negatively. "But he knows that you're in trouble, doesn't he?"
46 "Yes," replied Roberta faintly. "And he won't marry you?" "He's gone away."
51 "Oh, I see. The young scamp! And don't you know where he's gone?" "No," lied Roberta, weakly. "How long has it been since he left you?" "About a week now." Once more she lied. "And you don't know where he is?"
56 "No." "How long has it been since you were sick?"
61 "Over two weeks now," sobbed Roberta. "And before that you have always been regular?" "Yes."
66 "Well, in the first place," his tone was more comfortable and pleasant than before--he seemed to be snatching at a plausible excuse for extricating himself from a case which promised little other than danger
71 and difficulty, "this may not be as serious as you think. I know you're probably very much frightened, but it's not unusual for women to miss a period. At any rate,
76 without an examination it wouldn't be possible to be sure, and even if you were, the most advisable thing would be to wait another two weeks. You may find then that there is
81 nothing wrong. I wouldn't be surprised if you did. You seem to be oversensitive and nervous and that sometimes brings about delays of this kind--mere nervousness. At any rate, if you'll take my advice, whatever
86 you do, you'll not do anything now but just go home and wait until you're really sure. For even if anything were to be done, it wouldn't be advisable for you to do anything before then."
91 "But I've already taken some pills and they haven't helped me," pleaded Roberta. "What were they?" asked Glenn interestedly, and, after he had learned, merely commented: "Oh, those. Well, they wouldn't be likely to be of
96 any real service to you, if you were pregnant. But I still suggest that you wait, and if you find you pass your second period, then it will be time enough to act, although I earnestly advise you, even then, to do
101 nothing if you can help it, because I consider it wrong to interfere with nature in this way. It would be much better, if you would arrange to have the child and take care of
106 it. Then you wouldn't have the additional sin of destroying a life upon your conscience." He was very grave and felt very righteous as he said this.
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 does the speaker say must be done?
- Get out of this in some way.
- Wait here for a short time.
- Explain everything to the family.
[1 mark]
1.2 What is the speaker's marital status as revealed here?
- The speaker is unmarried.
- The speaker is newly married.
- The speaker is widowed.
[1 mark]
1.3 What does the speaker say about being married?
- I'm not married.
- I'm married now.
- I'm engaged now.
[1 mark]
1.4 Who does the speaker mention after saying 'what this means to me'?
- My family.
- My friends.
- My work.
[1 mark]
Question 2
Look in detail at this extract, from lines 6 to 110 of the source:
6 father! My mother! I can't tell you. But I must get out of it. I must! I must! Oh, you don't know, you don't know! I must! I must!" She began to rock backward and forward, at the same time swaying from side to
11 side as in a trance. And Glenn, surprised and startled by this sudden demonstration as well as emotionally affected, and yet at the same time advised thereby that his original surmise had been correct, and hence
16 that Roberta had been lying, as well as that if he wished to keep himself out of this he must now assume a firm and even heartless attitude, asked solemnly: "You are
21 not married, you say?" For answer now Roberta merely shook her head negatively and continued to cry. And at last gathering the full import of her situation, Dr. Glenn got up, his
26 face a study of troubled and yet conservative caution and sympathy. But without saying anything at first he merely looked at her as she wept. Later he added: "Well, well, this is too bad. I'm
31 sorry." But fearing to commit himself in any way, he merely paused, adding after a time soothingly and dubiously: "You mustn't cry. That won't help you any." He then paused again, still
36 determined not to have anything to do with this case. Yet a bit curious as to the true nature of the story he finally asked: "Well, then where is the young man who
41 is the cause of your trouble? Is he here?" Still too overcome by shame and despair to speak, Roberta merely shook her head negatively. "But he knows that you're in trouble, doesn't he?"
46 "Yes," replied Roberta faintly. "And he won't marry you?" "He's gone away."
51 "Oh, I see. The young scamp! And don't you know where he's gone?" "No," lied Roberta, weakly. "How long has it been since he left you?" "About a week now." Once more she lied. "And you don't know where he is?"
56 "No." "How long has it been since you were sick?"
61 "Over two weeks now," sobbed Roberta. "And before that you have always been regular?" "Yes."
66 "Well, in the first place," his tone was more comfortable and pleasant than before--he seemed to be snatching at a plausible excuse for extricating himself from a case which promised little other than danger
71 and difficulty, "this may not be as serious as you think. I know you're probably very much frightened, but it's not unusual for women to miss a period. At any rate,
76 without an examination it wouldn't be possible to be sure, and even if you were, the most advisable thing would be to wait another two weeks. You may find then that there is
81 nothing wrong. I wouldn't be surprised if you did. You seem to be oversensitive and nervous and that sometimes brings about delays of this kind--mere nervousness. At any rate, if you'll take my advice, whatever
86 you do, you'll not do anything now but just go home and wait until you're really sure. For even if anything were to be done, it wouldn't be advisable for you to do anything before then."
91 "But I've already taken some pills and they haven't helped me," pleaded Roberta. "What were they?" asked Glenn interestedly, and, after he had learned, merely commented: "Oh, those. Well, they wouldn't be likely to be of
96 any real service to you, if you were pregnant. But I still suggest that you wait, and if you find you pass your second period, then it will be time enough to act, although I earnestly advise you, even then, to do
101 nothing if you can help it, because I consider it wrong to interfere with nature in this way. It would be much better, if you would arrange to have the child and take care of
106 it. Then you wouldn't have the additional sin of destroying a life upon your conscience." He was very grave and felt very righteous as he said this.
How does the writer use language here to present Roberta’s desperation and Dr. Glenn’s immediate reaction? 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 novel.
How has the writer structured the text to create a sense of despair?
You could write about:
- how despair deepens 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 16 to the end.
In this part of the source, Dr. Glenn’s advice to Roberta might seem professional and moral. The writer suggests he is actually selfish and just wants to avoid getting involved in her problems.
To what extent do you agree and/or disagree with this statement?
In your response, you could:
- consider your impressions of Dr Glenn's selfish and unprofessional behaviour
- comment on the methods the writer uses to suggest Dr Glenn's true self-serving motivation
- support your response with references to the text.
[20 marks]
Question 5
A local youth project is inviting creative writing for a competition judged by sports personalities.
Choose one of the options below for your entry.
-
Option A: Describe a skatepark at sunset from your imagination. You may choose to use the picture provided for ideas:
-
Option B: Write the opening of a story about perseverance.
(24 marks for content and organisation, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]