Insert
The source that follows is:
- Source A: 19th-century prose fiction
- Thérèse Raquin by Émile Zola
An extract from a work first published in 1867.
This extract is taken from Émile Zola’s Thérèse Raquin, during a twilight boat trip on the Seine, where the oppressive atmosphere builds to a struggle between Laurent and Camille, while Thérèse, paralysed by fear, watches as a boating party hears cries and rows over.
Source A
1 Twilight came. Huge shadows fell from the trees, and the water ran black at the edges. In the middle of the river were great, pale, silver trails. The boat was soon in full steam. There, all the sounds of the quays softened; the singing, and the cries came vague and melancholy, with sad languidness. The odour of frying and dust had passed away. The air freshened. It turned cold.
6 Laurent, resting on his skulls, allowed the boat to drift along in the current. Opposite, rose the great reddish mass of trees on the islands. The two sombre
11 brown banks, patched with grey, were like a couple of broad bands stretching towards the horizon. The water and sky seemed as if cut from the same whitish piece of material. Nothing looks more painfully calm than an autumn twilight. The sun rays pale in the quivering air, the old trees cast their leaves. The country, scorched by the ardent beams of summer, feels death coming with the
16 first cold winds. And, in the sky, there are plaintive sighs of despair. Night falls from above, bringing winding sheets in its shade. The party were silent. Seated at the bottom of the boat drifting with the stream, they watched the final gleams of light quitting the tall branches.
21 They approached the islands. The great russety masses grew sombre; all the landscape became simplified in the twilight; the Seine, the sky, the islands, the slopes were naught but brown and grey patches which faded away amidst milky fog.
26 Camille, who had ended by lying down on his stomach, with his head over the water, dipped his hands in the river. “The deuce! How cold it is!” he exclaimed. “It would not be pleasant to go in there head foremost.”
31 Laurent did not answer. For an instant he had been observing the two banks of the river with uneasiness. He advanced his huge hands to his knees, tightly compressing his lips. Thérèse, rigid and motionless, with her head thrown slightly backward, waited.
36 The skiff was about to enter a small arm of the river, that was sombre and narrow, penetrating between two islands. Behind one of these islands could be distinguished the softened melody of a boating party who seemed to be ascending the Seine. Up the river in the distance, the water was free.
41 Then Laurent rose and grasped Camille round the body. The clerk burst into laughter. “Ah, no, you tickle me,” said he, “none of those jokes. Look here, stop;
46 you’ll make me fall over.” Laurent grasped him tighter, and gave a jerk. Camille turning round, perceived the terrifying face of his friend, violently agitated. He failed to understand. He was seized with vague terror. He wanted to shout, and felt a
51 rough hand seize him by the throat. With the instinct of an animal on the defensive, he rose to his knees, clutching the side of the boat, and struggled for a few seconds. “Thérèse! Thérèse!” he called in a stifling, sibilant voice.
56 The young woman looked at him, clinging with both hands to the seat. The skiff creaked and danced upon the river. She could not close her eyes, a frightful contraction kept them wide open riveted on the hideous struggle. She remained rigid and mute.
61 “Thérèse! Thérèse!” again cried the unfortunate man who was in the throes of death. At this final appeal, Thérèse burst into sobs. Her nerves had given way. The
66 attack she had been dreading, cast her to the bottom of the boat, where she remained doubled up in a swoon, and as if dead. Laurent continued tugging at Camille, pressing with one hand on his throat. With the other hand he ended by tearing his victim away from the side of the
71 skiff, and held him up in the air, in his powerful arms, like a child. As he bent down his head, his victim, mad with rage and terror, twisted himself round, and reaching forward with his teeth, buried them in the neck of his aggressor. And when the murderer, restraining a yell of pain, abruptly flung the clerk into the river, the latter carried a piece of his flesh away with
76 him. Camille fell into the water with a shriek. He returned to the surface two or three times, uttering cries that were more and more hollow.
81 Laurent, without losing a second, raised the collar of his coat to hide his wound. Then seizing the unconscious Thérèse in his arms, he capsized the skiff with his foot, as he fell into the Seine with the young woman, whom he supported on the surface, whilst calling in a lamentable voice for help.
86 The boating party he had heard singing behind the point of the island, understanding that an accident had happened, advanced with long, rapid strokes of the oars, and rescued the immerged couple. While Thérèse was laid on a bench, Laurent gave vent to his despair at the death of his friend. Plunging into the water again, he searched for Camille in places where he knew he was
91 not to be found, and returned in tears, wringing his hands, and tearing his hair, while the boating party did their best to calm and console him.
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 turned cold?
- the air
- the water
- the boat
[1 mark]
1.2 What had passed away?
- the odour of frying and dust
- the singing and the cries
- the huge shadows
[1 mark]
1.3 Where were the great, pale, silver trails?
- in the middle of the river
- at the edges
- at the quays
[1 mark]
1.4 According to the narrator, how do the sounds from the quays change at twilight?
- The sounds from the quays become softer and more mournful.
- The sounds from the quays grow louder and more festive.
- The sounds from the quays are completely drowned out by the river.
[1 mark]
Question 2
Look in detail at this extract, from lines 6 to 15 of the source:
6 Laurent, resting on his skulls, allowed the boat to drift along in the current. Opposite, rose the great reddish mass of trees on the islands. The two sombre
11 brown banks, patched with grey, were like a couple of broad bands stretching towards the horizon. The water and sky seemed as if cut from the same whitish piece of material. Nothing looks more painfully calm than an autumn twilight. The sun rays pale in the quivering air, the old trees cast their leaves. The country, scorched by the ardent beams of summer, feels death coming with the
How does the writer use language here to present the river at autumn twilight and the mood it creates? 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 tension?
You could write about:
- how tension 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 16 to the end.
In this part of the source, Laurent’s actions after the murder seem very detailed and dramatic. The writer suggests that this performance of grief reveals just how cold and calculating he truly is.
To what extent do you agree and/or disagree with this statement?
In your response, you could:
- consider your impressions of Laurent's behaviour after murdering Camille
- comment on the methods the writer uses to portray his cold calculating nature
- support your response with references to the text.
[20 marks]
Question 5
Green Roots magazine is running a spring feature on the natural world and invites short creative writing from readers.
Choose one of the options below for your entry.
-
Option A: Describe a cool, shaded woodland clearing from your imagination. You may choose to use the picture provided for ideas:
-
Option B: Write the opening of a story about losing your bearings and finding your way back.
(24 marks for content and organisation, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]