Insert
The source that follows is:
- Source A: 19th-century prose fiction
- The Open Boat by Stephen Crane
An extract from a work first published in 1897.
This extract is from Stephen Crane's The Open Boat, as exhausted men in a dinghy near an indifferent shore misread signals from onlookers; hope lurches between rescue and doubt while cold and dusk deepen, highlighting isolation, irony, and the uncertainty of survival.
Source A
1 The remote beach seemed lower than the sea, and it required a searching glance to discern the little black figure. The captain saw a floating stick and they rowed to it. A bath-towel was by some weird chance in
6 the boat, and, tying this on the stick, the captain waved it. The oarsman did not dare turn his head, so he was obliged to ask questions.
11 "What's he doing now?" "He's standing still again. He's looking, I think.... There he goes again. Towards the house.... Now he's stopped again."
16 "Is he waving at us?" "No, not now! he was, though."
21 "Look! There comes another man!" "He's running." "Look at him go, would you."
26 "Why, he's on a bicycle. Now he's met the other man. They're both waving at us. Look!"
31 "There comes something up the beach." "What the devil is that thing?" "Why, it looks like a boat."
36 "Why, certainly it's a boat." "No, it's on wheels."
41 "Yes, so it is. Well, that must be the life-boat. They drag them along shore on a wagon." "That's the life-boat, sure."
46 "No, by ----, it's--it's an omnibus." "I tell you it's a life-boat."
51 "It is not! It's an omnibus. I can see it plain. See? One of these big hotel omnibuses." "By thunder, you're right. It's an omnibus, sure as fate. What do you
56 suppose they are doing with an omnibus? Maybe they are going around collecting the life-crew, hey?"
61 "That's it, likely. Look! There's a fellow waving a little black flag. He's standing on the steps of the omnibus. There come those other two fellows. Now they're all talking together. Look at the fellow with the
66 flag. Maybe he ain't waving it." "That ain't a flag, is it? That's his coat. Why certainly, that's his coat."
71 "So it is. It's his coat. He's taken it off and is waving it around his head. But would you look at him swing it."
76 "Oh, say, there isn't any life-saving station there. That's just a winter resort hotel omnibus that has brought over some of the boarders to see us drown."
81 "What's that idiot with the coat mean? What's he signaling, anyhow?" "It looks as if he were trying to tell us to go north. There must be a life-
86 saving station up there." "No! He thinks we're fishing. Just giving us a merry hand. See? Ah, there, Willie."
91 "Well, I wish I could make something out of those signals. What do you suppose he means?"
96 "He don't mean anything. He's just playing." "Well, if he'd just signal us to try the surf again, or to go to sea and wait, or go north, or go south, or go to hell--there would be some
101 reason in it. But look at him. He just stands there and keeps his coat revolving like a wheel. The ass!"
106 "There come more people." "Now there's quite a mob. Look! Isn't that a boat?" "Where? Oh, I see where you mean. No, that's no boat."
111 "That fellow is still waving his coat." "He must think we like to see him do that. Why don't he quit it? It don't mean
116 anything." "I don't know. I think he is trying to make us go north. It must be that there's a life-saving station there somewhere."
121 "Say, he ain't tired yet. Look at 'im wave." "Wonder how long he can keep that up. He's been revolving his coat ever since
126 he caught sight of us. He's an idiot. Why aren't they getting men to bring a boat out? A fishing boat--one of those big yawls--could come out here all right. Why don't he do something?"
131 "Oh, it's all right, now." "They'll have a boat out here for us in less than no time, now that they've
136 seen us." A faint yellow tone came into the sky over the low land. The shadows on the sea slowly deepened. The wind bore coldness with it, and the men
141 began to shiver. "Holy smoke!" said one, allowing his voice to express his impious mood, "if we
146 keep on monkeying out here! If we've got to flounder out here all night!" "Oh, we'll never have to stay here all night! Don't you worry. They've seen us
151 now, and it won't be long before they'll come chasing out after us." The shore grew dusky. The man waving a coat blended gradually into this gloom,
156 and it swallowed in the same manner the omnibus and the group of people. The spray, when it dashed uproariously over the side, made the voyagers shrink and swear like men who were being branded.
161 "I'd like to catch the chump who waved the coat. I feel like soaking him one, just for luck."
166 "Why? What did he do?" "Oh, nothing, but then he seemed so damned cheerful."
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 seemed lower than the sea?
- the remote beach
- the little black figure
- a floating stick
[1 mark]
1.2 What required a searching glance to discern?
- the remote beach
- the little black figure
- a floating stick
[1 mark]
1.3 What did the captain see?
- the little black figure
- the remote beach
- a floating stick
[1 mark]
1.4 What did the captain see in the water?
- A floating stick
- A buoy
- A wooden crate
[1 mark]
Question 2
Look in detail at this extract, from lines 1 to 168 of the source:
1 The remote beach seemed lower than the sea, and it required a searching glance to discern the little black figure. The captain saw a floating stick and they rowed to it. A bath-towel was by some weird chance in
6 the boat, and, tying this on the stick, the captain waved it. The oarsman did not dare turn his head, so he was obliged to ask questions.
11 "What's he doing now?" "He's standing still again. He's looking, I think.... There he goes again. Towards the house.... Now he's stopped again."
16 "Is he waving at us?" "No, not now! he was, though."
21 "Look! There comes another man!" "He's running." "Look at him go, would you."
26 "Why, he's on a bicycle. Now he's met the other man. They're both waving at us. Look!"
31 "There comes something up the beach." "What the devil is that thing?" "Why, it looks like a boat."
36 "Why, certainly it's a boat." "No, it's on wheels."
41 "Yes, so it is. Well, that must be the life-boat. They drag them along shore on a wagon." "That's the life-boat, sure."
46 "No, by ----, it's--it's an omnibus." "I tell you it's a life-boat."
51 "It is not! It's an omnibus. I can see it plain. See? One of these big hotel omnibuses." "By thunder, you're right. It's an omnibus, sure as fate. What do you
56 suppose they are doing with an omnibus? Maybe they are going around collecting the life-crew, hey?"
61 "That's it, likely. Look! There's a fellow waving a little black flag. He's standing on the steps of the omnibus. There come those other two fellows. Now they're all talking together. Look at the fellow with the
66 flag. Maybe he ain't waving it." "That ain't a flag, is it? That's his coat. Why certainly, that's his coat."
71 "So it is. It's his coat. He's taken it off and is waving it around his head. But would you look at him swing it."
76 "Oh, say, there isn't any life-saving station there. That's just a winter resort hotel omnibus that has brought over some of the boarders to see us drown."
81 "What's that idiot with the coat mean? What's he signaling, anyhow?" "It looks as if he were trying to tell us to go north. There must be a life-
86 saving station up there." "No! He thinks we're fishing. Just giving us a merry hand. See? Ah, there, Willie."
91 "Well, I wish I could make something out of those signals. What do you suppose he means?"
96 "He don't mean anything. He's just playing." "Well, if he'd just signal us to try the surf again, or to go to sea and wait, or go north, or go south, or go to hell--there would be some
101 reason in it. But look at him. He just stands there and keeps his coat revolving like a wheel. The ass!"
106 "There come more people." "Now there's quite a mob. Look! Isn't that a boat?" "Where? Oh, I see where you mean. No, that's no boat."
111 "That fellow is still waving his coat." "He must think we like to see him do that. Why don't he quit it? It don't mean
116 anything." "I don't know. I think he is trying to make us go north. It must be that there's a life-saving station there somewhere."
121 "Say, he ain't tired yet. Look at 'im wave." "Wonder how long he can keep that up. He's been revolving his coat ever since
126 he caught sight of us. He's an idiot. Why aren't they getting men to bring a boat out? A fishing boat--one of those big yawls--could come out here all right. Why don't he do something?"
131 "Oh, it's all right, now." "They'll have a boat out here for us in less than no time, now that they've
136 seen us." A faint yellow tone came into the sky over the low land. The shadows on the sea slowly deepened. The wind bore coldness with it, and the men
141 began to shiver. "Holy smoke!" said one, allowing his voice to express his impious mood, "if we
146 keep on monkeying out here! If we've got to flounder out here all night!" "Oh, we'll never have to stay here all night! Don't you worry. They've seen us
151 now, and it won't be long before they'll come chasing out after us." The shore grew dusky. The man waving a coat blended gradually into this gloom,
156 and it swallowed in the same manner the omnibus and the group of people. The spray, when it dashed uproariously over the side, made the voyagers shrink and swear like men who were being branded.
161 "I'd like to catch the chump who waved the coat. I feel like soaking him one, just for luck."
166 "Why? What did he do?" "Oh, nothing, but then he seemed so damned cheerful."
How does the writer use language here to show the men’s efforts to signal and to watch the figure on the shore? 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 uncertainty?
You could write about:
- how uncertainty intensifies throughout the source
- 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 76 to the end.
In this part of the source, it is strange that the men get angry at the person waving his coat on the shore. The writer suggests that their desperate situation makes them see a cheerful action as annoying and cruel.
To what extent do you agree and/or disagree with this statement?
In your response, you could:
- consider your impressions of the men's increasingly angry behaviour
- comment on the methods the writer uses to suggest their growing desperation
- support your response with references to the text.
[20 marks]
Question 5
A local news blog is asking for creative pieces about dramatic weather.
Choose one of the options below for your entry.
-
Option A: Describe a sudden storm from your imagination. You may choose to use the picture provided for ideas:
-
Option B: Write the opening of a story about taking shelter from an unexpected event.
(24 marks for content and organisation, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]