Insert
The source that follows is:
- Source A: 20th-century prose fiction
- Victory by Joseph Conrad
An extract from a work first published in 1915.
This extract is from Joseph Conrad’s Victory, where Davidson questions the impassive Mrs Schomberg about a runaway English orchestra girl, is shocked to learn his reserved friend Heyst is involved, and imagines the bleak, abandoned settlement of Samburan, highlighting secrecy, loneliness and social judgement.
Source A
1 Davidson viewed her profile with a flattened nose, a hollow cheek, and one staring, unwinking, goggle eye. He asked himself: Did that speak just now? Will it speak again? It was as exciting, for the mere wonder of it, as trying
6 to converse with a mechanism. A smile played about the fat features of Davidson; the smile of a man making an amusing experiment. He spoke again to her:
11 “But the other members of that orchestra were real Italians, were they not?” Of course, he didn't care. He wanted to see whether the mechanism would
16 work again. It did. It said they were not. They were of all sorts, apparently. It paused, with the one goggle eye immovably gazing down the whole length of the
21 room and through the door opening on to the “piazza.” It paused, then went on in the same low pitch: “There was even one English girl.”
26 “Poor devil!”--said Davidson, “I suppose these women are not much better than slaves really. Was that fellow with the dyed beard decent in his way?”
31 The mechanism remained silent. The sympathetic soul of Davidson drew its own conclusions. “Beastly life for these women!” he said. “When you say an English girl,
36 Mrs. Schomberg, do you really mean a young girl? Some of these orchestra girls are no chicks.” “Young enough,” came the low voice out of Mrs. Schomberg's unmoved physiognomy. Davidson, encouraged, remarked that he was sorry for her. He was
41 easily sorry for people. “Where did they go to from here?” he asked. “She did not go with them. She ran away.” This was the pronouncement Davidson obtained next. It introduced a new
46 sort of interest. “Well! Well!” he exclaimed placidly; and then, with the air of a man who knows life: “Who with?” he inquired with assurance. Mrs. Schomberg's immobility gave her an appearance of listening
51 intently. Perhaps she was really listening; but Schomberg must have been finishing his sleep in some distant part of the house. The silence was profound, and lasted long enough to
56 become startling. Then, enthroned above Davidson, she whispered at last: “That friend of yours.”
61 “Oh, you know I am here looking for a friend,” said Davidson hopefully. “Won't you tell me--” “I've told you”
66 “Eh?” A mist seemed to roll away from before Davidson's eyes, disclosing something he could not believe. “You can't mean it!” he cried. “He's not the man for
71 it.” But the last words came out in a faint voice. Mrs. Schomberg never moved her head the least bit. Davidson, after the shock which made him sit up, went slack
76 all over. “Heyst! Such a perfect gentleman!” he exclaimed weakly. Mrs. Schomberg did not seem to have heard him. This startling fact did not tally somehow with the idea Davidson had of Heyst. He never talked of women, he
81 never seemed to think of them, or to remember that they existed; and then all at once--like this! Running off with a casual orchestra girl! “You might have knocked me down with a feather,” Davidson told us some
86 time afterwards. By then he was taking an indulgent view of both the parties to that amazing transaction. First of all, on reflection, he was by no means certain that it
91 prevented Heyst from being a perfect gentleman, as before. He confronted our open grins or quiet smiles with a serious round face. Heyst had taken the girl away to Samburan; and that was
96 no joking matter. The loneliness, the ruins of the spot, had impressed Davidson's simple soul. They were incompatible with the frivolous comments of people who had not seen it. That black jetty,
101 sticking out of the jungle into the empty sea; these roof-ridges of deserted houses peeping dismally above the long grass! Ough! The gigantic and funereal blackboard sign of the Tropical Belt Coal Company, still emerging from a
106 wild growth of bushes like an inscription stuck above a grave figured by the tall heap of unsold coal at the shore end of the wharf, added to the general
111 desolation. Thus was the sensitive Davidson. The girl must have been miserable indeed to follow such a strange man to such a spot. Heyst had, no doubt, told her the truth.
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 Which adjective describes the nose?
- flattened
- upturned
- straight
[1 mark]
1.2 What do Davidson's observations and questions suggest about Davidson's attitude towards Mrs Schomberg speaking?
- Davidson is curious and excited by the unexpectedness, wondering if Mrs Schomberg will speak again.
- Davidson is alarmed and decides to avoid any further conversation with Mrs Schomberg.
- Davidson is admiring and expects Mrs Schomberg to be eloquent and talk at length.
[1 mark]
1.3 After noticing the woman's flattened nose, hollow cheek and an eye described in several ways, what does Davidson ask himself?
- Whether the woman had just spoken and whether she would speak again
- What had caused the flattened nose and hollow cheek he observed
- Why the eye was fixed on Davidson
[1 mark]
1.4 Why does Davidson find the idea that the woman had spoken surprising at this moment?
- The woman's profile appears rigid and unblinking, so speech seems unlikely.
- Davidson struggles to hear clearly in a noisy room.
- The woman uses a language that Davidson does not understand.
[1 mark]
Question 2
Look in detail at this extract, from lines 1 to 15 of the source:
1 Davidson viewed her profile with a flattened nose, a hollow cheek, and one staring, unwinking, goggle eye. He asked himself: Did that speak just now? Will it speak again? It was as exciting, for the mere wonder of it, as trying
6 to converse with a mechanism. A smile played about the fat features of Davidson; the smile of a man making an amusing experiment. He spoke again to her:
11 “But the other members of that orchestra were real Italians, were they not?” Of course, he didn't care. He wanted to see whether the mechanism would
How does the writer use language here to present Davidson’s attitude and behaviour towards Mrs Schomberg? 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 start of a novel.
How has the writer structured the text to create a sense of eeriness?
You could write about:
- how eeriness 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 41 to the end.
In this part of the source, where Davidson sees Mrs. Schomberg as a 'mechanism', it seems like he is just conducting a curious experiment. The writer suggests this actually shows Davidson is cold and fails to see her as a real person with feelings.
To what extent do you agree and/or disagree with this statement?
In your response, you could:
- consider your impressions of Davidson's behaviour towards Mrs Schomberg
- comment on the methods the writer uses to suggest Davidson's cold detachment
- support your response with references to the text.
[20 marks]
Question 5
A charity five-a-side tournament is printing a small booklet and will include the best short creative pieces.
Choose one of the options below for your entry.
-
Option A: Write a description of a rain-soaked five-a-side match from your imagination. You may choose to use the picture provided for ideas:
-
Option B: Write the opening of a story about a kitchen crisis.
(24 marks for content and organisation, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]