Insert
The source that follows is:
- Source A: 19th-century prose fiction
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
An extract from a work first published in 1876.
This extract is taken from Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876), showing a schoolroom scene where Tom, punished to sit with the girls, tries to impress Becky Thatcher with gifts and drawings, is caught by the teacher, and then flounders in his lessons.
Source A
1 The master’s arm performed until it was tired and the stock of switches notably diminished. Then the order followed: “Now, sir, go and sit with the girls! And let this be a warning to you.”
6 The titter that rippled around the room appeared to abash the boy, but in reality that result was caused rather more by his worshipful awe of his unknown idol and the dread pleasure that lay in his high good fortune. He sat down upon the end of the pine bench and the girl hitched herself away from him with a toss of her head. Nudges and winks and whispers traversed the room, but
11 Tom sat still, with his arms upon the long, low desk before him, and seemed to study his book. By and by attention ceased from him, and the accustomed school murmur rose upon the dull air once more. Presently the boy began to steal furtive glances
16 at the girl. She observed it, “made a mouth” at him and gave him the back of her head for the space of a minute. When she cautiously faced around again, a peach lay before her. She thrust it away. Tom gently put it back. She thrust it away again, but with less animosity. Tom patiently returned it to its place. Then she let it remain. Tom scrawled on his slate, “Please take it—I
21 got more.” The girl glanced at the words, but made no sign. Now the boy began to draw something on the slate, hiding his work with his left hand. For a time the girl refused to notice; but her human curiosity presently began to manifest itself by hardly perceptible signs. The boy worked on, apparently unconscious. The girl made a sort of non-committal attempt to see, but the boy
26 did not betray that he was aware of it. At last she gave in and hesitatingly whispered: “Let me see it.”
31 Tom partly uncovered a dismal caricature of a house with two gable ends to it and a corkscrew of smoke issuing from the chimney. Then the girl’s interest began to fasten itself upon the work and she forgot everything else. When it was finished, she gazed a moment, then whispered:
36 “It’s nice—make a man.” The artist erected a man in the front yard, that resembled a derrick. He could have stepped over the house; but the girl was not hypercritical; she was satisfied with the monster, and whispered:
41 “It’s a beautiful man—now make me coming along.” Tom drew an hour-glass with a full moon and straw limbs to it and armed the spreading fingers with a portentous fan. The girl said:
46 “It’s ever so nice—I wish I could draw.” “It’s easy,” whispered Tom, “I’ll learn you.”
51 “Oh, will you? When?” “At noon. Do you go home to dinner?” “I’ll stay if you will.”
56 “Good—that’s a whack. What’s your name?” “Becky Thatcher. What’s yours? Oh, I know. It’s Thomas Sawyer.”
61 “That’s the name they lick me by. I’m Tom when I’m good. You call me Tom, will you?” “Yes.”
66 Now Tom began to scrawl something on the slate, hiding the words from the girl. But she was not backward this time. She begged to see. Tom said: “Oh, it ain’t anything.”
71 “Yes it is.” “No it ain’t. You don’t want to see.” “Yes I do, indeed I do. Please let me.”
76 “You’ll tell.” “No I won’t—deed and deed and double deed won’t.”
81 “You won’t tell anybody at all? Ever, as long as you live?” “No, I won’t ever tell anybody. Now let me.” “Oh, you don’t want to see!”
86 “Now that you treat me so, I will see.” And she put her small hand upon his and a little scuffle ensued, Tom pretending to resist in earnest but letting his hand slip by degrees till these words were revealed: “I love you.”
91 “Oh, you bad thing!” And she hit his hand a smart rap, but reddened and looked pleased, nevertheless. Just at this juncture the boy felt a slow, fateful grip closing on his ear, and a steady lifting impulse. In that wise he was borne across the house and
96 deposited in his own seat, under a peppering fire of giggles from the whole school. Then the master stood over him during a few awful moments, and finally moved away to his throne without saying a word. But although Tom’s ear tingled, his heart was jubilant.
101 As the school quieted down Tom made an honest effort to study, but the turmoil within him was too great. In turn he took his place in the reading class and made a botch of it; then in the geography class and turned lakes into mountains, mountains into rivers, and rivers into continents, till chaos was come again; then in the spelling class, and got “turned down,” by a succession
106 of mere baby words, till he brought up at the foot and yielded up the pewter medal which he had worn with ostentation for months.
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 was notably diminished?
- the pile of slates
- the stock of switches
- the supply of chalk
[1 mark]
1.2 The master’s arm performed until it was what?
- weak
- sore
- tired
[1 mark]
1.3 What does the master order the boy to do?
- Go and sit with the girls
- Stand in the corner
- Leave the room
[1 mark]
1.4 What else does the order say?
- you will apologise to everyone
- let this be a warning to you
- do not speak again in class
[1 mark]
Question 2
Look in detail at this extract, from lines 31 to 40 of the source:
31 Tom partly uncovered a dismal caricature of a house with two gable ends to it and a corkscrew of smoke issuing from the chimney. Then the girl’s interest began to fasten itself upon the work and she forgot everything else. When it was finished, she gazed a moment, then whispered:
36 “It’s nice—make a man.” The artist erected a man in the front yard, that resembled a derrick. He could have stepped over the house; but the girl was not hypercritical; she was satisfied with the monster, and whispered:
How does the writer use language here to show the playful drawing and the girl’s growing interest? 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 intimacy?
You could write about:
- how intimacy develops 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 66 to the end.
In this part of the source, where Tom's heart is “jubilant” even after being punished, it shows his feelings are genuinely strong. The writer suggests that for Tom, the new connection with Becky is worth more than the embarrassment and pain.
To what extent do you agree and/or disagree with this statement?
In your response, you could:
- consider your impressions of Tom's reaction to his second punishment
- comment on the methods the writer uses to portray Tom's feelings for Becky
- support your response with references to the text.
[20 marks]
Question 5
At the town library's open-mic night for young writers, you will perform a short creative piece.
Choose one of the options below for your entry.
-
Option A: Describe a rain-soaked football training session from your imagination. You may choose to use the picture provided for ideas:
-
Option B: Write the opening of a story about a lost recipe card.
(24 marks for content and organisation, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]