Insert
The source that follows is:
- Source A: 19th-century prose fiction
- The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo
An extract from a work first published in 1831.
This extract is from Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, where King Louis XI rebukes his barber, Olivier le Daim, by listing past favors and warning against pride, jokes about his physician’s influence, then notices a red glow over Paris, hinting at unrest.
Source A
1 The king looked him well in the face and said in a dry tone,—“I understand.” He resumed,—
6 “Master Olivier, the Marshal de Boucicaut was wont to say, ‘There’s no master save the king, there are no fishes save in the sea.’ I see that
11 you agree with Monsieur de Boucicaut. Now listen to this; we have a good memory. In ’68 we made you valet of our chamber: in ’69, guardian of the fortress of the bridge of
16 Saint-Cloud, at a hundred livres of Tournay in wages (you wanted them of Paris). In November, ’73, by letters given to Gergeole, we instituted you keeper of the Wood of Vincennes, in the
21 place of Gilbert Acle, equerry; in ’75, gruyer[67] of the forest of Rouvray-lez-Saint-Cloud, in the place of Jacques le Maire; in ’78, we graciously settled on you, by letters patent sealed
26 doubly with green wax, an income of ten livres parisis, for you and your wife, on the Place of the Merchants, situated at the School Saint-Germain; in ’79, we
31 made you gruyer of the forest of Senart, in place of that poor Jehan Daiz; then captain of the Château of Loches; then governor of Saint- Quentin; then captain
36 of the bridge of Meulan, of which you cause yourself to be called comte. Out of the five sols fine paid by every barber who shaves on a festival day, there are three sols for you and we
41 have the rest. We have been good enough to change your name of Le Mauvais (The Evil), which resembled your face too closely. In ’76, we granted you, to the great displeasure of our nobility, armorial
46 bearings of a thousand colors, which give you the breast of a peacock. Pasque- Dieu! Are not you surfeited? Is not the draught of fishes sufficiently
51 fine and miraculous? Are you not afraid that one salmon more will make your boat sink? Pride will be your ruin, gossip. Ruin and disgrace always press hard on the heels of
56 pride. Consider this and hold your tongue.” These words, uttered with severity, made Master Olivier’s face revert to
61 its insolence. “Good!” he muttered, almost aloud, “’tis easy to see that the king is ill to-day; he giveth all to the leech.” Louis XI. far from being irritated by this petulant insult, resumed with
66 some gentleness, “Stay, I was forgetting that I made you my ambassador to Madame Marie, at Ghent. Yes, gentlemen,” added the king turning to the Flemings, “this man hath been an
71 ambassador. There, my gossip,” he pursued, addressing Master Olivier, “let us not get angry; we are old friends. ’Tis very late. We have terminated our labors. Shave me.”
76 Our readers have not, without doubt, waited until the present moment to recognize in Master Olivier that terrible Figaro whom Providence, the
81 great maker of dramas, mingled so artistically in the long and bloody comedy of the reign of Louis XI. We will not here undertake to develop that singular figure. This barber of
86 the king had three names. At court he was politely called Olivier le Daim (the Deer); among the people Olivier the Devil. His real name was Olivier le Mauvais. Accordingly,
91 Olivier le Mauvais remained motionless, sulking at the king, and glancing askance at Jacques Coictier. “Yes, yes, the physician!” he said between his teeth. “Ah, yes, the physician!” retorted Louis XI., with singular good
96 humor; “the physician has more credit than you. ’Tis very simple; he has taken hold upon us by the whole body, and you hold us only by the chin. Come, my poor barber, all will come right. What would you say and
101 what would become of your office if I were a king like Chilperic, whose gesture consisted in holding his beard in one hand? Come, gossip mine, fulfil your office, shave me. Go
106 get what you need therefor.” Olivier perceiving that the king had made up his mind to laugh, and that there was no way of even annoying him, went off
111 grumbling to execute his orders. The king rose, approached the window, and suddenly opening it with extraordinary agitation,— “Oh! yes!” he exclaimed, clapping his hands, “yonder is a redness
116 in the sky over the City. ’Tis the bailiff burning.
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 Who said, "I understand."?
- the king
- Master Olivier
- Monsieur de Boucicaut
[1 mark]
1.2 According to the king, which position did the king grant to Master Olivier in ’68?
- Valet of the royal chamber
- Captain of the city watch
- Master of the wardrobe
[1 mark]
1.3 When the king first speaks, what tone does the king use?
- a dry tone
- a jovial tone
- an angry tone
[1 mark]
1.4 In which year did the speaker say "we made you valet of our chamber"?
- ’68
- ’69
- ’70
[1 mark]
Question 2
Look in detail at this extract, from lines 41 to 55 of the source:
41 have the rest. We have been good enough to change your name of Le Mauvais (The Evil), which resembled your face too closely. In ’76, we granted you, to the great displeasure of our nobility, armorial
46 bearings of a thousand colors, which give you the breast of a peacock. Pasque- Dieu! Are not you surfeited? Is not the draught of fishes sufficiently
51 fine and miraculous? Are you not afraid that one salmon more will make your boat sink? Pride will be your ruin, gossip. Ruin and disgrace always press hard on the heels of
How does the writer use language here to show the king’s power and his tone towards Master Olivier? 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 momentum?
You could write about:
- how momentum intensifies by the end of 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 16 to the end.
In this part of the source, where the King lists all of Olivier's promotions, it shows how much power he holds over the barber. The writer suggests this long list is actually a threat, reminding Olivier that everything he was given can also be taken away.
To what extent do you agree and/or disagree with this statement?
In your response, you could:
- consider your impressions of the King's power over Olivier
- comment on the methods the writer uses to present the list of promotions as a threat
- support your response with references to the text.
[20 marks]
Question 5
A society dedicated to exploring lost pathways is asking for creative pieces for its journal.
Choose one of the options below for your entry.
-
Option A: Describe a forgotten route from your imagination. You may choose to use the picture provided for ideas:
-
Option B: Write the opening of a story about a journey to an unmapped place.
(24 marks for content and organisation, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]