Insert
The source that follows is:
- Source A: 20th-century prose fiction
- To Build a Fire by Jack London
An extract from a work first published in 1908.
This extract is from Jack London’s short story ‘To Build a Fire’, in which an inexperienced traveller in the Yukon battles brutal cold as he struggles to light a life-saving fire, revealing desperation, the limits of human control, and the indifferent power of nature.
Source A
1 But the tremendous cold had already driven the life out of his fingers. In his effort to separate one match from the others, the whole bunch fell in the snow. He
6 tried to pick it out of the snow, but failed. The dead fingers could neither touch nor clutch. He was very careful. He drove the thought of his freezing feet; and nose, and cheeks, out of his mind, devoting his whole soul
11 to the matches. He watched, using the sense of vision in place of that of touch, and when he saw his fingers on each side the bunch, he closed them—that is, he willed to close them, for the wires
16 were drawn, and the fingers did not obey. He pulled the mitten on the right hand, and beat it fiercely against his knee. Then, with both mittened hands, he scooped the bunch of matches, along
21 with much snow, into his lap. Yet he was no better off. After some manipulation he managed to get the bunch between the heels of his mittened hands. In this fashion he carried it to his mouth. The ice
26 crackled and snapped when by a violent effort he opened his mouth. He drew the lower jaw in, curled the upper lip out of the way, and scraped the bunch with his upper
31 teeth in order to separate a match. He succeeded in getting one, which he dropped on his lap. He was no better off. He could not pick it up. Then he devised a way. He picked it up
36 in his teeth and scratched it on his leg. Twenty times he scratched before he succeeded in lighting it. As it flamed he held it with his teeth to the birch-bark. But the burning brimstone went up
41 his nostrils and into his lungs, causing him to cough spasmodically. The match fell into the snow and went out. The old-timer on Sulphur Creek was right, he thought in the moment of
46 controlled despair that ensued: after fifty below, a man should travel with a partner. He beat his hands, but failed in exciting any sensation. Suddenly he bared both hands, removing the mittens with his teeth. He
51 caught the whole bunch between the heels of his hands. His arm- muscles not being frozen enabled him to press the hand-heels tightly against the matches. Then he scratched the bunch along his leg. It flared into
56 flame, seventy sulphur matches at once! There was no wind to blow them out. He kept his head to one side to escape the strangling fumes, and held the blazing
61 bunch to the birch-bark. As he so held it, he became aware of sensation in his hand. His flesh was burning. He could smell it. Deep down below the surface he could feel it. The sensation
66 developed into pain that grew acute. And still he endured it, holding the flame of the matches clumsily to the bark that would not light readily because his own burning hands were in the way, absorbing
71 most of the flame. At last, when he could endure no more, he jerked his hands apart. The blazing matches fell sizzling into the snow, but the birch-bark was alight. He began laying dry grasses and the tiniest twigs on the flame. He
76 could not pick and choose, for he had to lift the fuel between the heels of his hands. Small pieces of rotten wood and green moss clung to the twigs, and he bit them off as well as he could with his teeth. He
81 cherished the flame carefully and awkwardly. It meant life, and it must not perish. The withdrawal of blood from the surface of his body now made him begin to shiver, and he
86 grew more awkward. A large piece of green moss fell squarely on the little fire. He tried to poke it out with his fingers, but his shivering frame made him poke too far, and he
91 disrupted the nucleus of the little fire, the burning grasses and tiny twigs separating and scattering. He tried to poke them together again, but in spite of the tenseness of the effort, his shivering got
96 away with him, and the twigs were hopelessly scattered. Each twig gushed a puff of smoke and went out.
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 had already driven the life out of the man's fingers?
- the snow
- the tremendous cold
- the effort to separate one match
[1 mark]
1.2 What fell in the snow?
- the man's fingers
- one match
- the whole bunch
[1 mark]
1.3 What happens when the man tries to separate one match from the others?
- The whole bunch falls in the snow
- A single match lights successfully
- The matches separate neatly
[1 mark]
1.4 What could the man's dead fingers neither do?
- separate nor pick
- fell nor failed
- touch nor clutch
[1 mark]
Question 2
Look in detail at this extract, from lines 11 to 25 of the source:
11 to the matches. He watched, using the sense of vision in place of that of touch, and when he saw his fingers on each side the bunch, he closed them—that is, he willed to close them, for the wires
16 were drawn, and the fingers did not obey. He pulled the mitten on the right hand, and beat it fiercely against his knee. Then, with both mittened hands, he scooped the bunch of matches, along
21 with much snow, into his lap. Yet he was no better off. After some manipulation he managed to get the bunch between the heels of his mittened hands. In this fashion he carried it to his mouth. The ice
How does the writer use language here to present the man's struggle to light a match? 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 end of a story.
How has the writer structured the text to create a sense of despair?
You could write about:
- how despair 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 46 to the end.
In this part of the source, the man's own shivering causes him to destroy the small fire. The writer suggests that his own body has turned against him in his fight for life.
To what extent do you agree and/or disagree with this statement?
In your response, you could:
- consider your impressions of the man's fight against his own body
- comment on the methods the writer uses to present the destruction of the fire
- support your response with references to the text.
[20 marks]
Question 5
At your favourite corner café, the owner is filling a chalkboard wall with short creative pieces from customers, and yours will be read by the morning crowd.
Choose one of the options below for your entry.
-
Option A: Write a description of a small café kitchen at breakfast from your imagination. You may choose to use the picture provided for ideas:
-
Option B: Write the opening of a story about an honest choice in sport.
(24 marks for content and organisation, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]