Insert
The source that follows is:
- Source A: 20th-century prose fiction
- The Rocking-Horse Winner by D. H. Lawrence
An extract from a work first published in 1926.
This extract is from D. H. Lawrence’s The Rocking-Horse Winner (1926), where a home is haunted by whispers of “more money” as young Paul questions his mother about luck and begins riding his rocking-horse with growing intensity, seeking the secret of “luck”.
Source A
1 And so the house came to be haunted by the unspoken phrase: There must be more money! There must be more money! The children could hear it all the time though nobody said it aloud. They heard it at Christmas, when the expensive and splendid toys filled the nursery. Behind the shining modern rocking-horse, behind the smart doll's house, a voice would start whispering: "There must be
6 more money! There must be more money!" And the children would stop playing, to listen for a moment. They would look into each other's eyes, to see if they had all heard. And each one saw in the eyes of the other two that they too had heard. "There must be more money! There must be more money!" It came
11 whispering from the springs of the still-swaying rocking-horse, and even the horse, bending his wooden, champing head, heard it. The big doll, sitting so pink and smirking in her new pram, could hear it quite plainly, and seemed to be smirking all the more self-consciously because of it. The foolish puppy, too, that took the place of the teddy-bear, he was looking so extraordinarily
16 foolish for no other reason but that he heard the secret whisper all over the house: "There must be more money!" Yet nobody ever said it aloud. The whisper was everywhere, and therefore no one spoke it. Just as no one ever says: "We are breathing!" in spite of the fact that breath is coming and going all the
21 time. "Mother," said the boy Paul one day, "why don't we keep a car of our own? Why do we always use uncle's, or else a taxi?" "Because we're the poor members of
26 the family," said the mother. "But why are we, mother?" "Well - I suppose," she said slowly and bitterly, "it's because your father has no luck." The boy
31 was silent for some time. "Is luck money, mother?" he asked, rather timidly. "No, Paul. Not quite. It's what causes you to have money." "Oh!" said Paul vaguely. "I thought when Uncle Oscar said filthy lucker, it meant money."
36 "Filthy lucre does mean money," said the mother. "But it's lucre, not luck." "Oh!" said the boy. "Then what is luck, mother?" "It's what causes you to have money. If you're lucky you have money. That's why it's better to be born lucky than rich. If you're rich, you may lose your money. But if you're lucky, you
41 will always get more money." "Oh! Will you? And is father not lucky?" "Very unlucky, I should say," she said bitterly. The boy watched her with unsure
46 eyes. "Why?" he asked. "I don't know. Nobody ever knows why one person is lucky and another unlucky." "Don't they? Nobody at all? Does nobody know?"
51 "Perhaps God. But He never tells." "He ought to, then. And are'nt you lucky either, mother?" "I can't be, it I married an unlucky husband." "But by
56 yourself, aren't you?" "I used to think I was, before I married. Now I think I am very unlucky indeed." "Why?" "Well - never mind! Perhaps I'm not really,"
61 she said. The child looked at her to see if she meant it. But he saw, by the lines of her mouth, that she was only trying to hide something from him. "Well, anyhow," he said stoutly, "I'm a lucky person."
66 "Why?" said his mother, with a sudden laugh. He stared at her. He didn't even know why he had said it. "God told me," he asserted, brazening it out. "I hope He did, dear!", she
71 said, again with a laugh, but rather bitter. "He did, mother!" "Excellent!" said the mother, using one of her husband's exclamations. The boy saw she did
76 not believe him; or rather, that she paid no attention to his assertion. This angered him somewhere, and made him want to compel her attention. He went off by himself, vaguely, in a childish way, seeking for the clue to 'luck'. Absorbed, taking no heed of other people, he went about with a sort of
81 stealth, seeking inwardly for luck. He wanted luck, he wanted it, he wanted it. When the two girls were playing dolls in the nursery, he would sit on his big rocking-horse, charging madly into space, with a frenzy that made the little girls peer at him uneasily. Wildly the horse careered, the waving dark hair of the boy tossed, his eyes had a strange glare in them. The little girls
86 dared not speak to him.
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 came to be haunted?
- the nursery
- the house
- the smart doll's house
[1 mark]
1.2 According to the narrator, who hears the repeated words 'There must be more money!' even though nobody says those words aloud?
- The children
- The adults in the household
- The neighbours
[1 mark]
1.3 What did the expensive and splendid toys fill?
- the house
- the nursery
- the smart doll's house
[1 mark]
1.4 Which item is described as shining and modern?
- the rocking-horse
- the smart doll's house
- the nursery
[1 mark]
Question 2
Look in detail at this extract, from lines 6 to 15 of the source:
6 more money! There must be more money!" And the children would stop playing, to listen for a moment. They would look into each other's eyes, to see if they had all heard. And each one saw in the eyes of the other two that they too had heard. "There must be more money! There must be more money!" It came
11 whispering from the springs of the still-swaying rocking-horse, and even the horse, bending his wooden, champing head, heard it. The big doll, sitting so pink and smirking in her new pram, could hear it quite plainly, and seemed to be smirking all the more self-consciously because of it. The foolish puppy, too, that took the place of the teddy-bear, he was looking so extraordinarily
How does the writer use language here to present the effect of the whisper on the children and the toys? 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 story.
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 21 to the end.
In this part of the source, when Paul rides his rocking-horse with a 'strange glare', his game seems disturbing rather than fun. The writer suggests the family's obsession with money is becoming dangerous and unnatural for the child.
To what extent do you agree and/or disagree with this statement?
In your response, you could:
- consider your impressions of Paul's behaviour on the rocking-horse
- comment on the methods the writer uses to suggest the family's dangerous obsession
- support your response with references to the text.
[20 marks]
Question 5
At a late-night open mic in the town hall, you will read a short piece about city life after dark.
Choose one of the options below for your entry.
-
Option A: Describe a 24-hour phone repair stall in a shopping centre from your imagination. You may choose to use the picture provided for ideas:
-
Option B: Write the opening of a story about a misdirected delivery and the chain of events it starts.
(24 marks for content and organisation, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]