2. English Literature
Unit 1: Part A:
Modern Prose
The Examination
• This is worth 20% of the total GCSE
• It is 45 minutes of a 90 minute exam.
• You must answer ONE question. The question is in two parts:
o Part A: you respond to a passage from the text
o Part B: you must link this passage to the whole text.
Assessment Criteria
AO1: respond to texts critically and imaginatively; select and evaluate relevant
textual detail to illustrate and support interpretations (10%)
AO2: explain how language, structure and form contribute to writers’ presentation
of ideas, themes and settings (10%)
You are not assessed on AO3 or AO4.
This means they you do not compare the stories or relate them to context. The
examination asks you to choose between two questions. Each question will name
one story and leave the second choice of story up to you. The questions are split into
two parts and you have to answer both parts. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO COMPARE THE
TWO STORIES.
What we will revise:
• Plot, narrative structure and the crafting of characterisation in each short
story;
• Themes and ideas related to each short story;
• Language and style: the use of language techniques to create effects e.g.
the use of symbolism in ‘Compass and Torch’ to illuminate themes and
ideas of moral guidance and family relationships.
2 AJQ 20.3.12
3. My Polish Teacher’s Tie
Plot Summary
‘My Polish Teacher’s Tie’ is about the forming of a relationship between Carla, a
dinner lady who works in a school and who is revealed to be half-Polish, and her
pen-pal Stefan, a teacher visiting from Poland. Carla nervously engages in a pen-pal
friendship with Stefan, but she chooses to let Stefan think she is a teacher,
embarrassed that she isn’t a “real professional”. They exchange poems and we see
their relationship grow, until Stefan’s visit, when there is an awkward break in their
communication as Carla worries she has lied to Stefan. Unlike the cynical teachers,
Valerie and Susie, Carla celebrates his passionate interests and his unique
personality, symbolised by his eccentric tie. They meet and Stefan sings for Carla in a
moment of unbridled joy and honest friendship.
Language and Style
• Symbolism: clothing is an important strand of symbolism, with uniforms
and the eponymous tie representing a sense of identity and social status.
Also, the bird in the poem from Stefan could symbolise the entrapment
Carla feels because of her own sense of inadequacy (this links to the singing
at the end of the story, where Carla is freed from her social anxieties)
• First person narrative perspective: we see events through the nervous eyes
of Carla and the grammar of the writing often imitates patterns of natural
speech, with colloquialisms like “sod it” and “I shovel chips”
• Dialogue: in a short story that is about the difficulties of communication
itself, the narrative uses dialogue as a dominant way to communicate
Themes and Ideas
• Social status: the story explores the anxieties related to social status and
social stereotyping
• Love: the story is essentially a romantic love story that explores the
difficulties in communicating emotions openly and honestly
• Identity: the story explores the issues of identity and how your heritage and
your job can shape your sense of who you are
Key Quotations
“But what was worse was that he was going to expect to meet me. Or not me,
exactly, but the person he’d been writing to, who didn’t really exist.” (Lines 95-
7)
“It was a terribly hopeful tie.” (Line 147)
“He stood there holding on to my hand right in the middle of the staffroom, his
big bright tie blazing, and he sang a song I knew. It went through me like a knife
through butter. A Polish song. I knew it, I knew it.” (Lines 163-66)
3 AJQ 20.3.12
4. When the Wasps Drowned
Plot Summary
‘When the Wasps Drowned’, by Claire Wigfell, is a first person account of childhood
memories of a past summer where sinister events occur. A young female narrator
recounts her sister, Therese, being attacked by an angry swarm of wasps. The rest of
the story is a broken narrative of small events that make up the summer, with their
mother largely absent, and the narrator taking care of her siblings in the hot garden.
When her siblings playfully dig a hole in the garden, tunnelling into next door’s
garden, they find a ring on the hand of a corpse that they then cover back up. The
narrator takes the ring, but her sister has nightmares that appear related to their
gruesome findings. As the summer holidays come to a close the children are
questioned at their door by the police about a missing girl. They lie about their
knowledge of the ring and what was found in Mr Mordecai’s garden. It is an
ambiguous ending which leaves the reader questioning the behaviour of the girl.
Language and Style
• Symbolism: the wasps themselves may symbolise a latent natural danger,
and their stinging of Therese may appear to represent the end of childhood
innocence for the children
• Delayed revelations: the end of the first section reveals the neighbour’s
garden has been dug up – it is not until later in the story that the reader is
able to piece together the narrative fragments to work out the plot
• Figurative language: there are interesting examples of figurative language
that heighten the tension and project emotion onto the descriptions - from
the “ache of cars” to the screaming that dramatically “broke the day”.
There is a real sense of sensuality to the descriptions and the sense of grim
foreboding is also clear in the writer’s style
• First person narrative perspective: the young narrator is clearly unreliable
and the fragments of memories piece together a mysterious narrative
Themes and Ideas
• Loss of childhood innocence: the series of inter-connected memories build
up a picture of neglected children, subject to a series of dangerous events
that ultimately present this summer as a negative turning point
• Violence: the story has violent events, from the wasps stinging Therese, to
the implied event with the corpse in the garden and the oppressive heat
Key Quotations
“Her screaming, the way it broke the day, so shocked me that I dropped the
glass, which smashed on the tap and fell into the dishwasher below.” (Lines 24-6)
4 AJQ 20.3.12
5. Compass and Torch
Plot Summary
‘Compass and Torch’ is an emotive story of a family breakdown and the specific
event of a young boy being taken on a camping trip with his father. The father
arrives to collect his son, who is earnest and desperate for a successful trip. The
mother and the step-father reveal their concerns about the “mad” camping trip that
subtlety reveals the damaging family breakdown. The boy brings his torch,
something transformed into a crucial heroic object by the boy, wishing to confer
heroism onto both the trip and his father. The father, somewhat distant, appears
sensitive to the heightened emotions of his son. The father pitches a tent, but
realises he has forgotten his torch – perhaps reflecting issues that impacted the
divorce. They journey to the top of the mountain and stay the night, accompanied by
horses surrounding the tent. These instinctive creatures and their “thudding” hooves
become symbolic for the boy in his future dreams of this emotional event.
Language and Style
• Symbolism: the compass and torch are potential symbols. The torch
represents light and may present the worship he casts upon his father. The
compass represents a loss of direction, the break-up of the family and the
loss of the boy’s ‘moral compass’. The horses, in their instinctive sensitivity,
may represent the natural feelings a son would have for his father, or the
thudding may hint at the subtle natural danger of the boy’s family
breakdown
• Disjointed narrative structure: the non-linear structure reflects the broken
family relations
Themes and Ideas
• Love: the boy’s depiction of his father transforms him into a heroic
character, perhaps not reflecting the reality of the situation
• Family breakdown: the story is dominated by the acute sensitivity of the
boy, whose experience of their relationship is both fragile and tender
• Nature and ‘the natural’: the story raises questions about natural paternity;
about the father/son relationships and the dangers related to experience
Key Quotations
“The boy is intent. Watching Dad. Watching what Dad is. Drinking it in: the
essence of Dadness.” (Lines 8-9)
“He is looking away, seared by the glitter of anxiety in the little boy’s eyes.”
(Line 47)
“He could feel it gathering in the blackening chill: the aching certainty that
already, only one year on from the separation, he had lost his son, his child.”
(Lines 166-68)
5 AJQ 20.3.12
6. On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning
Plot Summary
‘On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning’ is a strange short
story, suggested by the very idiosyncratic title. It is a romantic tale of love and fate
that blends elements of realism and fantasy together. The opening section of the
story has the narrator meet his “perfect girl” by chance in the street. He tells
someone the story and imagines the potential of the romance and imagines what he
would say to this person, before considering some highly romantic scenarios. Then,
in fairytale style, he relates a short love story which he would have related to the girl.
In truth, very little happens, except in the imagination of the romantic narrator!
Language and Style
• Direct first person narrative perspective: the narrator appears to be very
imaginative, transforming reality into images of romantic possibility
• Fantasy and realism: the author blends realistic elements and natural
speech patterns with elements of fairytale (“Once upon a time” and ended
‘A sad story, don’t you think’”) and highly exaggerated descriptions of love
(“they were each other’s 100% perfect lovers, and it was a miracle they
ever met.”). This makes the narrative voice appear quite unreliable and
subjective, but at the same time idealistic and hopeful
• Repetition: the story appears to repeat phrases and images to add to the
fantastical sense of romance
Themes and Ideas
• Love: the story does evoke the transformational power of love. It celebrates
the faithful meeting of lovers, whilst at the same time exploring the sadness
of lost love. You may argue the presentation of love is ambiguous
• Idealism and reality: there appears to be a contrast between ‘real’ events
and the idealistic, romantic dreams of the narrator. The audience are left to
question this duality. Is it self-deception and false? Or is it power of love?
Key Quotations
“The moment I see her, there’s a rumbling in my chest, and my mouth is as dry
as a desert.” (Lines 7-8)
“The ideas I come up with are never very practical.” (Line 61)
“As they sat and talked, however, a tiny, tiny sliver of doubt took root in their
hearts. Was it really all right for one’s dreams to come true so easily.” (Lines 79-
80)
“The faintest gleam of their lost memories glimmered for the briefest moment in
their hearts.” (Lines 109-10)
6 AJQ 20.3.12
7. The Darkness Out There
Plot Summary
‘The Darkness Out There’ has two young central characters, Sandra and Kerry (a boy)
who are in a club, at school, run by Miss Hammond. The club members help people
in the community. One Saturday Sandra and Kerry go to the house of an old lady,
Mrs Rutter. When they have done the errands, they ask her about a local wood,
which is meant to be haunted. Mrs Rutter knows the true story behind the popular
version. During the Second World War a German aeroplane was shot down and
crashed in the wood. Mrs. Rutter and her sister were the first people on the scene.
They saw that one of the crew was still alive, but trapped in the aircraft. They left
him and returned the next night, knowing that he was dying in agony. Mrs Rutter is
not ashamed of what she did, and explains it in terms of strict revenge, for the death
of her husband, who was killed in Belgium at the start of the war. Sandra is shocked,
but it is Kerry who takes the initiative. As directly as he can he insists that he must
leave. As soon as he is out of the house, he speaks of his horror at Mrs. Rutter and
his sympathy for the German.
Language and Style
• Third person perspective: the story is in the third person, but it is told from
Sandra’s perspective. We can compare Sandra’s viewpoint with how people
are presented through their dialogue
• Symbolism: the darkness and the light are obviously symbolic about
morality and about how you lose your childhood innocence by becoming
awareness of this ‘darkness’. This imagery is repeated heavily throughout
Themes and Ideas
• Darkness and Light: it is both literally referred to in the title and repeatedly
in the story, but symbolically it also represents the classic moral contrast
between good and evil
• Stereotyping and ‘the truth’: the story challenges how people make first
impressions – the presentation of Kerry and the little old lady are a stark
contrast to the first impressions made. This story the contrast between how
things may appear and the actual reality. Attitudes to travellers and other
people are questioned throughout by the author – raising complex moral
questions
Key Quotations
“After they were twelve or so the witches and wolves went away. Then it was the
German plane.” (Lines 53-54)
“…next you glimpsed darkness, an inescapable darkness. The darkness out there
and it was part of you and you would never be without it, ever.” (Lines 268-9)
7 AJQ 20.3.12
8. Anil
Plot Summary
‘Anil’ is another ‘coming of age’ (‘Bildungsroman’) story, where the young narrator is
exposed to a violent and deceptive adult world. Growing up in a poor Singapore
village in stifling heat, Anil wakes and hears a noise outside. He witnesses the
Headman’s brother, Marimuthu, and another man hang Marimuthu’s unconscious
wife. Numbed by the horror of the event, Anil attempts to go back asleep. The next
day a crowd has gathered and Marimuthu, and his wealthy family, attempt to mask
the crime. Anil courageously whispers to Marimuthu that he knows he killed his wife.
To avoid scandal, the Headman agrees a deal with Anil’s cowardly father to send Anil
away to school to avoid him revealing the truth. The final scene is the touching
departure of Anil, being forced to leave his father and the family, whilst Marimuthu
gives him a sinister smile, reinforcing Anil’s powerlessness, arousing empathy for
Anil.
Language and Style
• Third person perspective: the story is in the third person, but it is told
through Anil’s perspective. This gives the story a strong sense of painful
emotion and makes the audience empathise with Anil, whilst having some
information hidden to engage the audience in the sinister events
• Figurative language and symbolism: the emotion of the story is heightened
and the violence is given a grotesque exaggeration, conveyed from the very
opening sentence onwards (“the mosquitoes were in their reign of
terrorism”). The tree becomes a symbol of frightening natural danger,
perhaps suggesting the commonness of such violence and danger in this
corrupt world
Themes and Ideas
• Lost Innocence: Anil goes through a painful passage into adulthood, from
witnessing murder to being excluded from his family for telling the truth.
• Corruption: the whole village appears to be corrupt, from the top of the
hierarchy to the powerless, but violent father figure - even down to the tree
and the mosquitoes. Corruption appears all pervasive and inescapable for
innocent Anil.
Key Quotations
“Any moment now, the vines would reach out and snatch all the villagers and
devour them all, leaving him alone in the village.” (Lines 115-17)
“’Don’t be silly. Men don’t cry. You’re going into a man’s world, you must act
like a man now.” (Lines 192-3)
8 AJQ 20.3.12
9. Something Old, Something New
Plot Summary
‘Something Old, Something New’ is a lengthy short story that explores the difficulties
in moving cultures and developing new relationships. It begins with the male central
character arriving in the Sudan to meet his prospective wife at the airport. Anxious
but excited, he meets the brother and is impressed but intimidated by the Nile and
its “dream blue”. He arrives at his hotel and reflects upon his memories of when the
relationship began, before revealing his soon-to-be-wife is divorced (frowned upon
in her culture). He meets her family at their home and soon after is mugged,
revealing tensions in their relationship and their clash of cultural differences. The
wedding is further delayed by the unfortunate death of her uncle. During the period
of mourning he acclimatises and settles in with the family, before giving her brother
money to help finance the wedding. The story ends hopefully with the marriage and
a loving embrace between the newlyweds.
Language and Style
• Third person perspective: the story is in the third person, but is from the
perspective of the husband, experiencing this new country for the first
time, whilst feeling a range of complex emotions from fear to contentment
• Figurative language: the writer employs a range of imagery to evoke the
setting and revealing the husband’s anxiety (“Such was the landscape of
Khartoum: bone coloured sky, a purity in the desert air, bareness.”)
Themes and Ideas
• Love and marriage: the story presents an adult, realistic view of love, where
relationships are strained, breakdown as well as flourish in the face of
difficulty
• Death and danger: there is a sense of danger and foreboding in the story;
from the crocodiles in the Nile, to the threat of violent robbery and the
tragic death of the Uncle. Once again, this is no idealistic love story
• Culture: the story reveals the challenges of moving cultures and of having
relationships with people of a different cultural heritage
Key Quotations
“But as he spoke he noticed that the river’s flow was forceful, not innocent, not
playful. Crocodiles no doubt lurked beneath the surface, hungry and ruthless.”
(Lines 48-50)
“He heard the azan (prayers); the first time in his life to hear it outdoors.” (Line
210)
“Congratulations, we’ve given her to you now.” (Line 525)
9 AJQ 20.3.12
10. Exemplar Responses
‘The opening of ‘Anil’ prepares the reader for the rest of the story by setting the tone
and introducing the setting of the story imaginatively. This is shown by the vivid
description:
“Children dreamed of waking up to another day.”
This shows us that it is a poor, perhaps third world country, and that the narrator is
someone of little self-belief, or even hope for his group, as he displays no desire to
go out into the wider world or even attain wealth. The opening also sets the tone of
the story by giving a sense of tiredness or futility, where people cannot be bothered.
However, alongside this description the writer also uses hyperbole of ‘mosquitoes’ in
their “reign of terror”, conveying a highly energetic and erratic atmosphere to the
story. This confusion may reflect Anil’s fears and sense of confusion. The ‘terrorism’
clearly establishes the fear Anil is experiencing and it conveys a negative tone for the
reader.” Peter Savage
‘During the opening of Claire Wigfall’s ‘When The Wasp’s Drowned’ a negative tone
is created through symbolism, sparking a dark atmosphere for the narrative:
“Therese stepped on the wasp’s nest.”
This sentence is short and dramatic, symbolizing the beginning of a run of
extraordinary events and the end of an innocent childhood. The image of a wasp’s
nest being stepped on and all the wasps escaping foreshadows a string of bad events
that will happen in the narrative. The wasps themselves also symbolise danger
because of the threatening black and yellow colours and the venomous sting. This is
significant as the characters must keep their distance from the negative events, in
order not to be ‘stung’. Summer is often thought of as a happy, positive time, but
here the wasp image emphasises the negativity of the season which creates an
ironically depressing atmosphere.” Matthew Herbert
‘In Leila Aboulela’s short story – ‘Something Old, Something New’, symbolism is
utilised in order to reflect the central female character in the narrative: for example,
Aboulela at first describes the Nile as a “blue he had never seen before, a child’s
blue, a dream’s blue”. This reflects how, at first sight, the Sudanese woman appears
perfect, a way out of “unemployment; drugs; depression; the underworld that
throbbed and dragged itself parallel to their active middle-class life”. However, when
he discovers, upon taking a closer look, that the river’s flow was “forceful, not
innocent nor playful”, the delayed revelation that the calm, serene river is actually
one of nature’s perils, with ‘crocodiles’ who “lurked beneath the surface, hungry and
ruthless”, unsettles the reader and evokes the precarious nature of the main
character’s journey from Scotland to get married. The writer creates a sense of
unease with the violent connotations of “ruthless”. This is further reflected when the
central male character realises the woman he idolised is – in reality – like everybody
else. A harsh reality is evoked and the special ‘blue’ of the Nile seems no longer
beautiful and special – the Nile is very much like the woman: imperfect and natural.”
Rebecca Anderson
10 AJQ 20.3.12
11. Past Examination Questions
Jan 2011 Foundation
EITHER
Question 1
0 1 Answer part (a) and part (b)
Part (a)
Write about the behaviour of adults in Anil.
You should write about:
what the adults say and do
the methods the writer uses to show the behaviour of the adults.
and then Part (b)
Write about the behaviour of adults or an adult in one other story from Sunlight on
the Grass.
You should write about:
what the adult or adults say and do
the methods the writer uses to show this behaviour. (30 marks)
Or
Question 2
0 2 Answer part (a) and part (b)
Part (a)
How does the writer present feelings in The Darkness Out There?
Write about:
the feelings in the story
how the writer presents these feelings by the ways she writes.
and then Part (b)
How does the writer present feelings in one other story from Sunlight on the Grass?
Write about:
the feelings in the story
the methods the writer uses to present these feelings. (30 marks)
11 AJQ 20.3.12
12. Jan 2012 – Higher
EITHER
Question 1
0 1 Answer part (a) and part (b)
Part (a)
How does Aboulela present families in Something Old, Something New?
and then Part (b)
Write about how the writer presents a family in one other story from
Sunlight on the Grass. (30 marks)
OR
Question 2
0 2 Answer part (a) and part (b)
Part (a)
How do you respond to the ending of When the Wasps Drowned and how does
Wigfall make you respond as you do by the ways she writes?
and then Part (b)
How do you respond to the ending of one other story from Sunlight on the Grass and
how does the writer make you respond as you do? (30 marks)
12 AJQ 20.3.12
