English Literature
Genre: Gothic uncertainty
- 1.
Original invented extract: 'The locked nursery rang with laughter. Mara checked the speaking tube: its brass mouth was warm. Below, the caretaker said the pipes carried every sound in the house. He had never heard a child here. When she returned, the lock lay neatly on her pillow.' Explain why the locked nursery is unsettling.
[2 marks] · no calculator - 2.
Original invented extract: 'The locked nursery rang with laughter. Mara checked the speaking tube: its brass mouth was warm. Below, the caretaker said the pipes carried every sound in the house. He had never heard a child here. When she returned, the lock lay neatly on her pillow.' How does 'brass mouth' describe the tube figuratively?
[2 marks] · no calculator - 3.
Original invented extract: 'The locked nursery rang with laughter. Mara checked the speaking tube: its brass mouth was warm. Below, the caretaker said the pipes carried every sound in the house. He had never heard a child here. When she returned, the lock lay neatly on her pillow.' Analyse how the caretaker's explanation both reduces and increases uncertainty.
[3 marks] · no calculator - 4.
Original invented extract: 'The locked nursery rang with laughter. Mara checked the speaking tube: its brass mouth was warm. Below, the caretaker said the pipes carried every sound in the house. He had never heard a child here. When she returned, the lock lay neatly on her pillow.' Analyse the narrative effect of the final sentence.
[3 marks] · no calculator - 5.
Original invented extract: 'The locked nursery rang with laughter. Mara checked the speaking tube: its brass mouth was warm. Below, the caretaker said the pipes carried every sound in the house. He had never heard a child here. When she returned, the lock lay neatly on her pillow.' Evaluate whether a supernatural reading is more persuasive than a human-intruder reading.
[4 marks] · no calculator - 6.
Original invented extract: 'The locked nursery rang with laughter. Mara checked the speaking tube: its brass mouth was warm. Below, the caretaker said the pipes carried every sound in the house. He had never heard a child here. When she returned, the lock lay neatly on her pillow.' Assess how domestic familiarity contributes more to fear here than spectacular violence would.
[4 marks] · no calculator
Marking points are indicative, not an official mark scheme. Accept equivalent valid methods and supported interpretations that address the task; award each mark once without requiring the model wording.