A-level ENGLISH LITERATURE A (7712/2B) - filestore.aqa.org.uk

1 SPECIME N MATERIAL A-level EN GLISH LITERATURE A (7712/2B) Paper 2B: Texts in S har ed Contexts: Modern Times: Li ter ature from 1945 to the Present Day 2015 Morning Time allow ed: 2 h our s 30 minutes For this paper you must have: an AQA 12-page answer booklet a copy of the M odern Times Q uesti on Paper Insert a copy of each of t he set texts you have st udi ed for this paper. These texts must not be annotated and must no t contain additional notes o r materials. Inst ructions Write the information re quir ed on t he front of your answer book. The Examining B ody for this paper is AQA. The Paper Reference is 7712/2B. R ead all of t he questions. Then choose eit her Opti on 1, Option 2 or Option 3. Answer one questi on from Section A and both questi ons from S ecti on B from y our chosen option. You must answer q uesti ons from only one opti on. Do all rough work in your answer book.

2 Cross through any work that you do not want to be marked. Information T he marks for questi ons are shown in brackets. T he maximum mark for this paper is 75. Y ou will be marked on y our ability to: use good ENGLISH organise information cl early use specialist vocabulary where appr opriate. In your response you need to: analyse carefully the writers methods explore the contexts of t he texts you are writing about explore connections across the texts you have st udi ed explore different interpretations of your texts. Option 1 2 Secti on A: Poetry S et T ext Answer one question in this section. Either Femini ne G ospels Carol Ann Duffy 0 1 T he title of the collec ti on suggests Duffy s agenda is to challen ge traditional male ideas about the gospel truth . Examine this view. [25 marks] or 0 2 Examine t he vi ew t hat this collec ti on excl udes men as subjects and makes no attempt to engage them as readers.

3 [25 marks] Skirrid Hill Ow en Sheers or 0 3 In Ski rrid Hill relationships are frail, fr ag ile, falling apar t. Examine this view of Sh eers presentation of relationships in t he collection. [25 marks] or 0 4 Sheers prefaces Skirrid Hill with a quotation from Eliot. Examine t he significance of Sheers choice of this preface for his collecti on. [25 marks] Option 1 Section B: Drama and Prose Contextual Linking Read the insert. Answer both questions in this section. 3 Turn over Read t he i nsert carefully. It is taken from Bri ck Lane, a novel by Monica Ali published in 2003. 18- year-old Nazneen has mov ed from Bangladesh to Britain to become the w ife of Chanu, an older man. Havi ng no prior experience of Britain and very little knowl edge of the Eng lish l anguage, Naz neen spends her time in their small flat looking out across a housing estate. Answer both questions. 0 5 Explore the significance of isolation in this extract.

4 Remember to i nclude in your answer relevant deta iled analysis of t he ways that Ali shapes meanings. [25 marks] 0 6 M odern LITERATURE shows isolated characters as bei ng prof oundly damaged. Com pare the significance of isolation in two othe r texts you have st udi ed. Remember to i nclude in your a nswer reference to how m eanings are shaped in the texts you ar e com parin g. You must use one drama text and one prose text in y our response. [25 marks] Option 2 4 Secti on A: Drama Set Text Answer one question in this section. A Streetcar Named Desire Tennessee Wil lia ms Either 0 7 Primar ily, this play presents a clash betw een two cultures, not two individuals. Examine this view of A Streetcar Named D esire. [25 marks] or 0 8 Examine t he vi ew t hat A S treetcar Named D esire fa ils because the relationship betw een Ste lla and Stanl ey is inconceivable . [25 marks] Top Girls Caryl Churchill or 0 9 Churchill presents a cynical, negative critique of powerful women.

5 Examine this view of Top Girls. [25 marks] or 1 0 Examine t he vi ew t hat the character of Dull Gr et is i nsignificant within the pl ay as a whol e. [25 marks] Option 2 Section B: Prose and Poetry Contextual Linking Read the insert. Answer both questions in this section. 5 Turn over Read t he i nsert carefully. It is taken from Bri ck Lane, a novel by Monica Ali published in 2003. 18- year-old Nazneen has mov ed from Bangladesh to Britain to become the w ife of Chanu, an older man. Havi ng no prior experience of Britain and very little knowl edge of the Eng lish l anguage, Naz neen spends her time in their small flat looking out across a housing estate. Answer both questions. 1 1 Explore the significance of isolation in this extract. Remember to i nclude in your answer relevant deta iled analysis of t he ways that Ali shapes meanings. [25 marks] 1 2 M odern LITERATURE shows isolated characters as bei ng prof oundly damaged.

6 Com pare the significance of isolation in two othe r texts you have st udi ed. Remember to i nclude in your a nswer reference to how m eanings are shaped in the texts you ar e com parin g. You must use one prose text and one poe try tex t in y our response, at least one of which must be a text written post- 2000. [25 marks] Option 3 6 Secti on A: Prose Set T ext Answer one question in this section. Either 1 3 Waterl and Graham Swift Examine t he vi ew t hat the Fenland landscape is the most compelling char acter in this novel. [25 marks] or 1 4 Graham Swift presents history as being as much about the private as t he public. Examine this view of Waterland. [25 marks] The Handmaid s Tale Margaret Atwood or 1 5 In G ilead, men are victims too. Examine this view of Atw ood s presentation o f male characters in The Handmaid s Tale. [25 marks] or 1 6 Examine t he vi ew t hat, in The H andmaid sTale, Atw ood s primary concern is sexual violence against women.

7 [25 marks] Option 3 Section B: Drama and Poetry Contextual Linking Read the insert. Answer both questions in this section. 7 Turn over Read t he i nsert carefully. It is taken from Bri ck Lane, a novel by Monica Ali published in 2003. 18- year-old Nazneen has mov ed from Bangladesh to Britain to become the w ife of Chanu, an older man. Havi ng no prior experience of Britain and very little knowl edge of the Eng lish l anguage, Naz neen spends her time in their small flat looking out across a housing estate. Answer both questions. 1 7 Explore the significance of isolation in this extract. Remember to i nclude in your answer relevant deta iled analysis of t he ways that Ali shapes meanings. [25 marks] 1 8 M odern LITERATURE shows isolated characters as bei ng prof oundly damaged. Com pare the significance of isolation in tw o othe r texts you have st udi ed. Remember to i nclude in your a nswer reference to how m eanings are shaped in the texts you ar e com parin g.

8 You must use one poetry text written post- 2000 and one drama text in y our response. [25 marks] END OF QUESTIONS Ack nowledgement of copyri ght holders and publishers Permission to reproduce all copyright material has been applied for. In some cases, effor ts to c ontact copyri ght-holders have been unsuccessful and AQA will be happy t o rectify any omissions of ackno wl edgements in future papers, if notifi ed. Ext ract from Brick Lane by Monica Ali. Published by Transworld. Reprinted by permission of The Random House Group Limited. Copyright 2014 AQA and its licensors. A ll ri ghts reserved. A-level ENGLISH LITERATURE A 7712/2B Paper 2B: T exts in Shared Contexts : M odern Times: LITERATURE from 1945 to the Present Day specimen INSERT Six m ont hs now since she'd been sent away to London. Every morning before she opened her eyes she thought , if I were the wi shing type, I know what I would wish.

9 And t hen she opened her eyes and saw Chanu's puffy face on the p illow next to her, his lips part ed i ndig nantly even as he sl ept. S he sa w the pink dressing table with the curly-sided mirror, and the m ons trous black wardrobe that claimed most of the r oom. Was it cheating? To think, I know what I would wish? Was it not the same as making the wish? If she knew what t he wish would be, t hen somewhere in her heart she had already m ade it. The ta ttoo l ady wav ed back at Nazneen. S he scratched her arms, her shoulders, t he accessible portions of her buttocks. S he yawned and lit a cigarette. At least two thirds of t he flesh on show was covered in ink. Nazneen had nev er been close enough (nev er cl oser than this, never further ) to decipher t he designs. Chanu said the tattoo l ady w as He ll's Angel, which upset Nazneen. S he thought the tatt oos might be flowers, or birds. T hey were ugly and t hey m ade t he ta ttoo l ady more ugly than was necessary, but the ta ttoo l ady cl early did not care.

10 Every time Nazneen saw her she wore the same look of bor edo m and det achment. Such a state was sought by t he s adhus w ho walked in rags through the M uslim vi llages, indi fferent to t he kindness of strangers, the unki nd sun. Naz neen thought sometimes o f going downstairs, crossing t he yard and climbing t he R osem ead stairwell to the fourth floor. S he might have to knock on a f ew doors before the ta ttoo l ady answered. She w ould take something, an o ffering of samosas or bhajis, and t he ta ttoo l ady would smile and Naz neen would smile and per haps they would sit together by t he wi ndow and let the time pass more easily. S he t hought of it but she would not go. Strangers would answer if s he k nock ed on t he wrong door. T he tatt oo l ady mi ght be angry at an unwanted interrupti on. I t was cl ear she did not like to leav e her chair. And ev en if she wasn't angry, what w ould be t he point?