ENGLISH HOME LANGUAGE PAPER 2
GRADE 12
NOVEMBER 2017
NATIONAL SENIOR CERTIFICATE
INSTRUCTIONS AND INFORMATION
TABLE OF CONTENTS
| SECTION A: POETRY Prescribed Poetry: Answer ANY TWO questions. | |||
| QUESTION NO. | QUESTION | MARKS | PAGE NO. |
| 1. 'Felix Randal' | Essay question | 10 | 6 |
| 2. 'Remember' | Contextual question | 10 | 7 |
| 3. 'The Zulu Girl' | Contextual question | 10 | 8 |
| 4. 'Vultures' | Contextual question | 10 | 9 |
| AND Unseen Poem: COMPULSORY QUESTION | |||
| 5. 'Wishing Leaves' | Contextual question | 10 | 11 |
| SECTION B: NOVEL Answer ONE question.* | |||
| 6. The Picture of Dorian Gray | Essay question | 25 | 12 |
| 7. The Picture of Dorian Gray | Contextual question | 25 | 12 |
| 8. Life of Pi | Essay question | 25 | 15 |
| 9. Life of Pi | Contextual question | 25 | 15 |
| SECTION C: DRAMA Answer ONE question.* | |||
| 10. Hamlet | Essay question | 25 | 18 |
| 11. Hamlet | Contextual question | 25 | 18 |
| 12. Othello | Essay question | 25 | 21 |
| 13. Othello | Contextual question | 25 | 21 |
| 14. The Crucible | Essay question | 25 | 25 |
| 15. The Crucible | Contextual question | 25 | 25 |
*NOTE: In SECTIONS B and C, answer ONE ESSAY and ONE CONTEXTUAL question.
You may NOT answer TWO essay questions or TWO contextual questions.
CHECKLIST
Use this checklist to ensure that you have answered the correct number of questions.
| SECTION | QUESTION NUMBERS | NO. OF QUESTIONS ANSWERED | TICK () |
| A: Poetry (Prescribed Poetry) | 1–4 | 2 | |
| A: Poetry (Unseen Poem) | 5 | 1 | |
| B: Novel (Essay OR Contextual) | 6-9 | 1 | |
| C: Drama (Essay OR Contextual) | 10-15 | 1 |
*NOTE: In SECTIONS B and C, ensure that you have answered ONE ESSAY and ONE CONTEXTUAL question.
You may NOT answer TWO essay questions or TWO contextual questions.
SECTION A: POETRY
PRESCRIBED POETRY
Answer any TWO of the following questions.
QUESTION 1: POETRY – ESSAY QUESTION
Read the poem below and then answer the question that follows.
FELIX RANDAL – Gerard Manley Hopkins
|
In 'Felix Randal', the speaker contemplates what he sees as significant aspects of the life and death of the farrier.
With close reference to diction, imagery and tone, discuss how the above statement is reflected in the poem.
Your response should take the form of a well-constructed essay of 250–300 words (about ONE page).
[10]
QUESTION 2: POETRY – CONTEXTUAL QUESTION
Read the poem below and then answer the questions that follow.
REMEMBER – Christina Rossetti
|
2.1 Refer to lines 1–2: 'gone away,/Gone far away'.
How do these words set the initial mood of the poem? (2)
2.2 Explain what the use of the phrase, 'the silent land' (line 2) conveys about the speaker's state of mind. (2)
2.3 Refer to line 4: 'Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.'
Discuss the significance of this description in the context of the poem. (3)
2.4 The speaker of this poem is self-centred.
Do you agree with this statement? Justify your response by referring to imagery and/or diction.
[10]
QUESTION 3: POETRY – CONTEXTUAL QUESTION
Read the poem below and then answer the questions that follow.
THE ZULU GIRL – Roy Campbell
|
3.1 Refer to line 1: 'When in the sun the hot red acres smoulder'.
How does this line set the initial mood of the poem? (2)
3.2 Explain what the word, 'flings' (line 3) suggests about the girl's state of mind. (2)
3.3 Refer to line 11: 'Through his frail nerves her own deep languors ripple'.
Discuss the significance of this description in the context of the poem. (3)
3.4 The concluding stanza offers visions of the future.
Do you agree with this statement? Justify your response by referring to imagery and/or diction. (3)
[10]
QUESTION 4: POETRY – CONTEXTUAL QUESTION
Read the poem below and then answer the questions that follow.
VULTURES – Chinua Achebe
|
4.1 Refer to lines 1–3: 'In the greyness/and drizzle of one despondent/dawn'.
How do these lines contribute to the mood of the first section? (2)
4.2 What do the words, 'cold/telescopic eyes' (lines 20–21) suggest about the nature of the vultures? (2)
4.3 Refer to lines 30–35: 'Thus the Commandant … his hairy/nostrils'.
Discuss the significance of this description in the context of the poem. (3)
4.4 The concluding lines, 'Praise bounteous/providence … perpetuity/of evil' (lines 41–51) offers options for human behaviour.
Do you agree with this statement? Justify your response by referring to imagery and/or diction. (3)
[10]
AND
UNSEEN POEM (COMPULSORY)
QUESTION 5: CONTEXTUAL QUESTION
Read the poem below and then answer the questions that follow.
WISHING LEAVES – Wayne Visser
|
5.1 What impression does the word, 'basked' (line 2) create about the couple? (2)
5.2 Refer to stanza 2.
Discuss the speaker's attitude toward nature. (2)
5.3 Refer to line 3: 'While waves of traffic lapped the park's green shore'.
Comment on the effectiveness of this image in the context of the poem. (3)
5.4 The mood of the final stanza enhances the central idea of the poem.
Do you agree with this statement? Justify your response. (3)
[10]
TOTAL SECTION A: 30
SECTION B: NOVEL
Answer ONLY on the novel you have studied.
THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY – Oscar Wilde
Answer EITHER QUESTION 6 (essay question) OR QUESTION 7 (contextual question).
QUESTION 6: THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY – ESSAY QUESTION
The Picture of Dorian Gray is about Dorian Gray's loss of innocence.
Critically discuss the extent to which you agree with the above statement.
Your response should take the form of a well-constructed essay of 400–450 words (2–2½ pages).
[25]
QUESTION 7: THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY – CONTEXTUAL QUESTION
Read the extracts below and then answer the questions that follow.
EXTRACT A
| 'And now, Dorian, get up on the platform, and don't move about too much, or pay any attention to what Lord Henry says. He has a very bad influence over all his friends, with the single exception of myself.' Dorian Gray stepped up on the dais, with the air of a young Greek martyr, and made a little moue of discontent to Lord Henry, to whom he had rather taken a fancy. He was so unlike Basil. They made a delightful contrast. And he had such a beautiful voice. After a few moments he said to him, 'Have you really a very bad influence, Lord Henry? As bad as Basil says?' 'There is no such thing as a good influence, Mr Gray. All influence is immoral – immoral from the scientific point of view.' 'Why?' 'Because to influence a person is to give him one's own soul. He does not think his natural thoughts or burn with his natural passions. His virtues are not real to him. His sins, if there are such things as sins, are borrowed. He becomes an echo of some one else's music, an actor of a part that has not been written for him. The aim of life is self-development. To realise one's nature perfectly – that is what each of us is here for. … 'Just turn your head a little more to the right, Dorian, like a good boy,' said the painter, deep in his work, and conscious only that a look had come into the lad's face that he had never seen there before. [Chapter 2] |
7.1 Place the above extract in context. (3)
7.2 Refer to lines 1–2: 'And now, Dorian, … Lord Henry says.'
Explain how Basil's tone reflects his attitude toward Dorian. (3)
7.3 Refer to lines 18–19: 'a look had … seen there before.'
Discuss the significance of Basil's observation in the light of later events. (3)
7.4 Refer to line 9: 'There is no such thing as a good influence, Mr Gray. All influence is immoral –'.
Do you agree with Lord Henry's view as expressed in this line? Justify your response by drawing on the novel as a whole. (3)
AND
EXTRACT B
| '… you finished a portrait of me that revealed to me the wonder of beauty. In a mad moment, that, even now, I don't know whether I regret or not, I made a wish, perhaps you would call it a prayer ...' 'I remember it! Oh, how well I remember it! No, the thing is impossible! The room is damp. Mildew has got into the canvas. The paints I used had some wretched mineral poison in them. I tell you the thing is impossible.' 'Ah, what is impossible?' murmured the young man, going over to the window, and leaning his forehead against the cold, mist-stained glass. 'You told me you had destroyed it.' 'I was wrong. It has destroyed me.' 'I don't believe it is my picture.' 'Can't you see your ideal in it?' said Dorian, bitterly. 'My ideal, as you call it ...' 'As you called it.' 'There was nothing evil in it, nothing shameful. You were to me such an ideal as I shall never meet again. This is the face of a satyr.' 'It is the face of my soul.' 'Christ! What a thing I must have worshipped! It has the eyes of a devil.' 'Each of us has Heaven and Hell in him, Basil,' cried Dorian, with a wild gesture of despair. Hallward turned again to the portrait, and gazed at it. 'My God! If it is true,' he exclaimed, 'and this is what you have done with your life, why, you must be worse even than those who talk against you fancy you to be!' [Chapter 13] |
7.5 Account for Dorian's decision to reveal the tainted picture to Basil. (3)
7.6 Refer to line 1: '… you finished a portrait of me that revealed to me the wonder of beauty.'
Explain what their pre-occupation with beauty suggests about aristocratic Victorian society. (3)
7.7 Critically discuss the mood in this extract. (3)
7.8 Refer to lines 1–3: 'In a mad ... it a prayer …'.
Critically discuss how Dorian's comment at this point in the novel is crucial to your understanding of his moral degeneration. (4)
[25]
LIFE OF PI – Yann Martel
Answer EITHER QUESTION 8 (essay question) OR QUESTION 9 (contextual question).
QUESTION 8: LIFE OF PI – ESSAY QUESTION
The manner in which Pi fights to survive diminishes his humanity.
Critically discuss the extent to which you agree with the above statement.
Your response should take the form of a well-constructed essay of 400–450 words (2–2½ pages).
[25]
QUESTION 9: LIFE OF PI – CONTEXTUAL QUESTION
Read the extracts below and then answer the questions that follow.
EXTRACT C
| It was with pride that I waved the ticket collector's hand away and showed Mr Kumar into the zoo. He marvelled at everything, at how to tall trees came tall giraffes, how carnivores were supplied with herbivores and herbivores with grass, how some creatures crowded the day and others the night, how some that needed sharp beaks had sharp beaks and others that needed limber limbs had limber limbs. It made me happy that he was so impressed. He quoted from the Holy Qur'an: 'In all this there are messages indeed for a people who use their reason.' We came to the zebras. Mr Kumar had never heard of such creatures, let alone seen one. He was dumbfounded. 'They're called zebras,' I said. 'Have they been painted with a brush?' 'No, no. They look like that naturally.' 'What happens when it rains?' 'Nothing.' 'The stripes don't melt?' 'No.' I had brought some carrots. There was one left, a large and sturdy specimen. I took it out of the bag. At that moment I heard a slight scraping of gravel to my right. It was Mr Kumar, coming up to the railing in his usual limping and rolling gait. … Mr and Mr Kumar looked delighted. 'A zebra, you say?' said Mr Kumar. 'That's right,' I replied. 'It belongs to the same family as the ass and the horse.' 'The Rolls-Royce of equids,' said Mr Kumar. 'What a wondrous creature,' said Mr Kumar. 'This one's a Grant's zebra,' I said. Mr Kumar said, 'Equus burchelli boehmi.' Mr Kumar said, 'Allahu akbar.' I said, 'It's very pretty.' We looked on. [Chapter 31] |
9.1 Refer to lines 1–2: 'It was with … into the zoo.'
Account for Pi's feeling of pride. (3)
9.2 Refer to line 27: ' "This one's a Grant's zebra," I said.'
Explain the significance of the zebra in the context of the novel as a whole. (3)
9.3 Earlier in the novel, Pi says, 'Mr and Mr Kumar were the prophets of my Indian youth.'
Refer to the novel as a whole and comment on the impact of both men on Pi's life. (3)
9.4 Refer to line 25: 'The Rolls-Royce of equids' and line 26: 'What a wondrous creature'.
Despite their widely differing perspectives on life, both Mr Kumars display a similar reaction to the zebra.
Discuss the accuracy of this observation. (3)
AND
EXTRACT D
| 'What exactly do you intend to feed that tiger of yours? How much longer do you think he'll last on three dead animals? Do I need to remind you that tigers are not carrion eaters? Granted, when he's on his last legs he probably won't lift his nose at much. But don't you think that before he submits to eating puffy, putrefied zebra he'll try the fresh, juicy Indian boy just a short dip away?' … You may be astonished that in such a short period of time I could go from weeping over the muffled killing of a flying fish to gleefully bludgeoning to death a dorado. I could explain it by arguing that profiting from a pitiful flying fish's navigational mistake made me shy and sorrowful, while the excitement of actively capturing a great dorado made me sanguinary and self-assured. But in point of fact the explanation lies elsewhere. It is simple and brutal: a person can get used to anything, even to killing. It was with a hunter's pride that I pulled the raft up to the lifeboat. I brought it along the side, keeping very low. I swung my arm and dropped the dorado into the boat. It landed with a heavy thud and provoked a gruff expression of surprise from Richard Parker. After a sniff or two, I heard the wet mashing sound of a mouth at work. I pushed myself off, not forgetting to blow the whistle hard several times, to remind Richard Parker of who had so graciously provided him with fresh food. [Chapter 61] |
9.5 Explain how Pi's upbringing has equipped him with the necessary skills for his survival. (3)
9.6 Refer to lines 1–3: 'What exactly do … not carrion eaters?'
In your view, is Pi's survival linked to that of the tiger? Justify your response. (3)
9.7 Refer to lines 16–17: 'I pushed myself … with fresh food.'
Critically discuss the contrast between Pi's current mood and his mood when he is first stranded on the lifeboat. (3)
9.8 Refer to line 11: 'It is simple … even to killing.'
Critically discuss how Pi's comment at this point in the novel is crucial to your understanding of his plight on the lifeboat. (4)
[25]
TOTAL SECTION B: 25
SECTION C: DRAMA
Answer ONLY on the play you have studied.
HAMLET – William Shakespeare
Answer EITHER QUESTION 10 (essay question) OR QUESTION 11 (contextual question).
QUESTION 10: HAMLET – ESSAY QUESTION
The problem of making moral choices is a significant issue in the play.
Critically assess the validity of this statement.
Your response should take the form of a well-constructed essay of 400–450 words (2–2½ pages).
[25]
QUESTION 11: HAMLET – CONTEXTUAL QUESTION
Read the extracts below and then answer the questions that follow.
EXTRACT E
| HAMLET Get thee to a nunnery. Why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners? I am myself indifferent honest, but yet I could accuse me of such things that it were better my mother had not borne me. I am very proud, revengeful, ambitious, with more offences at my beck than I have thoughts to put them in, imagination to give them shape, or time to act them in. What should such fellows as I do crawling between heaven and earth? We are arrant knaves, all. Believe none of us. Go thy ways to a nunnery. Where's your father? OPHELIA At home, my lord. HAMLET Let the doors be shut upon him, that he may play the fool nowhere but in's own house. Farewell. OPHELIA O help him, you sweet heavens! HAMLET If thou dost marry, I'll give thee this plague for thy dowry: be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny. Get thee to a nunnery, go, farewell. Or if thou wilt needs marry, marry a fool; for wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them. To a nunnery, go, and quickly, too. Farewell. OPHELIA O heavenly powers, restore him! [Act 3, Scene 1] |
11.1 Account for Hamlet's feelings toward Ophelia at this stage of the play. (2)
11.2 Refer to lines 3–4: 'that it were better/my mother had not borne me.'
How does this statement reflect Hamlet's state of mind? (2)
11.3 Refer to line 11: 'At home, my lord.'
Suggest a reason for Hamlet's annoyance at Ophelia's response. (2)
11.4 Discuss how the play demonstrates that Ophelia is subject to patriarchal (male) domination in her home. (3)
11.5 Comment on the extent to which it would be justifiable to attribute Ophelia's suicide to Hamlet. (3)
AND
EXTRACT F
| LAUDIUS Now must your conscience my acquittance seal, And you must put me in your heart for friend, Sith you have heard, and with a knowing ear, That he which hath your noble father slain Pursued my life. LAERTES It well appears. But tell me Why you proceeded not against these feats, So crimeful and so capital in nature, As by your safety, wisdom, all things else, You mainly were stirred up. CLAUDIUS O, for two special reasons, Which may to you perhaps seem much unsinewed, And yet to me they're strong. The Queen his mother Lives almost by his looks; and for myself – My virtue or my plague, be it either which – She's so conjunctive to my life and soul That, as the star moves not but in his sphere, I could not but by her. The other motive Why to a public count I might not go Is the great love the general gender bear him, Who, dipping all his faults in their affection, Would, like the spring that turneth wood to stone, Convert his guilts to graces; so that my arrows, Too slightly timbered for so loud a wind, Would have reverted to my bow again, And not where I had aimed them. LAERTES And so have I a noble father lost, A sister driven into desperate terms, Who has, if praises may go back again, Stood challenger, on mount, of all the age For her perfections. But my revenge will come. CLAUDIUS Break not your sleeps for that. You must not think That we are made of stuff so flat and dull That we can let our beard be shook with danger, And think it pastime. You shortly shall hear more. I loved your father, and we love ourself. And that, I hope, will teach you to imagine – [Act 4, Scene 7] |
11.6 Refer to line 14: 'Lives almost by his looks'.
Explain how Gertrude's final act will clearly indicate her love for Hamlet. (3)
11.7 Refer to line 2: 'And you must put me in your heart for friend'.
Discuss the irony in this line. (3)
11.8 Refer to lines 27–31: 'And so have … revenge will come.'
If you were the director of a production of Hamlet, describe how you would direct the actor playing Laertes to deliver these lines. Justify your answer with reference to both body language and tone. (3)
11.9 Claudius is a villain without any redeeming qualities.
Using your knowledge of the play as a whole, critically discuss the extent to which you agree with this statement. (4)
[25]
OTHELLO – William Shakespeare
Answer EITHER QUESTION 12 (essay question) OR QUESTION 13 (contextual question).
QUESTION 12: OTHELLO – ESSAY QUESTION
The problem of making moral choices is a significant issue in the play.
Critically assess the validity of this statement.
Your response should take the form of a well-constructed essay of 400–450 words (2–2½ pages).
[25]
QUESTION 13: OTHELLO – CONTEXTUAL QUESTION
Read the extracts below and then answer the questions that follow.
EXTRACT G
| OTHELLO If it were now to die, 'Twere now to be most happy, for I fear My soul hath her content so absolute That not another comfort like to this Succeeds in unknown fate. … IAGO That Cassio loves her, I do well believe't. That she loves him, 'tis apt and of great credit. The Moor, howbeit that I endure him not, Is of a constant, noble, loving nature, And, I dare think, he'll prove to Desdemona A most dear husband. Now, I do love her too– Not out of absolute lust (though peradventure I stand accountant for as great a sin) But partly led to diet my revenge, For that I do suspect the lusty Moor Hath leaped into my seat, the thought whereof Doth like a poisonous mineral gnaw my inwards. And nothing can or shall content my soul Till I am evened with him, wife for wife, Or failing so, yet that I put the Moor At least into a jealousy so strong That judgment cannot cure. Which thing to do, If this poor trash of Venice, whom I trash For his quick hunting, stand the putting on, I'll have our Michael Cassio on the hip, Abuse him to the Moor in the rank garb (For I fear Cassio with my nightcap too) Make the Moor thank me, love me and reward me For making him egregiously an ass And practising upon his peace and quiet Even to madness. 'Tis here but yet confused. Knavery's plain face is never seen till used. [Act 2, Scene 1] |
13.1 Refer to lines 1–2: 'If it were … be most happy'.
Account for Othello's feelings at this stage of the play. (2)
13.2 Refer to lines 6–7: 'That Cassio loves … of great credit.'
Explain how Iago intends to use the friendship between Desdemona and Cassio to his benefit. (2)
13.3 Refer to lines 11–19: 'Now, I do … wife for wife'.
Suggest what these lines indicate about Iago's character. (2)
13.4 Refer to lines 8–11: 'The Moor, howbeit … most dear husband.'
Explain what is ironic about Iago's words. (3)
13.5 Refer to lines 28–31: 'Make the Moor … Even to madness.'
In the light of the above statement, discuss why Iago will be successful in manipulating Othello. (3)
AND
EXTRACT H
| EMILIA Cassio, my lord, hath killed a young Venetian Called Roderigo. OTHELLO Roderigo killed? And Cassio killed? EMILIA No, Cassio is not killed. OTHELLO Not Cassio killed! Then murder's out of tune, And sweet revenge grows harsh. DESDEMONA O, falsely, falsely murdered! EMILIA O Lord! What cry is that? OTHELLO That? What? EMILIA Out and alas! It is my lady's voice! 5 10 English Home Language/P2 23 DBE/November 2017 NSC Copyright reserved Please turn over Emilia draws back the bed-curtains Help, help, ho, help! O, lady, speak again! Sweet Desdemona, O sweet mistress, speak! DESDEMONA A guiltless death I die. EMILIA O, who has done this deed? DESDEMONA Nobody; I myself. Farewell. Commend me to my kind lord. O, farewell! Desdemona dies … EMILIA Thou art rash as fire to say That she was false. O, she was heavenly true! OTHELLO Cassio did top her – ask thy husband else. O, I were damned beneath all depth in hell But that I did proceed upon just grounds To this extremity. Thy husband knew it all. EMILIA My husband! OTHELLO Thy husband. EMILIA That she was false to wedlock? OTHELLO Ay, with Cassio. Nay, had she been true, If heaven would make me another such world Of one entire and perfect chrysolite, I'ld not have sold her for it. EMILIA My husband! OTHELLO Ay, 'twas he that told me first. An honest man he is, and hates the slime That sticks on filthy deeds. EMILIA My husband! OTHELLO What needs this iteration? Woman, I say thy husband. EMILIA O mistress, villainy hath made mocks with love! My husband say that she was false? OTHELLO He, woman. I say thy husband – dost understand the word? My friend, thy husband, honest, honest Iago. [Act 5, Scene 2] |
13.6 Refer to lines 6–7: 'Not Cassio killed! … revenge grows harsh.'
Explain Othello's reactions in these lines. (3)
13.7 Refer to lines 13–14: 'Help, help, ho, … sweet mistress, speak!'
If you were the director of a production of Othello, how would you instruct the actress to deliver these lines? Justify your instructions with reference to both body language and tone. (3)
13.8 Refer to lines 17–18: 'Nobody; I myself … my kind lord.'
Discuss the extent to which Desdemona's own actions have contributed to the tragedy. (3)
13.9 The death of Desdemona marks the ultimate victory of evil.
Using your knowledge of the play as a whole, critically comment on the validity of this statement. (4)
[25]
THE CRUCIBLE – Arthur Miller
Answer EITHER QUESTION 14 (essay question) OR QUESTION 15 (contextual question).
QUESTION 14: THE CRUCIBLE – ESSAY QUESTION
The problem of making moral choices is a significant issue in the play.
Critically assess the validity of this statement.
Your response should take the form of a well-constructed essay of 400–450 words (2–2½ pages).
[25]
QUESTION 15: THE CRUCIBLE – CONTEXTUAL QUESTION
Read the extracts below and then answer the questions that follow.
EXTRACT I
| PROCTOR eats, then looks up. PROCTOR: If the crop is good I'll buy George Jacob's heifer. How would that please you? ELIZABETH:Aye, it would. PROCTOR:(with a grin): I mean to please you, Elizabeth. ELIZABETH:(it is hard to say): I know it, John. He gets up, goes to her, kisses her. She receives it. With a certain disappointment, he returns to the table. PROCTOR:(as gently as he can): Cider? ELIZABETH:(with a sense of reprimanding herself for having forgot): Aye! (She gets up and goes and pours a glass for him. He now arches his back.) … ELIZABETH:Mary Warren's there today. PROCTOR:Why'd you let her? You heard me forbid her go to Salem any more! ELIZABETH:I couldn't stop her. PROCTOR:(holding back a full condemnation of her): It is a fault, it is a fault, Elizabeth – you're the mistress here, not Mary Warren. ELIZABETH:She frightened all my strength away. PROCTOR:How may that mouse frighten you, Elizabeth? You – ELIZABETH:It is a mouse no more. I forbid her go, and she raises up her chin like the daughter of a prince and says to me, 'I must go to Salem, Goody Proctor; I am an official of the court!' PROCTOR:Court! What court? ELIZABETH:Aye, it is a proper court they have now. They've sent four judges out of Boston, she says, weighty magistrates of the General Court, and at the head sits the Deputy Governor of the Province. PROCTOR:(astonished): Why, she's mad. ELIZABETH:I would to God she were. There be fourteen people in the jail now, she says. (PROCTOR simply looks at her, unable to grasp it.) And they'll be tried, and the court have power to hang them too, she says. [Act 2] |
15.1 Refer to line 5: 'I mean to please you, Elizabeth.'
Account for Proctor's need to please his wife. (2)
15.2 Refer to lines 20–22: 'It is a mouse … of the court!'
Explain the changes that are observed in Mary Warren at this point in the play. (2)
15.3 What does this extract suggest about the current state of the Proctors' marriage? (2)
15.4 Refer to lines 23–29: 'Court! What Court? … (unable to grasp it.)'
By referring to both the stage directions and the dialogue, discuss John Proctor's attitude to the events taking place in Salem. (3)
15.5 Comment on the impact that the court trials have on the people of Salem. (3)
AND
EXTRACT J
| PROCTOR: She never saw no spirits, sir. DANFORTH: (with great alarm and surprise, to Mary): Never saw no spirits! … PARRIS:They've come to overthrow the court, sir! This man is – DANFORTH: I pray you, Mr Parris. Do you know, Mr Proctor, that the entire contention of the state in these trials is that the voice of Heaven is speaking through the children? PROCTOR: I know that, sir. DANFORTH: (thinks, staring at Proctor, then turns to Mary Warren): And you, Mary Warren, how came you to cry out people for sending their spirits against you? MARY:It were pretence, sir. DANFORTH: I cannot hear you. PROCTOR: It were pretence, she says. DANFORTH: Ah? And the other girls? Susanna Walcott, and – the others? They are also pretending? MARY:Aye, sir. DANFORTH: (wide-eyed): Indeed. (Pause. He is baffled by this. He turns to study Proctor's face.) PARRIS:(in a sweat): Excellency, you surely cannot think to let so vile a lie to spread in open court! DANFORTH: Indeed not, but it strike hard upon me that she will dare come here with such a tale. Now, Mr Proctor, before I decide whether I shall hear you or not, it is my duty to tell you this. We burn a hot fire here; it melts down all concealment. PROCTOR: I know that, sir. DANFORTH: Let me continue. I understand well, a husband's tenderness may drive him to extravagance in defence of a wife. Are you certain in your conscience, Mister, that your evidence is the truth? [Act 3] |
15.6 Refer to lines 27–28: 'Are you certain in your conscience'.
Discuss how Proctor's action later in the play offers an answer to Danforth's question. (3)
15.7 Explain the irony of Danforth's assertion that it is the 'voice of Heaven' (line 5) that is 'speaking through the children' (line 6). (3)
15.8 Refer to line 3: 'They've come to overthrow the court, sir! This man is –'.
If you were the director of a production of The Crucible, how would you instruct the actor to deliver this line? Justify your instructions with reference to both body language and tone. (3)
15.9 The nature of justice in Salem is questionable.
Using this extract as a starting point and drawing on your knowledge of the play as a whole, critically comment on the validity of this statement. (4)
TOTAL SECTION C:25
GRAND TOTAL:80