Minty Alley

by C. L. R. James

Mock exam
SOURCE A

This extract is from Chapter 12 (out of 34) of C. L. R James’s novel, Minty Alley. The novel was
written and set in Trinidad in 1928 but published in England in 1938.

Haynes is a 20 year old bachelor whose mother has recently died. He rents a room from Mrs
Rouse and Mr Benoit. Mr Benoit is in a relationship with Mrs Rouse, but also with another
lodger, Nurse Jackson.

Tuesday afternoon and Tuesday night Benoit went away as usual, Wednesday afternoon and
again Wednesday night. It was not Haynes’s business at all, but he felt irritated with the man. After
all he still lived at No. 2, and it would cost him nothing to exercise a little restraint. Every time, as
soon as he left, the talk broke out in the yard. ‘But you ever see a thing like this!’ ‘The man ain’t got
no shame.’ ‘If was me I’d throw all his clothes in the canal.’
On Thursday morning he did not turn out to work. At seven o’clock he came into Haynes’s room
dressed in his new brown suit and asked Haynes to give him a recommendation.
‘A recommendation!’
‘Yes, a recommendation. I am going to look for a job. Down at the West Indies Trading Company.
The manager know the nurse. She attend to his wife and they like her
– they make her a nice present– and she ask him about a job for me.’
Haynes said no: the idea of his giving a recommendation was absurd. He was a person of no
consequence and could not give any recommendation.
‘But, Haynes, man, don’t let me down. All you have to say is that I am your landlord, and you know
me to be trustworthy and so on. You know how to wield the pen, man.’
‘But I have no right—’
‘Nonsense, man. Here is the pen. Here is a piece of paper. This is to certify . . . Come on, Haynes.
It costs you nothing. Oblige a friend.’
Haynes sat down and wrote.
‘Read it,’ he said, giving it to Benoit.
‘No need to read it,’ said Benoit, folding the sheet of notepaper and taking up an envelope from the
table. ‘Yes, man. I am going down. The nurse told me that a man of my appearance have no right
making cakes. She says she will help me to get a good job.
Right-o,Haynes.’
He left, but he came back quickly.
‘This is between us, eh!’ he said, and winked knowingly
‘As you say,’ said Haynes.
‘Honour bright?’
‘You can depend on me.’
Benoit had not gone five minutes when there was a knock at the door. Mrs. Rouse, thought
Haynes, and it was.
‘Come in, madam,’ he said, and offered her a chair.
‘No, Mr. Haynes. I am not for long.’
The difference between her appearance today and before when she had led Haynes into that very
room made him realize more than imagination could what she had gone through. Then she was a
stout housewife, slightly care-worn, but cheerful, hopeful of the future if even things were not as
bright as she wished. Today she was a defeated woman – in her eyes a hunted look which she no
longer took the trouble to disguise, sustained merely by the necessity to keep the wheels of her
business going. And Haynes felt deeply sorry for her; and felt, too, that by talking and laughing with
Benoit he was doing Mrs. Rouse a great wrong; and was aware that it was stupid of him to feel that
way; but could never entirely rid himself of the feeling whenever he stood face to face with Mrs.
Rouse. He waited for her to speak.
‘You must excuse me interrupting you, Mr. Haynes,’ she began and her voice was thin and
quavering, ‘but I hope Mr. Benoit has not been worrying you about anything.’
‘No, Mrs. Rouse, he hasn’t worried me at all.’
‘I saw him with an envelope. I hope you didn’t endorse any promissory note for him.’
‘No, Mrs. Rouse. It wasn’t that.’
‘Never do anything like that for him, Mr. Haynes. He is not a man to trust.’ She looked searchingly
at Haynes. ‘He didn’t ask you to lend him money?’
‘No, Mrs. Rouse, he didn’t . . . He didn’t, really.’
‘All right, Mr. Haynes. I believe you. But I wonder what that man is up to now? God have mercy on
me.’

END OF SOURCE
 Section A

1. Read again the first part of the source, from lines 1 to 11.
List four things about Benoit and his surroundings from this part of the source.
[4 marks]

2. Look in detail at lines 12 to 38 of the source.

How does the writer use language here to convey Haynes’s feelings of irritation?
OR
How does the writer use language here to convey Benoit’s sense of excitement?

You could include the writer’s choice of:

• words and phrases
• language features and techniques
• sentence forms.

[8 marks]

3. You now need to think about the whole of the source. The text is from the twelfth chapter of a
novel.

How has the writer structured the text to interest you as a reader?

You could write about:

• what the writer focuses your attention on at the beginning of the source
• how and why the writer changes this focus as the source develops
• any other structural features that interest you
[8 marks]

4. Focus this part of your answer on the second part of the source, from line 39 to the end.
A student said, ‘This part of the story, where Mrs Rouse and Haynes are discussing Benoit, shows
that women are in charge of and responsible for domestic households.’ To what extent do you
agree?

In your response you could:

• consider your impressions of the conversation and how the characters interact
• evaluate how the writer creates a sense of tension
• support your response with references to the text
[20 marks]

Section B
5. Your local newspaper is running a creative writing competition and the best entries will be
published.

Either
Describe (1) the writer of the letter or (2) the person in the image or (3) the conflict/resolution as
suggested by the(se) picture(s):

Or

Write a story with the title ‘Lies and Deception’.

(24 marks for content and organisation

16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]