QUESTION 6: THE MARK – CONTEXTUAL QUESTIONS

Read the extracts below and then answer the questions that follow.

EXTRACT A

…And strolls towards the stairs that take the posh to their rooms.

I count, one little, two little, fifty little Indians, then pick up my bag, toss my swimming
towel over my shoulder and follow Kitty. Not too fast, not too slow. I am just a posh
kid going back to her room after a swim in the hotel pool.

My spine tingles as I climb the stairs to the second floor. It smells of sun blocker and
Posh sweat. I reach room 23. This is the number Kitty signalled to me. It is the
number of the key she nicked from the credit purse. A posh room of credits and stuff
for Cowboy. The room is ajar and a family of posh are on their way out with towels
and sun hats. There is no sign of Kitty. But she definitely signalled Room 23.

[Chapter 10]

6.1 What type of narrator is used in the novel? (1)

6.2 What is the significance of Ettie’s spine is tingling in the context of this extract
and the novel as a whole? (3)

6.3 This incident is not Ettie’s first attempt at stealing others’ belongings. Describe
the first time in the novel that Ettie and Kitty engage in theft. (2)

6.4 Discuss how the incident from this extract signals an important turning point in
the novel. (2)

EXTRACT B

“It’s true. Cook sent me for medicine and I saw you coming out of the study, Ettie.”
Cook nods. “I sent Dora to the third-floor store room for something to calm our
insides. We had all been taken by a bug that day.”

I remember it now: the fleeting presence in the corridor as I had come out of
master’s study. Dora has bided her time, waiting for the best moment to get even.
The evidence is stacked against me like a pile of dirty pots.

Little Miss stares at me with eyes that are too big for her face “But you can’t send
her away. It was me, Father. I did it.” She begins to cry.

[Chapter 16]
6.5 Explain why Dora holds a grudge against Ettie. (2)

6.6 Comment on what Ettie’s allowing Dora to take the blame for the porridge
incident suggests about her character. (2)

6.7 Why is Little Miss taking the blame for Ettie’s wrong-doing? (2)

6.8 Discuss the relationship between Little Miss and Ettie. (2)

EXTRACT C

“It’s because she can’t face going back there next week,” says Mistress, spooning
some mint into her tea. “The last visit she made to The Laboratory gave her night
fears.”

“Larissa needs to understand the situation. Unless we go through with this, she will
die. There is no cure for her illness other than the procedure I have devised,” he
says.

Mistress rubs her blue-veined hands together. It is as if she is trying to rub away the
cold as well as her anxiety.

[Chapter 18]

6.9 Who needs to die in order for Little Miss to live? (1)

6.10.1 Do you think that Master and Mistress are good parents? Explain your
answer. (2)

6.10.2 Describe how Master’s plan goes awry. (3)

6.11 The allocation of jobs in Mangeria is unfair. Do you agree with this statement?
Give examples from the novel to motivate your response. (3)

TOTAL SECTION B: [25]