O-LevelLiterature in EnglishProse2010/11 · May/June 2010 · Q2825 Marks

IAN CROSS: The God Boy Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: 'She is friendly to me and her eyes are all right then. She's been that way ever since she was sick that time. She looks as though she picked up sixpence and lost a pound note as they say. That was silly, her getting sick, and he blaming her for getting sick.' 'It's hard to say when people are being silly,' said Jack. 'Little boys don't understand what is going on, and perhaps they should not pay attention. Grownups should be ignored sometimes, kind of, by children.' 'It's hard not to pay attention,' I explained, 'especially when they shout. Do you think I'm queer and imagine things?' I said. 'No, it's not that,' said Jack. 'You're hearing right, I don't doubt a second. It's just that you're hearing what you shouldn't be. Most of the trouble in the world starts that way, Jimmy, with people hearing or seeing something they shouldn't be. You think if you never bothered to look or see anything much you wouldn't be worrying.' 'I'd have to be very dumb to be like that, I said. 'Then be dumb,' he said. ‘See nothing, hear nothing.' 'I can't, I can't,' I said. ‘I can't help hearing. I can't help seeing. I can't help it unless I run away. 'Then just don't care,' said Jack. 'Don't care. Like for instance you know about that fire down at Albertville a couple of days ago and six people got burned to death?' I nodded my head. Everybody knew about that fire. We'd even talked about it at school. 'Well,' said Jack. 'You know about the fire, and yet it doesn't drive you out of your head thinking about it, does it?' 'No,' I said. 'I'm sorry, even so.' 'Of course you are sorry, but you don't care. Well, be the same with your Mum and Dad. Be sorry but don't worry or care. They can take care of themselves. They both are nice to you aren't they?' 'Yes.' 'That's all you got to worry about then. They're nice to you. Let them worry about the other business.' 'I'll try,' I said. We were both quiet after that, with old Jack just staring down into the water around his line as though he could see the fish, and me looking everywhere at once. Then I thought that I would ask him about his troubles, if he had any, seeing he was so decent about mine. With that advice and stuff. 'Don't you worry about a thing, Jack?' I asked. 'Nope,' he said. 'What about being all by yourself, and nobody to look after you, as you told me once you had no family?' He moved his chin up and around and jerked at his line. 'Nope,' he said. 'Don't worry.' 'You mean you never worried?' I said, wondering if he thought I had been a little sissy for telling him what I had earlier. 'Worried a long time ago about my wife. All of thirty years ago it must be. Worried myself nearly sick. Then she ran away and I never did see her again and I never did worry much again, either. He was a fat little bloke with a beard, all the time dressing up, and having smelly oil on his hair, thinking he was a great one, he was. 'Who was?' I asked. 'He was,' he said. That was Bloody Jack all over. He was always getting mixed up like that, without making sense, when he talked about himself. So I tried another subject. How does Cross make this conversation between Jimmy and Bloody Jack so sad? Support your views with detail from the extract.

(a)How does Cross make this conversation between Jimmy and Bloody Jack so sad? Support your views with detail from the extract.[25]

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2010). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

[25] There are many things to which the candidate might respond in this extract and we should not be prescriptive.
[25] This is a poignant moment, in some ways quite rare in the novel in that here the two generations speak openly to one another, sharing experiences of alienation and travail.
[25] Both have been let down by those that are/were near to them and Cross makes you feel the bond between them.
[25] To no other adult does Jimmy relate so deeply.
[25] In some ways the very fact that Jimmy feels able to talk about his problems is a temporary relief.
[25] Some detailed investigation of ideas like this should be enough for reasonable reward.
[25] However, perhaps it could be said that paradoxically Jimmy's isolation is underlined by the advice offered.
[25] It hasn't enabled Jack to live a happy and fulfilled life.
[25] He lives his life as a recluse avoiding most human contact.
[25] Neither can it work for Jimmy.
[25] A child cannot cut himself off from his parents and their lives, much as Jimmy tries, and the comparison between the dead of Albertsville and his parents does not stand up, as Jimmy realises.
[25] The more there is a grasp of the subtleties and implications of the passage, the greater evidence there is of personal involvement with the writing, the higher the mark.
[25] Remember to refer to the photostats and band descriptors to arrive at your mark.
[25] Refer to the band descriptors in arriving at your mark.

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