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SECTION C: SHORT STORIES
In this section there are questions set on the following short stories:
• ‘THE LUNCHEON’ by W Somerset Maugham
• ‘RELATIVES’ by Chris van Wyk
QUESTION 6
Read the extracts from the TWO short stories below and answer the questions set on each. The number of marks allocated to each question serves as a guide to the expected length of your answer.
NOTE: Answer the questions set on BOTH extracts, i.e. QUESTION 6.1 AND QUESTION 6.2.
‘THE LUNCHEON’
6.1 EXTRACT K
[The writer recalls his first meeting with the woman.]
6.1.1 The writer meets the woman for the second time.
(a) Where does the writer meet the woman for the second time? (1)
(b) How does the writer feel at this meeting? Explain why he feels this way. (3)
6.1.2 Refer to line 4 (‘Did I remember?’).
(a) Choose the correct answer to complete the following sentence. Write only the letter (A–D) next to the question number (6.1.2(a)) in the ANSWER BOOK.
When the writer says ‘Did I remember?’ (line 4), he means he …
A remembers very well.
B does not remember.
C is not sure he remembers.
D is trying to remember. (1)
(b) Explain why he feels this way. (1)
6.1.3 In lines 11–13 (‘she was spending … at Foyot’s afterwards?’) the woman requests that they meet at Foyot’s.
(a) Explain why the woman chooses Foyot’s for their luncheon. (1)
(b) Using your OWN words, give TWO reasons why the writer does not object to her choice of restaurant. (2)
6.1.4 State ONE reaction of the writer on seeing the woman for the FIRST time and illustrate this with an example. (2)
6.1.5 Name ONE item the writer ordered at the restaurant. (1)
6.1.6 Explain the irony in this story. (2)
6.1.7 In your opinion, how is the fact that the woman in this short story is a manipulative character, conveyed to the reader? (3)
AND
‘RELATIVES’
6.2 EXTRACT L
[The narrator is alone with the two young men.]
6.2.1 Refer to lines 1–2 (‘On my way … about committing murder’). (a) Explain why the narrator goes ‘down to the Cape’. State TWO points. (2)
(b) State TWO reasons why the narrator believed that Georgie Abrahams ‘had joked about committing murder’. (2)
6.2.2 Refer to lines 5–7 (‘You! I looked … voice would allow’).
(a) Why are the two boys on this train? (1)
(b) Although the narrator uses a casual tone in line 7, he is experiencing a different emotion. Name this emotion. (1)
(c) Give a reason for your answer to QUESTION 6.2.2(b). (1)
6.2.3 Explain why the following statement is TRUE.
The atmosphere between the two boys and the narrator changes after the conversation in the extract. Give TWO points of evidence from the extract. (2)
6.2.4 Refer to lines 23–27 (‘I opened the … of it all’).
(a) Identify the figure of speech in line 25 (‘streets running with the blood of gangsters’). (1)
(b) Identify and discuss the theme evident in these lines. (4)
6.2.5 The narrator probably has mixed feelings about being related to the two brothers after reading about their deaths. Discuss your views on this statement. (4)
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TOTAL SECTION C: 35