Question 3 - 15 marks

Orwell uses a semantic field of harshness to establish an atmosphere of hardship and poverty
to create a tone of apprehension for the reader. For example, this semantic field includes
adjectives such as ‘secrecy’, ‘fearful’ and ‘disasters’ to portray the harsh, rough, and unforgiving
nature of poverty and the working class to the reader which creates an establishment of fear
and tension but also sympathy and intrigue about the hardship and adversities of poverty in
Paris.

Orwell also establishes a repetition of personal pronouns structured to engage the reader and
place them into his position as he tries to survive with six francs a day.

This memoir also establishes the repetition of the adjective ‘lies’: ‘expensive lies’ and ‘net of lies’
to further emphasise the drastic and almost impossible task of escaping poverty as the
character is forced to stop ‘sending clothes to the laundry’ and he further emphasises how even
something as innocent as food is ‘governed by lies’. This creates a tone of dread as he barely
survives and the moral conflict and guilt of lies he faces grows.

Orwell also further integrates a cyclical structure that starts with the initial, inexperienced view of
poverty described as ‘curious’ though this resolves in the memoir as by the last line, he has
become one of the people trapped and governed by poverty and he has experienced the
harshness of survival. Orwell zooms in on his inner thoughts as he becomes aware of who he
has become, this can be shown with the quote ‘a snivelling self-pity comes over you’ in
comparison to the earlier optimistic and light curiosity and naivety as the reader empathises with
the harrowing acceptance and suffering the character has undergone in this experience.
Furthermore, Orwell integrates a desperate, almost taunting personification of the food that he
cannot access with the quote ‘Everywhere there is food insulting you in huge, wasteful piles’
and ‘whole dead pigs’ and ‘mountains of potatoes’ which exemplifies how haunted and
desperate for food and an escape from poverty he is. ‘Insulting’ and ‘wasteful’ along with
‘mountains’ serves successfully to emphasise this ever present desperation and the reader can
infer from this proud, privileged display of wealth and food, the greed and lack of self-awareness
of the upper classes as they display their food and the people in poverty suffer.

Question 6 - 15 marks

In this extract, the writer’s attempt to show the negative impact of homelessness is extremely
successful.

The article begins successfully with a dramatic tone for the introduction to establish the
harrowing, unpredictable nature of homelessness with the short, powerful sentence ‘I was 11
years old’ to establish this tragedy and how young it can really affect people.

The writer successfully describes the living conditions that she experienced at such a young age
to create tension and to truly display the negative impact of homelessness. For example, the
quote ‘with four of us in a single room’ and ‘it was very chaotic’ shows further how cramped and
unsuitable of a place it is to grow up in poverty without the privilege of a safe home and good
living and thriving conditions.

The writer further successfully links this striking recollection of her young life in extreme poverty
with the quote ‘I remember trying to do my homework on the bed because there wasn’t space
for a table’. This powerful description and memory further creates sympathy and a powerful
sense of self awareness as many readers will have the privilege and space to complete work
unlike the writer.

The writer also further successfully shows the negative impact of homelessness and the
unpredictable nature of homelessness with the quote ‘working is sold as the route out of
homelessness’ which the reader can interpret as social stability and a sense of hope before the
writer contrasts that statement with personal accounts. For example, the quote ‘no-one at his
workplace is aware of his living conditions’ which successfully shows the reader the secretive,
unknown nature of poverty and homelessness and how ‘a lot of people hide it out of fear and
shame’ which shows a disconnect and drastic impact on mental health.

Furthermore, the powerful impactful quote of ‘but the mental toll of keeping up that pretense is
huge’ serves successfully to further emphasise how hidden the impacts of homelessness are as
well as the writer subtly creating an atmosphere of shame to reflect the shame and guilt these
working people face in society due to the grasp of homelessness and lack of empathy and
understanding from people in society about the life changing, traumatic situations homeless
people endure as the rhetorical question ‘if you don’t have shelter as your bottom line how it
anything else, including work, supposed to function’.

Question 7a - 5 marks

In text one, not being able to send clothes to the laundry is mentioned - ‘you stop sending
clothes to the laundry’ which suggests he can’t afford it due to his situation. In text two, similarly
the writer mentions how there was often no laundry in the hotel - ‘series of hotels (often with no
laundry)’. Both writers couldn’t afford to have clean clothes.

In text one and text two, both writers talk about emotions and feelings. In text one, the writer
says - ‘the thing you have feared all your life’. In text two, the writer says - ‘it was very chaotic’
and they also say ‘it is exhausting’. They are both talking about feelings and emotions relating to
homelessness and being in poverty.

Question 7b - 12 marks

Both writers present experiencing difficulties from a shameful and guilty secretive perspective to
emphasise the fear and desperation that poverty and homelessness cause. The writer in text
one successfully displays that secrecy: ‘but of course you do not admit it - you have got to
pretend that you are living quite as usual’ and further purposefully emphasises the repetitive
‘lies’ and how poverty ‘from the start it tangles you in a net of lies’.

Similarly, the writer in text two also successfully presents this secrecy of homelessness and the
inherent embarrassment that society places upon people going through this hardship and
working class struggles. For example, the quote ‘she would spend the night on a town hall floor,
get up, get dressed in her car and put on her make-up to make it look like she’d had a lovely
nights sleep. But the mental load of keeping up that pretense is huge’ further develops this
hidden illusion and behind the scenes of public life struggling that both writers successfully
exemplify with dramatic language and striking short sentences. For example, text one includes
the repetitive quote ‘all day you are telling lies, and expensive lies’ to show this guilt and self
awareness. Similarly, text two includes the short statement ‘no-one at his workplace is aware of
his living conditions’ to create dramatic irony and show this shame.

Both texts also successfully depict the harsh capitalist system and being unable to access basic
human necessities like food and hygiene necessities. The writer in text one successfully shows
this poverty with the emotive quote ‘there are letters you want to answer, and cannot, because
stamps are too expensive’ and ‘your linen gets filthy’ and ‘you stop sending clothes to the
laundry’. This successfully emphasises the deprivation and harsh conditions that people in
poverty have to try to survive in.

Furthermore, this theme of negative emotions and lack of basic needs being met can be shown
successfully in text two as the writer presents how homelessness can deeply affect young
people growing up as well as working people despite ‘working is sold as the route out of
homelessness’. This bare necessities experience is powerfully shown via the short, impactful
statement of ‘I was 11 years old’ and ‘I remember trying to do my homework on the bed
because there wasn’t a space for a table’ to exemplify the perspectives of poverty.

Question 8 - AO5 = 17 and AO6 = 12

What’s the point of volunteering? It is so boring. When I was younger, I had the exact same
thoughts. No matter what anyone said to me, it didn’t change my mind. So you are probably
wondering what made me change my mind? Firstly, I had gone out of my way to try to do my
own research. To my surprise, I had found a heart-warming, touching, life-changing story about
how a volunteer had single-handedly saved a life and how they were the same age as me. I
thought to myself - if they can do it, so can I! I have been volunteering for about a year and I’m
proud to say that I’ve helped countless people and saved a few lives.

Another question you are probably wondering is how does it benefit me? Not to worry, there are
plenty of benefits. One benefit is the contentment and happiness you find in your heart. I’m
telling you that your outlook on life will change completely as you help those more vulnerable,
poor, or sick than you.
A professor from Oxford said ‘volunteering boots your overall happiness by over 50%’. Another
benefit is that it helps improve your communication and teamwork skills. Those skills will be vital
when you have to do public speaking or work on a project with other people.

How can you get started? Think about how you can help others best. Is it cooking for those who
are homeless? Talking with those who feel lonely? Helping those who are sick? Once you figure
out what you want to do, find a charity that provides those services. Let me give you a warning
though - don’t delay! I repeat, don’t delay! The more you delay, the easier it’ll be to never start
volunteering. One study says, ‘if you delay doing something, the chance of you not doing it
increases by 10% each day’. As you can see, it is imperative to start volunteering as soon as
possible.

Before I finish up, I would like to tell you a short story. When I was younger, my family would
sometimes go days without eating. The pain is still etched in my heart. However, if it wasn’t for
those kind volunteers who were giving away food then I wouldn’t be here today. Surprisingly, a
few years later, I had met those same volunteers who needed help with food. Just like they were
there for me, I was there for them.

One last thing before I go. When you help someone in their time of need, then someone will
help you in your time of need.