SPIES exam questions Jan '06???

Hi,

Im doing the spies exam in May, and i was just wondering if anyone who sat the exam in january could tell me what the questions were, so i can try and prepare a bit better, although anything would be better than what ive done so far...which is pretty much nothing :frown:

Ive looked online but cant find the january questions anywhere....can anyone help?

Reply 1

Hel

I've got a copy of last year's paper, because my teacher gave it out to give us all an idea of what the exam would be like. I'll just find it and type it up for you...

Spies - Michael Frayn

Explore the ways Frayn presents uncertainty and threat during war time

OR

Remind yourself of the following extract from the novel. Using the extract as a starting point, consider the ways Frayn presents Keith's mother.

She spoke softly and smilingly, with a kind of calm amusement at the world and no excessive movement of her lips. She spent a lot of the day with her feet up on the sofa, or resting in her bedroom, and rested is how she always seemed. She'd appear in the doorway of the playroom, rested, calm, and composed, to announce that she was going down the road to Auntie Dee's, or to the shops. 'You boys will be alright, won't you? You've got things to keep you occupied?' If she wasn't going to the shops or Auntie Dee's, she'd be going to the post. She posted letters, it sometimes seemed to Stephen, several times a day.

Reply 2

Tlk2Frank

Cheers guys,

What question did you choose, and what sort of things did you talk about, if you dont mind me asking?

Does anyone else have any other questions, either from exam papers or that their teachers have given them?

Reply 3

Paula

I have a whole list:

1. Explore the ways Frayn uses memory in the novel.

2. Comment on the importance of setting in the novel.

3. Explore the Links between memory and the development of the narrative

4. Comment on the relationship between Stephen and Keith and focus particularly on the value of the relationship to each boy.

5. Consider whether the break-up of the friendship between Stephen and Keith was inevitable.

6. Consider the importance of the two opening chapters to the rest of the book

7. How effective is Frayn in creating a sense of place and time?

8. To what extent do you agree that in trying to understand his past stephen is trying to understand his own identity as a mature man?

9. 'The Child is the father of the man.' (William wordsworth)
How relavent are these lines to the ideas of identity in the book Spies?

10. Spies is a book about game playing. Yet there are a number of points in the book when the lines between pretend games and reality blur. What is the importance of this 'blurring' in the development of the narrative?

11. Some critics feel that the conclusion to the book is weak. Consider why this critisism has been made and whether you would agree with that view.

12. The ending is rushed and has to many revelations for it to be a truly satisifying end to the book. Is this a valid comment on Spies?

13. The use of a faliable narrator makes spies an interesting, tense narrative. Would you agree with this assessment of the book?

14. Examine the idea that Frayn's use of a naive child narrator emphasises the unfolding drama and sadness of the events surrounding the adults in the story.

15. 'Is keith your best friend?' she says softly. 'Your really really best friend?'
I say nothing. I'm no more prepared to talk to Barbara Berill about Keith than I am about bossoms and privets.
Why do you like him when he's so horrible?'

Is Keith 'horrible', and if so, why do you think Stephen is 'best friends' with him?

Hope that helps! :smile:

Reply 4

Paula

I agree with you on that one thinking about that. Some of those questions I got given look like they should belong on a Module 3 paper

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 5

divarina

hey, i have a load of questions i got given by my english teacher, don't think they're past exam questions, they're just practice ones:

*Explore the ways Frayn uses Stephen's memories of places in the novel.

*Examine the ways Frayn presents the lives of children.

*Explore how Frayn uses the idea of things changing and remaining the same in the novel.

*Paying attention to structure and style, explore the ways Frayn tells the story of 'Spies'.

*How appropriate is this as the introduction to the whole novel? You should consider both subject matter and style.

*Explore the ways Frayn presents danger in the novel. You may wish to explore two episodes in detail or to range more widely through the novel.

*Explore the ways in which Frayn creates a sense of the world of wartime Britain in his novel.

*The following extract is the conclusion to the novel. How appropriate is this ending in terms of both subject matter and style?

*Chapter 6 records Stephen's midnight journey through the tunnel and Keith and Stephen's return there the next day. How important is this chapter in the novel?

Hope this helps :smile:

Reply 6

friendsfanatic

I don't really know a lot about memory in the book - well, I feel that I don't. Has anyone got any ideas?

Reply 7

sponge.bob.rox

thats what i am stuck on ! points for memory !! trying to plan the essay but i cant think of any good points

question is : explore the ways frayn uses memory in the novel

helpp??

Reply 8

aryangupta3393

Hey does anyone here have extract based questions?
I'm trying to prepare for those ones and I haven't been able to find that many sample/practice questions on that for Spies.

Thank you,
Aryan.G.