AQA GCSE English Literature · 3.2.1

Modern prose texts

50 revision questions with answers for 3.2.1 Modern prose texts in AQA GCSE English Literature (spec 8702). Practise with flashcards, a topic quiz, a random quiz across the course, 5 crosswords, or read every question and answer below. Not official AQA material.

All 50 questions and answers

Question 1
Lord of the Flies: what is the basic situation at the start?
Answer:
A group of British schoolboys survive a plane crash on an uninhabited island with no adults. They try to organise themselves, but order breaks down.
Question 2
Lord of the Flies: what do the conch and Ralph represent?
Answer:
The conch is a symbol of order, democracy and the right to speak, and Ralph is elected leader because he blows it. As the novel goes on, the conch loses its power.
Question 3
Lord of the Flies: how is Jack presented and how does he gain power?
Answer:
He begins as head of the choir and becomes a hunter obsessed with killing. He uses fear of the beast and the lure of meat and fun to attract followers.
Question 4
Lord of the Flies: what does Piggy represent?
Answer:
Intelligence, reason and science. His glasses, used to light fires, symbolise the power of rational thought, and they are broken when Jack's group takes control.
Question 5
Lord of the Flies: what is the 'beast' and what does it represent?
Answer:
The boys' fear of an unseen monster, which grows into an excuse for violence. Simon realises that the beast is within them, so it represents the evil in human nature.
Question 6
Lord of the Flies: who is Simon and what does he discover?
Answer:
A quiet, kind boy who is a Christ-like figure. He finds that the 'beast' is only a dead parachutist and learns the truth about the boys' fear before being killed in a frenzy.
Question 7
Lord of the Flies: what is the Lord of the Flies?
Answer:
A pig's head on a stick that Jack's tribe leaves as an offering. It 'speaks' to Simon, saying that the beast is part of them, and it stands for evil and savagery.
Question 8
Lord of the Flies: what is the importance of the signal fire?
Answer:
It represents hope of rescue and the boys' link to civilisation. When they let it go out, they miss a chance of being rescued and begin to lose responsibility.
Question 9
Lord of the Flies: how does the novel end?
Answer:
Jack's tribe sets fire to the island to hunt Ralph and the smoke attracts a naval officer. Ralph weeps for the loss of innocence and the death of Piggy, and the rescue is ironic because adults are also at war.
Question 10
Lord of the Flies: what are the main themes?
Answer:
Civilisation versus savagery, the loss of innocence, the evil inside human nature, power and leadership. Golding wrote in the shadow of the Second World War and challenged ideas that children are naturally innocent.
Question 11
Animal Farm: what does the story describe in brief?
Answer:
Farm animals overthrow their drunken owner, Mr Jones, and set up their own society. The pigs take over and gradually become as oppressive as the humans they replaced.
Question 12
Animal Farm: why is Animal Farm an allegory?
Answer:
Its animals and events stand for the Russian Revolution and the rise of Stalin. Orwell uses a simple story to criticise the way a revolution can be betrayed by tyranny.
Question 13
Animal Farm: which real figures do Napoleon and Snowball represent?
Answer:
Napoleon represents Stalin and Snowball represents Trotsky. Napoleon drives out Snowball and uses him as a scapegoat.
Question 14
Animal Farm: what is Old Major's role?
Answer:
The old boar whose dream of a free animal society inspires the Rebellion, like Marx and Lenin. His speech introduces the ideas of equality and animalism.
Question 15
Animal Farm: what is the role of Squealer?
Answer:
A pig who uses propaganda and twists the truth to justify Napoleon's actions. He changes the commandments and manipulates language to keep the other animals under control.
Question 16
Animal Farm: who is Boxer and what happens to him?
Answer:
A hard-working, loyal cart horse who believes 'Napoleon is always right'. When he is injured, the pigs sell him to the knacker, showing how the powerful betray the workers.
Question 17
Animal Farm: how do the Seven Commandments change?
Answer:
The pigs gradually alter them, for example 'All animals are equal' becomes 'but some animals are more equal than others'. It shows how those in power rewrite the rules.
Question 18
Animal Farm: what happens at the end of the novel?
Answer:
The pigs walk on two legs, wear clothes and drink with human farmers. The animals look from pigs to men and cannot tell the difference, showing that the revolution has been betrayed.
Question 19
Animal Farm: what are the main themes?
Answer:
Corruption of power, propaganda and manipulation of language, inequality and betrayal of ideals. The novel warns that power can corrupt any ruling group.
Question 20
Never Let Me Go: who is Kathy H and how is the novel narrated?
Answer:
Kathy is a 31-year-old 'carer' who looks back on her life in the first person. Her calm, nostalgic voice hides disturbing facts, and the reader gradually realises what her life is for.
Question 21
Never Let Me Go: what is Hailsham?
Answer:
A boarding school in the English countryside where Kathy, Ruth and Tommy grow up. Its pleasant surface hides its true purpose: the pupils are clones raised to become organ donors.
Question 22
Never Let Me Go: what are 'carers' and 'donors'?
Answer:
Donors give vital organs until they 'complete' (die), and carers look after them. These euphemisms hide the horror of what the clones are made to do.
Question 23
Never Let Me Go: how are Kathy, Ruth and Tommy presented?
Answer:
Kathy is observant and loyal, Ruth is bossy and insecure, and Tommy is gentle and awkward. Their friendship and love triangle show their search for love and meaning.
Question 24
Never Let Me Go: what is the importance of the Gallery and art?
Answer:
The guardians collect pupils' art in a gallery. The students believe it shows their souls, which could win them a deferral, and it raises questions about what makes people human.
Question 25
Never Let Me Go: what do Miss Emily and Madame reveal?
Answer:
That there is no deferral and that Hailsham was just an experiment to show clones have souls. It shows that the clones are used by a society that does not value them.
Question 26
Never Let Me Go: what is the song 'Never Let Me Go' used for?
Answer:
Kathy dances with a pillow to it, imagining a baby, which shows her wish for love and a different future. Madame sees her and weeps, which hints at the sadness of the clones' lives.
Question 27
Never Let Me Go: which genre is it and how does Ishiguro use it?
Answer:
A dystopian science-fiction novel set in an alternative version of 1990s England. Ishiguro uses a quiet, realistic tone, so the horror is in what is accepted as normal.
Question 28
Never Let Me Go: what are the main themes?
Answer:
Memory and loss, what it means to be human, love and friendship, mortality and society's moral failure. Ishiguro suggests that all of us, like the clones, face limited lives.
Question 29
Anita and Me: who is Meena and where is the story set?
Answer:
Meena Kumar is a young British Asian girl growing up in the fictional village of Tollington in the Midlands in the 1970s. She is the narrator, and her family is one of the few Indian families in the village.
Question 30
Anita and Me: what is Meena's relationship with Anita Rutter?
Answer:
Meena admires Anita, the 'queen' of the village children, and wants to belong to her gang. Anita bullies and uses her, and the friendship shows pressure to conform.
Question 31
Anita and Me: who is Nanima?
Answer:
Meena's grandmother, who visits from India. She tells stories and gives Meena a link to her family history and culture, contrasting with Tollington.
Question 32
Anita and Me: what is Sam Lowbridge's role?
Answer:
The village bad boy, whose racist outburst at the village fête shocks Meena. He symbolises the hidden prejudice in Tollington.
Question 33
Anita and Me: how does the novel end?
Answer:
Meena passes her eleven-plus and her family moves away from Tollington. She leaves her old friendship behind and begins to accept her identity.
Question 34
Anita and Me: what are the main themes?
Answer:
Identity, belonging, racism and growing up. Syal uses humour and Meena's voice to show the experience of a British Asian child.
Question 35
Anita and Me: what is Meena's narrative voice like?
Answer:
Funny, observant and honest, looking back on her childhood. The older narrator comments on her younger self, which adds irony and reflection.
Question 36
Anita and Me: how does Syal use humour and cultural detail?
Answer:
Through comic scenes, local dialect and details of food, family and village life. The humour makes Meena likeable and highlights cultural difference, and the serious moments hit harder.
Question 37
Anita and Me: what is the setting's importance?
Answer:
Tollington is a close-knit working-class village, and the plan for a motorway threatens it. The setting shows a community in change, and a place where Meena does not quite fit.
Question 38
Pigeon English: who is Harri and where does he live?
Answer:
Harrison Opoku is an eleven-year-old Ghanaian boy who has moved to a London estate with his mother and sister. He tells the story in his own innocent, curious voice.
Question 39
Pigeon English: how does the story begin?
Answer:
With the death of a boy outside the chicken shop. Harri and his friend Dean decide to investigate like detectives, which shows how a child tries to make sense of violence.
Question 40
Pigeon English: who is the Dell Farm Crew?
Answer:
A local gang led by X-Fire that terrorises young people on the estate. Harri is both afraid of them and attracted by their power.
Question 41
Pigeon English: what is the role of the pigeon?
Answer:
A bird that visits Harri's balcony and narrates short sections. It acts like a guardian angel, symbolising innocence, hope and freedom.
Question 42
Pigeon English: how does Kelman present Harri's voice?
Answer:
With child-like observations, slang and misunderstandings. It lets the reader see violence and prejudice through innocent eyes, and creates humour and tragedy.
Question 43
Pigeon English: what are the main themes?
Answer:
Immigration and identity, innocence versus violence, gang culture, family and community. Kelman shows how a child's hope can be threatened by a hostile environment.
Question 44
Pigeon English: how does the novel end?
Answer:
Harri is killed, so the story ends in tragedy. It shows the human cost of knife crime and leaves the reader with grief and anger.
Question 45
Pigeon English: what might the title suggest?
Answer:
It puns on 'pidgin English', a simplified mixed language, and on the pigeon that watches over Harri. It points to his outsider's voice and his search for belonging in a new country.
Question 46
Pigeon English: how is Harri's family presented?
Answer:
His mother works hard and wants to keep him safe, and his sister Lydia is fiercely protective. His father and baby sister are still in Ghana, which creates a sense of longing.
Question 47
Telling Tales: what is it?
Answer:
An AQA anthology of seven short stories that is one of the options for the modern prose text. You study the whole collection and write about one story or compare ideas across them.
Question 48
Telling Tales: which writers are included?
Answer:
They include D. H. Lawrence ('Odour of Chrysanthemums'), Graham Swift ('Chemistry'), Penelope Lively ('The Darkness Out There'), Helen Dunmore ('My Polish Teacher's Tie') and Sebastian Faulks ('Korea').
Question 49
Telling Tales: what happens in 'Odour of Chrysanthemums'?
Answer:
A miner's wife, Elizabeth Bates, waits for her husband to return from the pit and learns that he has died. The flowers symbolise both life and death, and the story deals with grief and distance in marriage.
Question 50
How do you write about a short story in the exam?
Answer:
Focus on the writer's choices: narrator, setting, structure, how the ending changes meaning, symbols and the effect on the reader. Support points with short quotations and link to theme.

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Modern prose texts

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