AqA A-level ENGLISH LITERATURE B (7717/2A) Paper 2A Texts and genres: Elements of crime writing - June 2022 Mark scheme Version: 1.0 Final

AqA A-level ENGLISH LITERATURE B (7717/2A Paper 2A Texts and genres: Elements of crime writing - June 2022 Mark scheme Version: 1.0 Final 0 1. Explore the significance of elements of crime writing in this extract. Remember to include in your answer relevant detailed analysis of the ways the author has shaped meanings. [25 marks] This extract appears near the end of Michael Frayn’s novel Headlong (1999). Martin, the narrator, has identified a painting owned by his neighbour, Tony, as being a landscape by Breughel. Breughel is a sixteenth-century Flemish artist whose paintings are worth millions. In order to confirm this truly is a painting by Breughel, Martin needs to find a detail in the picture which shows a bound man being drowned in a millpond. In this extract Martin has stolen the painting with the help of Tony’s wife, Laura. They are trying to escape with it in Tony’s Land-Rover. Tony, however, is in hot pursuit, with his shotgun, in Martin’s car. Some possible content is given below. It suggests some of the ways the Assessment Objectives might be addressed, but as ‘significance’ relates to contextual, structural, linguistic and interpretative issues many strands listed could easily address more than one AO. Examiners must also remember that because students will be writing about the extract through the lens of crime writing, the AOs must necessarily be connected to that genre through the task. Please refer to pages 4 to 8. AO5 Explore literary texts informed by different interpretations With respect to the interpretative significances that can be found, there will be a variety of interpretations here. Some possible ideas: • the overview of the extract is: Martin and Laura are trying to escape with stolen goods whilst Tony, the owner of the picture, is in hot pursuit; in escaping in Tony’s Land-Rover, they have overlooked the fact that they have left Martin’s car behind them, allowing for the pursuit; there is a frantic car chase but the Land-Rover is forced off the road by an oncoming car where it crashes into broken- down ice-cream van and catches fire; Laura panics as she is trapped inside the vehicle with a broken arm but Martin’s primary concern is for the rescue of the stolen painting and the information he seeks for its verification; it is Tony who rescues Laura while Martin watches the painting being destroyed by fire • the fast-paced description of the frantic, car chase and its potentially life-threatening result which is exciting to read • the uncertainty about the outcome of the chase which keeps the reader compulsively on edge • Martin’s obsession with the painting which means he prioritises its safety in the fire above saving Laura’s life, making excuses to himself that there is ‘no rush’ • Martin’s distorted values by which he puts art before people, evidence of his psychological imbalance, often a feature of the criminal mind • Martin, a seemingly respectable academic, turns criminal; posing the question whether anyone can become a criminal, particularly if they feel passionately about something • that Martin gets what he deserves for his wrong values in the destruction of the painting • view that the reader senses and sympathises with Martin’s obsession and his despair as the narrative is told from the first person perspective, in his voice