OCR A Level English Literature Comparative and contextual study June 2025 question paper H472/02

Write a critical appreciation of this passage, relating your discussion to your reading of American

Literature 1880–1940.

Haskins is a struggling farmer who has recently moved to Iowa hoping to improve life for himself and his family. He has rented a neglected farm and an experienced local farmer called Stephen Council has been giving him help and advice.

¹ field of the cloth of gold: a summit meeting in 1520 between Henry VIII of England and Francis I of France notable for a magnificent display of wealth by both kings.

In your answer to Question 2, you must compare at least two texts from the list. At least one text must be from the two texts at the top of the list in bold.

F Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby

‘American literature emphasises the importance of second chances.’

By comparing The Great Gatsby with at least one other text prescribed for this topic, discuss

how far you agree with this view.

John Steinbeck: The Grapes of Wrath

‘Self-reliance is a key quality for characters in American literature.’

By comparing The Grapes of Wrath with at least one other text prescribed for this topic,

discuss how far you agree with this view.

‘American literature shows us a society which lacks compassion.’

By comparing at least two texts prescribed for this topic, discuss how far you have found this to be the case.

In your answer you must include discussion of either The Great Gatsby and/or The Grapes

of Wrath.

The Gothic

Answer Question 3. Then answer Question 4(a) or 4(b) or 4(c). You should spend about 1 hour and 15 minutes on each question.

3 Write a critical appreciation of this passage, relating your discussion to your reading of the Gothic.

The passage concerns a house which may be haunted and is at the centre of a legal dispute. The narrator, a lawyer, agrees to stay there overnight and the extract is an account of his dream.

¹ Colonel Morris: Colonel Morris has brought the legal case against the narrator’s client. ² Playfire … counsel: Playfire is the name of Colonel Morris’s lawyer.

In your answer to Question 4, you must compare at least two texts from the list. At least one text must be from the two texts at the top of the list in bold.

*Candidates writing about The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories should select material from the whole text.

Either

Bram Stoker: Dracula

‘Gothic narratives often feature a sense of impending disaster.’

Consider how far you agree with this statement by comparing Dracula with at least one other

text prescribed for this topic.

Angela Carter: The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories *

‘Although Gothic tales depend on fantasy, they can tell us deep truths about human nature.’

By comparing The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories * with at least one other text

prescribed for this topic, discuss how far you agree with this view.

‘The most important feature of Gothic writing is its entertainment value.’

By comparing at least two texts prescribed for this topic, discuss how far you have found this to be the case.

In your answer you must include discussion of either Dracula and/or The Bloody Chamber

and Other Stories *.

Dystopia

Answer Question 5. Then answer Question 6(a) or 6(b) or 6(c). You should spend about 1 hour and 15 minutes on each question.

5 Write a critical appreciation of this passage, relating your discussion to your reading of dystopian

literature.

This extract is set in a future New York City. George Sanford, the narrator, has a remarkable ability to enter the minds of other people and pick up their thoughts and feelings (he says he can feel their ‘vibes’ or ‘emotions’). He has been hired by the Rescue Squad, a part of the New York police force, and is being given a tour of the Police Psychiatric Department.

¹ hear-feel: George has invented this term to describe the way he can sense the feelings of others who are nearby. Unlike the police intern, George knows there is someone behind the door panicking because he can ‘hear-feel’ their ‘vibes’.

In your answer to Question 6, you must compare at least two texts from the list. At least one text must be from the two texts at the top of the list in bold.

George Orwell: Nineteen Eighty-Four

‘Dystopian writing shows the limitations of human systems of government.’

By comparing Nineteen Eighty-Four with at least one other text prescribed for this topic,

discuss how far you agree with this view.

Margaret Atwood: The Handmaid’s Tale

‘Dystopian regimes contain the seeds of their own downfall.’

By comparing The Handmaid’s Tale with at least one other text prescribed for this topic,

discuss how far you agree with this view.

‘Dystopian writing shows that there are limits to the trust between people.’

By comparing at least two texts prescribed for this topic, explore how far you agree with this view.

In your answer you must include discussion of either Nineteen Eighty-Four and/or The

Handmaid’s Tale.

Women in Literature

Answer Question 7. Then answer Question 8(a) or 8(b) or 8(c). You should spend about 1 hour and 15 minutes on each question.

7 Write a critical appreciation of the passage, relating your discussion to your reading concerning

Women in Literature.

This passage is set in America in 1908. Mrs Bascomb is a schoolteacher. She is a widow with one son, Ralph, who has just graduated from university and has married unexpectedly, only telling his mother after the wedding. His wife, Lottie, is pregnant and the couple have come to live with Mrs Bascomb.

¹ confinement: here means childbirth, after which women were generally expected to stay at home and rest for a period of time. ² layette: clothes, bedding and other necessities for a new-born baby.

In your answer to Question 8, you must compare at least two texts from the list. At least one text must be from the two texts at the top of the list in bold.

Jane Austen: Sense and Sensibility

‘Female characters are preoccupied by the search for a secure situation in life.’

By comparing Sense and Sensibility with at least one other text prescribed for this topic,

discuss how far you have found this to be the case.

Virginia Woolf: Mrs Dalloway

‘Female characters in literature often underestimate themselves.’

By comparing Mrs Dalloway with at least one other text prescribed for this topic, discuss how

far you agree with this view.

‘Female characters are often vulnerable to exploitation or mistreatment.’

By comparing at least two texts prescribed for this topic, explore how far you agree with this claim.

In your answer you must include discussion of either Sense and Sensibility and/or Mrs

Dalloway.

The Immigrant Experience

Answer Question 9. Then answer Question 10(a) or 10(b) or 10(c). You should spend about 1 hour and 15 minutes on each question.

9 Write a critical appreciation of the passage, relating your discussion to your reading concerning

the Immigrant Experience.

The narrator of this extract, Rose Hsu Jordan, is the daughter of Chinese immigrants to America. This part of the novel deals with the break-up of her marriage to Ted Jordan, and in the passage she explains how she first met his parents.

¹ yin and yang: a concept originating in Chinese philosophy describing opposite but interconnected forces.

In your answer to Question 10, you must compare at least two texts from the list. At least one text must be from the two texts at the top of the list in bold.

Henry Roth: Call It Sleep

‘The literature of immigration is frequently characterised by hope.’

By comparing Call It Sleep with at least one other text prescribed for this topic, discuss how

far you agree with this view.

Mohsin Hamid: The Reluctant Fundamentalist

‘The immigrant experience often involves encounters with prejudice.’

By comparing The Reluctant Fundamentalist with at least one other text prescribed for this

topic, discuss how far you agree with this view.

‘Hard work is generally a key feature of the immigrant experience.’

By comparing at least two texts prescribed for this topic, discuss how far you agree with this view.

In your answer you must include discussion of either Call It Sleep and/or The Reluctant

Fundamentalist.