Question 3: Model Answer (WJEC Eduqas GCSE English Language)

Read lines 26–47.

What are Mma Ramotswe’s and Happy Bapetsi’s thoughts and feelings in these lines? How does the writer create these thoughts and feelings? [10]

You must refer to the language used in the text to support your answer, using relevant subject terminology where appropriate.

Mma Ramotswe smiled. ‘You have done well.’

‘I was very happy,’ said Happy Bapetsi. ‘But then this thing happened. My Daddy arrived at the house.’

Mma drew in her breath. She had expected a boyfriend problem, but fathers were a different matter altogether.

‘He just knocked on the door,’ said Happy Bapetsi. ‘It was a Saturday afternoon and I was resting when I heard him knocking. I went to the door and there was this man, about sixty or so, standing there with his hat in his hands. He told me that he was my Daddy and that he had been living abroad for a long time, but now he was back in Botswana. And had come to see me. I almost fainted. He then asked if he could stay in one of the spare rooms.’

She paused.

‘That was three months ago. Since then, he has been living in that room and I have been doing all the work for him. All he does is sit in his chair and tell me what to do for him next.’

‘Many men are like that,’ interrupted Mma Ramotswe.

Happy Bapetsi nodded. ‘This one is especially like that and I have been getting very tired of running after him. I would not resent this, but I do not think he is my real Daddy. I think he is an impostor and is just looking for a good retirement home.’

Mma Ramotswe just stared in astonishment.

‘Can you help me? Can you find out if this man is my real Daddy?’ said Happy Bapetsi with desperation in her voice.

Mma Ramotswe did not hesitate. ‘I’ll find out,’ she said. ‘It may take a day or two, but I’ll find out.’

In these lines, Mma Ramotswe displays a range of emotions as reactions to Happy Bapetsi’s unhappy situation, as shown by the interaction and dialogue between the two women. [Marking comment]

Firstly, Mma Ramotswe seems to feel genuinely pleased that Happy Bapetsi has had a successful life, smiling at her and praising her by telling her that she has “done well”. [Marking comment] However, Happy then tells her that she “was very happy” but “then this thing happened”. The writer’s use of the past tense “was” implies that things have changed, and the arrival of her long lost “Daddy” has made her anything but happy. [Marking comment] Mma Ramotswe reacts to this information as she “drew in her breath”, suggesting that she feels apprehensive about what further information Happy will reveal. Mma Ramotswe seems to have made assumptions about Happy, thinking that her problem was a boyfriend, and is surprised to discover that it is not that at all. [Marking comment] Happy informs Mma Ramotswe that she “almost fainted” when a man claiming to be her father arrived at her door, and here the writer uses a single sentence, “She paused”, to imply that Happy is finding it difficult to go on. [Marking comment] What should have been a joyous discovery seems to be what is making her so unhappy.

In addition, Happy goes on to reveal that she is feeling resentment towards the man, as she had “been doing all the work for him” while he sits in a chair and gives her orders. [Marking comment] Mma Ramotswe appears to have a negative opinion of men generally, as she asserts that “many men are like that” and Happy agrees.[Marking comment] The revelation that Happy does not think that “he is my real Daddy” is shocking and the use of the word “imposter” has the effect of Mma Ramotswe staring at her “in astonishment”. The single sentence conveys the impact the information has on her: she is dumbfounded.

Finally, the writer uses the repetition of interrogatives to show how desperate Happy is for Mma Ramotswe’s help in finding out the truth. [Marking comment]  Mma Ramotswe does not hesitate and declares “I’ll find out”, showing her determination to unmask this imposter. It is evident that Mma Ramotswe believes Happy’s story immediately, as she does not question any of the information, and this, along with her negative views indicated about men, implies that she is an active supporter of women who are being mistreated or manipulated by the opposite sex. [Marking comment]