Exam (elaborations)
EXEMPLAR UNSEEN ESSAY FOR ELEMENTS OF CRIME
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EXEMPLAR essay for the unseen section in A Level Paper. This essay got top marks (A*).
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Student 4 – Paper 2 Elements of crime writing: Question 1Explore 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.
AO1 AO2 AO3 AO4 AO5
This extract is from a modern novel by Sarah Waters, ‘The Paying Guest’, and features a
murder committed by two female characters. The fact that the crime is being covered up in
this extract suggests that it may come from the middle of the novel, as the girls would have
had to become friends before, and after the extract, there should be an investigation, like a
traditional crime fiction novel. The narrator of this extract is Frances, who doesn’t kill
Leonard, but can be considered a criminal by perverting the course of justice for covering up
the crime.
The setting is particularly significant in this extract because it is the crime scene, and
therefore acts as evidence for the murder. Frances first describes the room, with “its grisly
chaotic floor”. The use of “chaotic” reflects the idea that crime, and particularly murder,
destroys the false innocence at the beginning of a crime novel, according to WH Auden.
Furthermore, the setting also is covered with blood, which shows how the murder has far
reaching consequences, maybe in the future of the novel, as it has changed the whole room.
However, this can be contradicted as the fire, ‘still blazing in the grate’, as if nothing has
changed. Also, the setting suggests that this crime can never be covered up, despite
Frances’ best efforts because, “the carpet would never come properly clean” and the blood
stains on the carpet “become ghosts of themselves”. The reference to “ghosts show that this
crime will haunt Frances and Lillian. Also, the use of “never” suggests that the criminals will
ultimately get caught because the evidence doesn’t fade. Therefore, the setting is important
because it is the crime scene, and the detailed description gives the reader a sense of the
violent murder that precedes this extract. It also shows that evidence can never truly be
hidden, and reinforces the idea that the criminals will be caught.
Furthermore, Frances, the narrator of this extract, is depicted as a criminal, who experiences
paranoia and panic, and then becomes clinical and careful. Her panic can be seen at the
start of the extract, where she questions herself, “What ought she to do next?” Her tone is
practical, and her close relationship with Lillian makes Frances complicit in the murder also,
by covering up the evidence. Frances’ guilt is suggested throughout the extract. For
example, “her hands were brown with blood again”, connotations with the guilty saying,
‘you’ve got blood on your hands’. The use of “again” highlights that Frances has always
been guilty, and may have been more involved in the actual murder than we know. However,
towards the end of the extract, Frances controls her feelings, and concentrates on the job at
hand by, “she examined her clothes, examined Lilian's”. The use of “examined “reinforces
the clinical approach to the cover up, as if Frances is trying to forget about the crime
altogether. Therefore, the criminal insight of Frances, from being the narrator, is significant
because Waters shows the paranoid criminal nature, which evolves into a clinical, careful
thought process which all criminals could go through. It is interesting that Waters doesn’t
give Lilian the narration, so the reader can get an insight into the actual murder, but it may
be suggesting the real focus of the novel is the cover- up of the crime and Frances.
In stark contrast to Frances, Lilian is described as a weak mess as if she may have acted on
impulse, murdered Leonard and is now just experiencing the repercussions. For example,
the only description of her is “lay helpless on the sofa, watching with dazed, wet eyes”. Here
she is described almost as a victim, with “helpless” suggesting vulnerability. It is unusual for
women to be the criminals, and a man to be the victim. Because this is a modern novel,
published in 2014, this shows the transgression of the gender representation of crime. Also,
the fact that this novel is set
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