Junior Cycle English UNSEEN - Fiction: Answer two of the following ques

Question

Answer two of the following questions. Each question is worth 15 marks.

(a) What did you learn about the character of Lydia from this extract? Support your answer with reference to the text.

(b) Julia’s diary entry

(c) Siobhán Parkinson: a writer of ‘infinite skill’?

(1) Julia turned the key and gently pushed in the door. No one called out. No one appeared. Good. She pressed the door closed again behind her and leaned back against it. Made it. A giggle rose up in her. She was behaving like a ridiculous character in a detective movie, sneaking into her own house. It was so foolish for the afternoon, for goodness’ sake. She’d only been to the second hand CD shop to get a new one with the proceeds. She’d only met Jonathan Walker there and spent five (fabulous) minutes chatting to him. She’d only agreed to go for a coffee with him tomorrow afternoon in the glitzy seafront café, where the stainless steel equipment gleamed like precious metals and the customers shone like superstars – or so it seemed to Lydia, who didn’t shine at all.

There was nothing wrong with meeting Jonathan by chance it seemed. Nothing wrong, either, she told herself, with agreeing to meet him again. He was handsome and good-looking; the geekiest, broodiest kind of guy, if really much hotter than vaguely styled ones. It was well good to be true. Lydia had so much to prove, she thought vaguely, and anyway she was irresistibly drawn to Jonathan, despite his mysterious air. Still, now she would have had nothing against it if Jonathan’s thing was to meet her.

Julia was Lydia’s identical twin. They had the same pale, freckly skin, the same crinkly, red-gold hair, the same grey-green eyes. They even had the resemblance that seems to run in families. Julia, however, was more practical, less whimsical and more decisive than Lydia, with a sturdy disposition; brash and flouncy; determined to have her fun.  Julia was a confident character, as bright as one of Santa Clauses on Christmas Eve; she knew so many people. She had that annoying habit of jumping from one subject to another with impossible twists and turns and crazy enthusiasm without having any organization in her sentences. She thought she was the best friend anyone could have – and maybe she was, but she always called ‘dropped the ball’ on when things didn’t turn out correctly.

Officially, Julia was still ‘getting over’ Jonathan. She had an amazing though short-lived reign last term as his best friend. That was when Julia had burst back into her life after ages of feeling so distant from Lydia. Lydia always wondered why they had drifted apart, and now that they were sitting in the same living room, would it matter anyway? Julia knew she regretted being so distant, that Julia rarely reached out and tried to say some of the best conversations had been squashed by silly distractions.

But all Julia relied on was that Lydia had built up this big, painstaking impression that she would have told Julia anything, even the silliest of things or someone as trivial as going to get a sandwich together. She didn’t remember hanging out with Julia like old times, and drifting to a friendship once more was like washing up old memories; you jump back to it and suddenly it hit you hard.

If Julia had fixed it, then Lydia would have wanted to discuss how often Julia reminded her of her sister; she’d dig up what they felt was raw between them; the past was sometimes pain – being reminded how awful it was once in a while, and they had time for old stories. Lydia had made so many memories, and they had careless little moments together. Perhaps those were what it was all about recorded terribly in her mind. Julia would have taken those bits of pain like some bartering chips, as proof they mean the early days when they had stunningly different lives.

Answer QUESTION ONE and QUESTION TWO

Answer two of the following questions - Junior Cycle English - Question QUESTION ONE - 2005

Worked Solution & Example Answer:Answer two of the following questions - Junior Cycle English - Question QUESTION ONE - 2005

What did you learn about the character of Lydia from this extract? Support your answer with reference to the text.

Julia’s diary entry

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