The passage describes the writer’s thoughts and feelings about the enthusiasm for
sheds among male family members. (A shed is an outbuilding where tools are
normally stored.)
2a) Comment on the style and language of the passage.
[15]
The writer begins the passage with a loving description of the shed that sits in
her garden. Words like “dappled in sunshine” catalyze the tone of admiration
that indicates to the reader there is an emotional attachment in existence.
However, the writer subtly points out that the attachment does not exist between
her and the shed projected by the sentence: “Within the shed, presumably far
from me…” The writer creates both a figurative and literal distance between
herself and this shed continuously throughout the passage because she is a
woman. The shed is symbolic of manhood, and therefore she can only admire the
intimate nexus between the shed and the men in her life from afar. She
emphasizes this again a few paragraphs later in “my daily visits intercepted at the
door.” The reader can almost see the writer, on her tiptoes, peering over the
impermeable wall of manhood, attempting to understand the esoteric practice.
Her tone of perplexed wonder emphasizes that image. The writer goes on to say
that her son, Louis, “is doing whatever it is that the male of the species tends to
do in a small shed.” The word choice here, “male of the species,” again
emphasizes her distance and lack of understanding of the connection between a
man and his shed; she refers to them as one would refer to elephants being
studied in their natural habitat. The “unofficial omerta” and her inability to tell
the reader the practices of the shed highlight the dichotomous gender roles.
To emphasize that working in a shed is a deeply engraved male tradition, the
writer remarks that out of the myriad of endless possibilities her son had to
choose from, his first choice was the shed. She employs stark juxtapositions to
portray the love and enthusiasm felt by men towards sheds. Long, flashy
sentences that tantalize the consumerist part of any teenager contrast sharply
with the simple and dry. “A shed, and only a shed, would do.” The following
hyperbole (paternal pride heard at a distance of 130 miles) jumps out as an
incredible appeal to the shed tradition.
The anecdote about the complaining neighbor portrays to the reader how
nothing can get between a man and his shed. The neighbor had to move to
Australia because the intimate connection was not to be broken.
The writer pokes a bit of fun at the personal relationship between man and
shed by pointing out that her son had hit on the truth when he asked if his father
was going to live in the shed. The shed could be referred to as a “man cave” and
the inclusion of the husband’s dialogue serves as an explanation to the male
tradition, without offending the females. The dialogue, and the mention of the
tool-less environment within the shed, furthers the enthusiasm of the male
species for sheds only observed by the woman writer.
(481 words)
2b) Louis’s father sits in his shed writing his autobiography. In one section he
explains why he feels all men need their own space. Write the section (between
120-125 words). Base your answer closely on the material of the original extract. [10]
Every man needs his shed. Whether it is a physical yard shed or a bathroom,
we all need space to pursue our interests without the constant eyes or words of a
wife or family member. Though I enjoy my wife’s company thoroughly, there are
times where I want to get away from it all and work on me, just myself. I believe
every man is the same. That is why I hold that my shed represents my manhood.
In it, there is me, reflected in inanimate objects such as my flat-screen TV,
reclining leather armchair, and DVD player. My wife is incapable of understanding
these things. Because of that, it is only natural that I would depart from her
contact at times and unravel myself in my own space, where I am understood by
all aforementioned objects. I don’t have to worry about feelings or problems
there. My shed offers me the escapism every man needs.
(156 words)