Question
Read the extract where Peter first appears in the flat.
How does Delaney use the character of Peter to explore power and gender? [40 marks]
Mark scheme — Band 5 indicators:
- AO1: Peter as patriarchal grotesque — eyepatch (war wound) signals damaged masculinity weaponised as misogyny. He is the economic predator of post-war Britain, buying Helen out of her flat and Jo out of Helen's life.
- AO2: Peter's photographic memory of women's bodies ('a real popsy'); his cruel song ('Who's this little girl?'); Delaney's stage direction of him as 'flashy', 'half-drunk'.
- AO3: Demobilisation crisis — returning soldiers reasserting authority; 1950s consumerism; the Profumo era of moneyed sleaze beginning.
- AO4: Terminology — patriarchal, grotesque, didactic.
Required quotes: 'You should have prepared me'; 'Drink, drink, drink, that's all you're fit for'; Peter's 'I'll buy you a house'.
40 marks · take your time before peeking.
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Generated by TopMyGrade AI · cross-check official sources before relying on the mark-scheme phrasing.