Read the following extract from William Sleater's short story, 'The Elevator' and answer the questions that follow: Martin felt nervous when he got back to the building after school. But why should he be afraid of an old lady? He felt ashamed of himself. He pressed the button and stepped into the elevator, hoping that it would not stop, but it stopped on the third floor. Martin watched the door slide open …
Why was Martin afraid of using this elevator?
Topic: Martin's fear
Answer
The elevator itself frightened him because it was tiny, ancient and unreliable — a cramped box scarcely bigger than a coffin, with a clanking gate, that shuddered and creaked as it rose and often stopped between floors. Martin was claustrophobic, and the sensation of being shut inside it terrified him. His fear then deepened into something worse: the fat woman began to appear in it, riding it alone with him, saying nothing and staring, so that the elevator became the place where he could not avoid her.
Answer at two levels for full marks — the physical fear (claustrophobia, the small, rickety lift) and the human fear (the woman who keeps appearing). Candidates who mention only one usually lose a mark. Note also that his father’s contempt prevents him from avoiding the lift, which is why the fear traps him.