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English Literature Quiz - My Mother Said I Never Should - Extract 2 (Questions)

In this extract from My Mother Said I Never Should, a difficult choice about Rosie’s future exposes tensions, loyalties and fears that have shaped the family for years.

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(quiz starts below)

Fascinating Fact:

Margaret’s firm statement “It’s not my decision. It’s Rosie’s” shows she respects Rosie’s independence, yet the fairy-tale image hints that she has long feared this moment.

In GCSE English Literature, extract questions on My Mother Said I Never Should expect close analysis of language, pauses and stage directions. You show how this moment reveals long-term family tensions about truth, control and emotional independence.

Key Terms

  • Stage direction: Instructions in the script about movement, tone or setting, guiding how actors perform the scene.
  • Emotional climax: The point where feelings and tensions reach their height and characters must face difficult truths.
  • Generational conflict: Clashes in values or expectations between older and younger family members in the play.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

How do I analyse Margaret’s decision in this extract?

Begin by explaining what Margaret decides and why it matters for Rosie. Then zoom in on key words and images, such as fairy-tale language, and link them to themes of responsibility, fear and independence.

What GCSE themes are highlighted in this part of My Mother Said I Never Should?

This extract can show themes such as motherhood, sacrifice, honesty within families and the struggle between protecting someone and letting them make their own choices about the future.

How should I structure an extract essay on this play?

Write a brief introduction, then two or three paragraphs that each focus on a different idea, such as language, relationships or structure. In every paragraph, use short quotations and link back to the question.

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MARGARET (pause.): Rosie’s told me, Jackie.

JACKIE (terrified.): I wasn’t going to —

MARGARET: No, I expect you had another date planned when you were going to tell me that you’d like Rosie back. Or perhaps you were just going to tell me over the phone.

JACKIE: . . . You need time, to decide . . . in the summer —

MARGARET: It’s not my decision. It’s Rosie’s. And she’s made her mind up. (Pause.) I knew she’d say it one day. Like one of those fairy tales.

JACKIE: You haven’t told her!

MARGARET: Of course not. She still thinks you’re big sister, that’s why it’s so magical to her.

JACKIE: We were running along this dazzling beach. I thought, is that what I’ve missed?

MARGARET: Years and years and years you’ve lost, Jackie. Birthdays and first snowman and learning to ride a bicycle and new front teeth. You can’t pull them back.

JACKIE: I can make up for it — somehow —

MARGARET: You can’t. Those are my years.

JACKIE: She must remember — I visited!

MARGARET: Treats, she’s had with you. A day here and there. That never fooled her. But I let it fool you. I’m the woman who sat up all night with the sick child, who didn’t mind all her best crockery getting broken over the years.

JACKIE: Mummy . . .

MARGARET (long pause. Cool): What time’s your train?

JACKIE: 9:45 — no — I could get the 10:45.

MARGARET: You mustn’t miss your meeting.

JACKIE: It would give us another hour. I wish we weren’t in your office! (Panics.) Where’s Rosie gone?

MARGARET: Are you going to catch that train, or stay here? You can’t do both.

Pause. Jackie agonises.

MARGARET: I’ll phone you a taxi. (Margaret dials, waits, the line is engaged.)

JACKIE (quietly): You know Mummy, the Gallery and everything, I couldn’t have done it without you. You can’t be a mother and then cancel Christmas to be in New York.

MARGARET: (telephone connects) Taxi to East Croydon station please, immediately. British Microwaves, front entrance. (Puts receiver down.)

JACKIE: Come and stay, show me how you do things, how Rosie would like her room decorated.

MARGARET: No Jackie, I shall just put a label around Rosie’s neck, and send her Red Star. (Doesn’t look at Jackie any more, busies herself with papers.) It’s gone nine. I wonder where Mr Reece is?

Jackie runs out of the room.

Charlotte Keatley, My Mother Said I Never Should (Bloomsbury, 2014)
1. What is the immediate context for this passage?
[ ] It is the eve of Rosie's sixteenth birthday
[ ] Rosie and Jackie have just returned from holiday
[ ] Margaret has just been discharged from hospital
[ ] Ken has just left home
2. What happens next, chronologically?
[ ] Margaret goes to visit Doris
[ ] Ken leaves Margaret
[ ] Rosie goes to live with Doris
[ ] Margaret is admitted to hospital
3. What emotion does Margaret convey with the words, "those are my years"?
[ ] Joy
[ ] Jealousy
[ ] Rage
[ ] Hatred
4. Margaret presents different versions of what it means to have a relationship with a child. Which one of the following is NOT one of these?
[ ] A time of magical experiences
[ ] Being present for 'firsts', as in first experiences
[ ] Always getting along and finding everything easy
[ ] Being present during hard and painful times
5. Which of the following most accurately describes the emotions in this passage?
[ ] Warm and comforting
[ ] Excited and joyful
[ ] Painfully raw
[ ] Dulled
6. Why is Jackie terrified at first?
[ ] She does not want a confrontation with her mother
[ ] She thinks her mother will stop Rosie from visiting
[ ] She is afraid she won't make it to her important meeting on time
[ ] She is afraid that Rosie no longer loves her
7. Which lines tell the reader that Jackie understands how Margaret is feeling?
[ ] "I can make up for it — somehow — "
[ ] "She must remember — I visited!"
[ ] "I wish we weren’t in your office!"
[ ] "You know Mummy, the Gallery and everything, I couldn’t have done it without you. You can’t be a mother and then cancel Christmas to be in New York"
8. JACKIE: We were running along this dazzling beach. I thought, is that what I’ve missed?
What does this line tell the audience about Jackie?
[ ] Jackie is looking forward to mundane tasks of motherhood
[ ] Jackie thinks parenthood is like a long holiday
[ ] Jackie has an idealised vision of motherhood
[ ] All of the above
9. What does Jackie agonise over?
[ ] Whether she should stay for a longer talk with her mother or catch the early train
[ ] Whether she should ever go back to Manchester and to her gallery, or not
[ ] Whether she should tell Rosie immediately about her birth
[ ] Whether she should have another child
10. What causes Jackie to run from the room?
[ ] Her mother's sarcasm
[ ] Her mother's refusal to look at her
[ ] Her mother's changing of the subject
[ ] All of the above
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English Literature Quiz - My Mother Said I Never Should - Extract 2 (Answers)
1. What is the immediate context for this passage?
[ ] It is the eve of Rosie's sixteenth birthday
[x] Rosie and Jackie have just returned from holiday
[ ] Margaret has just been discharged from hospital
[ ] Ken has just left home
Rosie is hugely excited to tell Margaret about her plans to live with Jackie
2. What happens next, chronologically?
[ ] Margaret goes to visit Doris
[ ] Ken leaves Margaret
[ ] Rosie goes to live with Doris
[x] Margaret is admitted to hospital
Even though Jackie specifically asks her about her health, Margaret does not admit anything. Her awareness of how ill she is heightens the emotions she experiences during this exchange. Between this scene and the hospital scene is another set in the Wasteground
3. What emotion does Margaret convey with the words, "those are my years"?
[ ] Joy
[x] Jealousy
[ ] Rage
[ ] Hatred
Margaret feels protective and possessive of her relationship with Rosie; she does not wish to share these years with Jackie
4. Margaret presents different versions of what it means to have a relationship with a child. Which one of the following is NOT one of these?
[ ] A time of magical experiences
[ ] Being present for 'firsts', as in first experiences
[x] Always getting along and finding everything easy
[ ] Being present during hard and painful times
Margaret wants Jackie to have realistic expectations and tries to warn her that her magical experiences are special because Rosie doesn't view her as a mother. She does, however, present some aspects of caring for a child as magical, such as building a first snowman and being present when the child learns to ride a bike
5. Which of the following most accurately describes the emotions in this passage?
[ ] Warm and comforting
[ ] Excited and joyful
[x] Painfully raw
[ ] Dulled
Margaret descends to depths of cruelty when she informs Jackie that she allowed her to be fooled into thinking her visits mattered more than they did
6. Why is Jackie terrified at first?
[x] She does not want a confrontation with her mother
[ ] She thinks her mother will stop Rosie from visiting
[ ] She is afraid she won't make it to her important meeting on time
[ ] She is afraid that Rosie no longer loves her
Jackie knows how difficult this conversation will be and how hurt her mother will be. She is also familiar with Margaret's highly personal criticism
7. Which lines tell the reader that Jackie understands how Margaret is feeling?
[ ] "I can make up for it — somehow — "
[ ] "She must remember — I visited!"
[ ] "I wish we weren’t in your office!"
[x] "You know Mummy, the Gallery and everything, I couldn’t have done it without you. You can’t be a mother and then cancel Christmas to be in New York"
As terrible as Margaret is making her feel, Jackie can empathise with her mother and tries to show some awareness of how indebted she is to Margaret
8. JACKIE: We were running along this dazzling beach. I thought, is that what I’ve missed?
What does this line tell the audience about Jackie?
[ ] Jackie is looking forward to mundane tasks of motherhood
[ ] Jackie thinks parenthood is like a long holiday
[x] Jackie has an idealised vision of motherhood
[ ] All of the above
Jackie's romanticised version of parenthood enrages Margaret, who then talks about the less enjoyable aspects of caring for a child
9. What does Jackie agonise over?
[x] Whether she should stay for a longer talk with her mother or catch the early train
[ ] Whether she should ever go back to Manchester and to her gallery, or not
[ ] Whether she should tell Rosie immediately about her birth
[ ] Whether she should have another child
In this moment, as in Jackie's entire adult life, she cannot decide fully between motherhood and career. Margaret pointedly tells her that she "can't do both"
10. What causes Jackie to run from the room?
[ ] Her mother's sarcasm
[ ] Her mother's refusal to look at her
[ ] Her mother's changing of the subject
[x] All of the above
In her own pain at the thought of losing Rosie, Margaret crushes her daughter
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