Section 1 — The building and the elevator
- What happens: Martin and his father move to the seventeenth floor of an old building; the elevator frightens Martin.
- Points to note:
- The elevator is tiny (three people at most), poorly lit, with dirty walls; the door slams; it shudders and groans.
- Martin fears it will fall and feels trapped and suffocated — signs of claustrophobia, though he denies it.
- The setting itself creates fear: a small, closed, mechanical space that the boy cannot control.
- Exam focus: 2027 specimen Q4(i) — why Martin was afraid of this elevator (any two: poorly lit, dirty walls, very small, felt claustrophobic/trapped, doors closed quickly, shuddered, afraid it would fall) and what this tells us about him (lacking in confidence / anxious / insecure).
Section 2 — The stairs and the father
- What happens: Martin climbs the dark stairs; his father scorns him and insists he use the elevator.
- Points to note:
- The stairwell is no refuge: dark, windowless, echoing footsteps that seem to follow him.
- The father sees Martin as thin, weak, bad at sports, timid — a coward; he expects his son to "be a man".
- Martin's shame comes from his father's opinion of him. (2027 specimen Q4(iii))
Section 3 — The first meeting
- What happens: the elevator stops at the fourteenth floor; the fat lady in the green coat gets in and stares at Martin.
- Points to note:
- Description (2027 specimen Q4(ii)): fat lady; old green coat; piggish face; tiny, sharp blue eyes; large fleshy cheeks; no chin; a mass of neck.
- Her silence and staring are more frightening than words.
- Martin feels terrified / threatened / nervous.
Section 4 — The second meeting
- What happens: after school the elevator stops at the third floor; the lady gets in, presses eighteen, and watches Martin get out at seventeen.
- Points to note:
- Martin hoped the elevator would not stop — his fear is already expecting her.
- She presses eighteen (the top floor), not fourteen — her movements make no sense, adding mystery.
- "Now she knows" his floor — the threat becomes personal.
- Martin is ashamed to fear an old lady — his father's voice inside his head. (2027 specimen Q4 extract and (iii))
Section 5 — The father dismisses Martin
- What happens: at dinner Martin asks about the lady; his father calls it ridiculous and will not ride with him.
- Points to note: the father's lack of empathy isolates Martin; the reader begins to fear for him because no adult will help.
Section 6 — The smile and the fall
- What happens: the lady smiles; Martin panics, runs down the dark stairs, falls and breaks his leg; his father, angry, takes him to hospital in silence.
- Points to note:
- The smile is the first change in her — a sign that something is about to happen.
- Cause and effect (2025 specimen Q1(xv)): Martin's terror leads to the fall (statement 1), which leads to the father's angry silence (statement 2) — "(1) is the cause for (2)".
- Martin believes she knew he would fall — is she supernatural, or is it his imagination?
Section 7 — The ending
- What happens: the father gets off at the ninth floor, telling Martin to grow up; at the tenth floor the lady gets in; the door closes; she presses STOP, smiles and says, "Hello, Martin."
- Points to note:
- Martin is on crutches — he cannot escape. (2027 specimen Q4(v))
- The father's "Grow up, Martin" is his last failure to protect his son.
- The lady knows his name though they have never met — the sinister climax. (2027 specimen Q4(iv))
- The story ends abruptly: a cliff-hanger, open-ended, horrifying, suspenseful.