Section 1 — The speck
- Points to note:
- Setting: a writer's desk; the speaker has a pen and a sheet of paper with wet ink — so he is writing. (2027 specimen Q7(ii): writing; any two of paper / ink / manuscript / pen.)
- First thought: a dust particle. (Q7(i))
- Words "speck" and "mite": both mean something tiny; they suggest it is insignificant — yet it is a living creature.
- "no dust speck … a living mite / With inclinations it could call its own" — it has its own will and desires. (2027 extract)
Section 2 — Signs of intelligence
- Points to note:
- The mite responds to stimulus — the pen and the ink — as a thinking creature would.
- Actions (any three, 2027 Q7(iii)): paused, suspicious of the pen; raced wildly; seemed to loathe the smell/taste of ink; ran in terror; crept cunningly; faltered; cowered; desperate to survive.
- Movements showing it had feet (any three, Q7(iv)): ran, raced, crept, faltered, tried to get away, turned to flee.
- Personification: the mite is given human feelings — suspicion, terror, cunning, despair — which makes us see it as a fellow being.
Section 3 — The decision
- Points to note:
- First impulse: to stop it with his pen (a drop of ink would have killed it). (Q7(v))
- Decision: to let it lie there till it slept. (Q7(v))
- Reason (any one, Q7(v)): respect for intelligent life; it was harmless, not evil; it had a mind of its own; sensitivity to life, however small; appreciation of intelligence.
- Not sentimentality: he rejects the vague, fashionable "love of all" and grounds his mercy in respect for mind.
Section 4 — The ending and the tone
- Points to note:
- The closing joke — glad to find any sign of mind on a sheet of paper — refers to the mite and also teases thoughtless writing.
- Tone (2027 Q7(v), personal response): philosophical / reflective / meditative — with gentle humour and irony.