Nov (‘Anton Aschenbach’) Thinking Skills Paper 2 q. 1

(a) 3 marks Source B contains information about allegations of official corruption. How significant is this information in relation to the reasons for the arrest of Anton Aschenbach? Quite significant / Very significant No reference to the Aschenbach case itself, so it does not provide any direct evidence of wrong-doing by Aschenbach or by the authorities (government and police) Nonetheless, it is background information which offers a plausible context for the arrest: it indicates that corruption is rife, and suggests that bribery may be the only way to effectively do business. If so, Aschenbach would have had the motive to pay bribes like, apparently, everybody else. This would give the authorities the opportunity (or, you might say, the excuse) to arrest him. It comes from an apparently neutral (and probably respected) source, so it should be taken seriously

(b) 3 marks (must consider both sides for full marks) How reliable is the information in Source C in relation to the reasons for the arrest of Anton Aschenbach? By itself, somewhat unreliable (even though it may provide a useful lead) / Partly reliable Strongly biased source Vested interest to present a view of state impoverishment – implicitly, through economic mismanagement – and of corruption in the current government (in order to discredit the government and presumably return to power themselves) That the opposition party is in exile reduces their ability to see; though this may be compensated for by having contacts within the country, as they claim to have And again it is only background information, with no direct reference to the Aschenbach case However, the suggestion of corruption does broadly corroborate the evidence of Source B Also it suggests a specific plausible motive for the arrest of Aschenbach: to get funds for the state through payment of a massive bribe (“voluntary additional taxes”) under the threat of legal action

(c) 3 marks (must consider both sides for full marks) How useful is the information in Source D in relation to the reasons for the arrest of Anton Aschenbach? Partly useful It does refer specifically to the Aschenbach case, and offers an alternative plausible motive for his arrest (an alternative to the one suggested in Source C) The ‘special correspondent’ being in Ruritania should give fairly good ability to see Also the information in this source is consistent with information in Source B about nepotism However, it is based entirely on rumours, which must make it unreliable Also we do not know if the source is neutral or biased (“special correspondent” could mean anything!) For these reasons, overall this evidence is rather unreliable, but would be worth investigation – so it could eventually prove useful

(d) 6 marks Why do you think Anton Aschenbach has been arrested? Write a short, reasoned argument to support your conclusion, with critical reference to the evidence provided and with consideration of any plausible alternative scenarios. Two possible conclusions are equally acceptable: Aschenbach paid bribes – fake crackdown to elicit big bribe to the government Aschenbach paid bribes – fake crackdown to remove business & political opponent Two other conclusions are at least plausible: Aschenbach paid bribes – genuine crackdown (though very improbable) Aschenbach innocent (fairly improbable) – wrongly arrested for any of the previous reasons In any case, Source B is probably most important – neutrality, seriousness, establishes context Sources C & D both offer interesting leads but need independent corroboration Plausible alternative: any of the list above Further investigation: the claims in Sources C and/or D