empathy

Empathy means understanding another person's feelings and difficulties. When a father and daughter understand each other’s emotions, fear and distance reduce, while closeness and trust grow. Therefore, option C is correct; harshness or distance is not an outcome of empathy. Exam tip: connect empathy with understanding, care, and trust.

Understanding Kezia's loneliness and feelings is an act of empathy. Empathy means recognising another person's emotions and responding with sensitivity. Neglect is the opposite because it involves ignoring a person's needs or feelings. Exam tip: When a question focuses on understanding a character's emotions, look for words such as empathy or compassion.

Grandmother tries to improve the relationship. In exams write Grandmother as an empathetic bridge.

In ‘The Little Girl’, Kezia first considers her father strict and frightening. Later, she understands that his stern manner also contains care and love for her. Understanding another person’s feelings and situation is empathy, so option B is correct. Pride and jealousy do not help one understand others, while carelessness is the opposite of care. Exam tip: link Kezia’s changed view of her father with empathy.

After Kezia has a frightening dream, her father lets her sleep beside him and comforts her gently. Therefore, his reaction is supportive. He neither mocks her nor ignores her. Exam tip: Link this incident with the father's hidden affection and empathy.

Listening helps understand a child's feeling. In exams treat listening as the beginning of empathy.

Kezia used the papers containing her father’s important speeches as stuffing for a pincushion she was making for his birthday. Her act came from affection, not from an intention to cause harm. Therefore, her mistake should be understood in the context of her age and loving intention. Option B is incorrect because she did not deliberately try to upset her father. Exam tip: distinguish a character’s action from the intention behind it.

There is fear and distance between Kezia and father. In exams focus on the father-daughter relationship.

Through empathy, Kezia’s father would realise that she does not hate him; she is frightened by his harsh manner and longs for his love and affection. Macdonald represents the kind of warm father Kezia observes, but that option does not state Kezia’s emotional need. Exam tip: identify the emotional need behind a character’s fear.

Macdonald’s laughter with the children shows that he is warm, affectionate, and friendly. Therefore, friendly affection is the correct answer. Neglect and anger would not lead to cheerful interaction with children, while strict discipline means enforcing rules firmly. Exam tip: Infer a character’s feelings and nature from their actions.

When Kezia has a nightmare, her father takes her to his bed and comforts her. His caring behaviour makes her feel safe and loved. ‘Neglect’ is the opposite of this, because he looks after her at that moment. Exam tip: Link this incident with Kezia’s changed view of her father.

Empathy means understanding a child’s feelings and showing care. When a child receives empathy, the child feels safe and accepted, which builds trust. Fear, jealousy, and hatred are not natural results of empathy. Exam tip: connect empathy with care, understanding, and trust.

The correct answer is Kezia. She feels frightened by her father’s harsh voice and manner, so the reader understands her fear and insecurity. Macdonald’s episode helps Kezia recognise her father’s caring side, but Macdonald is not the central focus of empathy here. Exam tip: For empathy questions, connect a character’s feelings with the experiences that cause them.

Instead of explaining Kezia’s mistake and understanding her feelings, she was punished. This made her see her father as even harsher, so her fear of him increased. Option B is the opposite of what happened; she did not become fearless of her father. Exam tip: Remember Kezia’s fear of her father and the later change in her view of him.

A is correct. After Kezia has a nightmare, her father lets her sleep beside him and comforts her, helping her feel safe. This is a caring response to her fear and emotions, so it is the clearest example of empathy. Macdonald is affectionate while playing with his children, but the father's response directly addresses Kezia's distress. Exam tip: In empathy questions, look for an action that shows understanding of another person's feelings and offers support.

A father’s loving words and behaviour would make Kezia feel safe and understood, thereby increasing her trust in him. Fear and distance are more likely to result from harsh or neglectful behaviour, not affectionate communication. Exam tip: In questions about relationships, identify the emotional effect of a character’s behaviour.

An empathetic reader understands Kezia's intention. She used pieces of her father's speech papers as stuffing while making a pin-cushion for her grandmother's birthday; she did not mean to damage them. Therefore, it was an affectionate effort that led to an innocent mistake, not deliberate mischief. Exam tip: In character-based questions, consider both the character's intention and the result of the action.

When Kezia had a nightmare and became frightened, her father took her to his bed and let her sleep beside him. This made her realise that, although he appeared strict, he loved and cared for her. Seeing Macdonald play with his children made Kezia think about fathers, but she personally felt her father's affection during the night-time incident. Exam tip: Remember the father’s tenderness in the ending of the story.

In ‘The Little Girl’, Kezia initially fears her father because she sees him as strict and distant. When she experiences his love and care, she begins to understand him better. This empathy reduces her fear and builds trust in their relationship. Increased emotional distance is the opposite of this change. Exam tip: Link changes in characters’ relationships to their experiences and feelings.

The correct answer is empathy. Empathy means trying to understand another person’s feelings and situation. It helps us recognise the intention behind a child’s behaviour. Harshness focuses on blaming or frightening the child, so it does not help in understanding the child’s feelings. Exam tip: For questions about the feelings behind a character’s behaviour, look for empathy.