The torn wall map
An original fiction passage set in the nineteenth century.
The map tore during the arithmetic lesson. At the sound, Mrs Ellison turned from the blackboard and saw Annie beside the wall, one hand still raised towards the dangling paper. Blue ink covered the cuff of the girl’s dress.
“Return to your place,” Mrs Ellison said. Her voice was quiet, which the class knew was worse than shouting. She opened the conduct book and wrote Annie’s name beneath the date. “You will remain when the others leave.”
Annie began, “I was trying to—”
“You may explain afterwards.”
When the bell rang, the other pupils hurried out. Mrs Ellison waited until their footsteps had faded before approaching the map. Its upper corner still hung from a brass hook, but the lower edge had caught upon a nail that stood out from the wall. Beside it, the tall window trembled in its frame.
“Show me exactly where you were,” she said.
Annie returned to the end of her desk. She explained that a gust had lifted the map towards the nail. She had reached across the inkwell to catch it, but her sleeve had struck the bottle. Mrs Ellison looked from the stained cuff to the blue drops on the floor. They formed a broken line between Annie’s desk and the wall.
Mrs Ellison pressed the window latch. It appeared secure, but when she released it, the window sprang open and the remaining paper strained against the hook. She closed it more carefully this time.
Without speaking, she returned to her desk and drew a firm line through Annie’s name. Then she wrote a note for the caretaker about the latch and the projecting nail.
The following morning, Mrs Ellison stood before the class with the damaged map rolled beneath her arm. “I made a judgement before I had examined what happened,” she said. “Annie was attempting to prevent greater damage.”
She placed a jar of paste on Annie’s desk and asked whether she would help repair the map at lunchtime. Annie agreed. As they unrolled it together, Mrs Ellison held the torn edges while Annie carefully brought them back into place.
Evaluate the view that the writer presents Mrs Ellison’s final decision as fair and responsible.
In your answer, you should consider:
Support your judgement with detailed references to the passage.