Elizabeth Marino Marino 1

Mrs. P. Caiozzo
AP Literature and Composition
October 24, 2011

A moment in time; most people can pinpoint one or two times in their lives when
the choices they made had long term repercussions. Such is the case Ior Briony Tallis in
Ian McEwan`s novel Atonement. In this book, the concept oI maturity is treated
masterIully by the shiIt oI a character`s perceptions, belieI systems, and social realities.
Bryony Tallis is the younger sister whose literary skills are oIten belittled by her older
sister Celia. As the book opens, she creates a play Ior her cousins and herselI to perIorm.
The Iamily`s dynamics are at once set as the reader Iinds the mother remote and as distant
as the Iather, who seems to spend most oI his nights in London, rather than at home.
As the evening`s events unwind, the small details and insigniIicant happenings oI
the day are spoken about, but the undercurrent oI tension is building. Later, one oI the
cousins is assaulted on the grounds oI the house and Briony, still stinging Irom an insult
earlier, tells the authorities that it was Robbie, their childhood Iriend and Cecilia`s
boyIriend.
Briony witnesses her sister strip down to her undergarments and dive into a
Iamily Iountain with Robbie looking on. Not comprehending what was going on between
the two, she goes down to the Iountain aIter the two have leIt. It is at this point that she
begins to glimpse a bit oI her Iuture, and cleverly, McEwen Ioretells the tale.
Briony had her Iirst, weak intimation that Ior her now, it could no longer be Iairy-
tale castles and princesses, but the strangeness oI the here and now, oI what passed
between the people, the ordinary people that she knew, and what power one could have
over the other. "The very complexity oI her Ieelings conIirmed Briony in her view that
she was entering an arena oI adult emotion and dissembling Irom which her writing was
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bound to beneIit. What Iairy tale ever had so much by way oI contradiction?" (McEwan
106). Though she does not understand what has happened, her imagination Iills in what
she supposes to be the gaps. It is this assumption that leads to the terrible culmination oI
events which destroys them all. Briony decides she has witnessed a scene that is sinister;
that Robbie has somehow Iorced her sister to disrobe.
In this Iirst section oI the book, the reader is treated to the spoiled world oI Briony
Tallis, Ior whom the world is a gigantic oyster. She still perceives people, liIe and events
as they pertain to her. Though she is highly creative, she has not achieved that level oI
maturity to temper her ability within reason. 'At 13, Briony Ieels the selI-absorption oI
youth, exacerbated by her sense oI being in eIIect an only child because her sister,
Cecilia, and brother are older. Briony has discovered writing as a way oI creating and
controlling her world (Wiegand).She no more considers the consequences oI her actions
in accusing Robbie than she would have in taking an evening stroll. In Iact, the Iirst part
oI this novel paints a very disagreeable portrait oI this character.
Moreover, as the second section unwinds, maturity inevitably comes, but not
completely. Briony seeks to make amends Ior her lies, though she vows never to conIess
to anyone that it was a lie. Instead, she believes that iI she 'does well, that it will
'atone Ior the catastrophe which immediately Iollowed her lie.
The majority oI the story is told in multiple viewpoints, and in the second section
oI the book, the reader begins to get inside the head oI Robbie. World War II has broken
out and Robbie is on the Iront lines, having been released Irom prison. Briony, in an
eIIort to continue her pattern oI atonement, joins the war eIIort as a nurse`s aide. This is
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another glimpse oI the generational shiIt as Briony, surrounded by mangled bodies,
realizes that the bodies are so easily torn and so hard to mend aIter all. This is symbolic
oI the lie which she told as a child and the lie which caused gaping wounds that reIused
to heal properly. Yet, she is still not at the point oI realizing her inability to play God. It is
stated at one point: 'But what was guilt these days? It was cheap. Everyone was guilty,
and no one was (McEwan 207). Later in this section, Cecilia, who has always believed
in Robbie`s innocence leaves the Iamily home to be with him.
The third section oI the novel continues with the winding down oI the war. Briony
begins to realize that she can devote her every waking moment to the dying soldiers and
that no matter how much she attempts to make amends, she cannot. This is a turning
point Ior this character and prepares her to move toward the eventuality oI her liIe`s
work: writing. The interesting question is asked about the novelist, and that would be
Iictionist. In the writer`s world, the writer is God. Who then, holds God accountable?
The major characters who change throughout the course oI the novel are Cecelia, Robbie
and Briony. Briony, oI course is the main character, with Robbie running a close second.
In Iact, these two protagonists serve to move the story Iorward as their unresolved
problems with each other and with the events that were set into motion that night circle
around them.
The usual themes oI truth and honor are touched upon in this novel, but each new
theme ushers in personal growth oI the characters, especially Briony. Some oI the themes
include imagination and oI the eIIects that time has on an event. The reader learns early
on that Ior whatever reason, possibly the dysIunctional Iamily, Briony seems only to
understand her world through the pages oI her stories, Though she sets aside her writing
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Ior a time, it becomes in veritable that she will one day return to it. When she does, she
has to come to understand the changes oI perspective throughout her liIetime and that
atonement is something that encompasses a diIIerent meaning Ior diIIerent people.
In the Iinal pages oI the book, one is given the beneIit oI a very aged Briony. As
she looks back on her liIe, the perceptions which she held at thirteen have been changed
over the years.
She has come to realize that aIIairs oI the heart, oI the mind, the spirit and body,
like those war torn bodies oI the war, cannot be mended with nice stories. She Iinds that
the lies people tell themselves are as damaging as a bullet, and the biggest mistake in her
liIetime has been her belieI that she could atone Ior such a terrible choice; In short, she
has wasted her liIe trying to atone Ior what she could never atone Ior. Every decision that
she has made has revolved around her desire to atone Ior her lie.
The changing times that depicted are shown through the changing attitudes oI the
young people. In particular, Cecelia depicts the changing age when she stands up to her
parents and reIuses to 'make a good match. Instead, she chooses to Iollow her heart and
go with Robbie, who does not come Irom money.
The setting can become as real and subtle a character as any other. It can be said
that just about any attribute one can ascribe to a character can also be used to describe
certain settings. A setting can be calm, at peace with itselI, or seething, boiling and
discontent. It can be the quiet solitude oI a rustic church, or the wild and garish colors oI
a Middle East bazaar.
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Besides using the characters to depict generational and societal change, McEwan
uses the setting to underscore these points as well. The Iirst part oI the book appears to be
idyllic. Everything is more or less innocent, with a hint oI unrest. This echoes the time oI
liIe Ior the three youngsters whose lives will be intertwined Iorever by the end oI the
evening. The changing oI society occurs with the onset oI the war, some Iive years later.
The innocent time oI childhood, juxtaposed with the realities oI war serve to show how
Iragile peace and security are.
The setting in the Iield hospital is used to bring Briony to maturity. This section
serves to show how Briony moves Irom a child`s belieI in absolute good to the gray areas
that lie in between. In the Iield hospitals, all Briony can do in many cases is to give
comIort to the dying. In these scenes, Briony is Iorced to think oI someone other than
herselI. The child`s belieI in invincibility and immortality disappears with each death that
she witnesses.
What really shocks the reader about the story is the ending. The reader Iinds that
the book has been written by none other than Briony, now in her last years oI liIe. This
changes the reader`s perspective. Perhaps Briony has had a maturing oI outlook on the
incident, as evidenced by her comments about the writer being God. But then this same
sentiment can be taken to mean that, as the writer oI the tale, she has Iabricated the
incident, and the Iact that she has Iound Iorgiveness. The whole tale is suspect because
she is not a reliable narrator where the reader is concerned.
A writer has a whole array oI tools at his or her disposal. In Atonement, Ian
McEwan uses all oI them, Irom irony to symbolism, alas, it would seem that he plays
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with structure to some extent and this may be part oI the reason the novel leaves one
unsettled. The generational shiIts, the moving Irom one time to another, Irom one level oI
knowledge to another, are all indicative characters in the book. Social reality, then like
the pages oI a good book, are mostly conceived and perceived in one own mind, but are
shaped by experiences which come Irom the truth. And this more than any other element
in the book is what moves the character to their Iinal demise.













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Works Cited
McEwan, Ian. 94302039. Anchor Books, New York: 2001.
Wiegand, David. 'Stumbling into Fate: Accidents and choices trip up the characters in
Ian McEwan's new novel. San Francisco Chronicle 10 March 2002. 19 October
2011http://www.sIgate.com/cgibin/article.cgi?Iile/chronicle/archive/2002/03/1
0/RV109370.DTL~