Aton
emen
t
Maegan Mathiasmeier
Hour 5
By Ian McEwan
"Was being Cecilia just as vivid an affair as being Briony? Did her sister
also have a real self concealed behind a breaking wave and did she spend time
thinking about it, with a finger held up to her face? Did everybody, including
her father, Betty, Hardman? If the answer was yes, then the world, the
social world, was unbearably complicated.” (34)
The narrator is contemplating the characters’
minds. She is realizing that the world is much
more complicated than people make it out to
be. If one person knew everyone’s thoughts,
then they would be vastly overwhelmed. Some
people do not show their inner self and do not
know how to open up. The question is, is
everyone completely themselves, or just putting
on a show for the outside perspective? Finding
out a person’s true self is a main theme in this
novel.
"'Oh Lola.' Briony put out her hand to touch her cousin's face and found her cheek.
It was dry, but it wouldn't be, she knew it wouldn't be for long. 'Listen to me. I
couldn't mistake him. I've known him all my life. I saw him.' "'Because I couldn't
say for sure. I mean, I thought it might be him by his voice.' "'What did he say?'
"'Nothing. I mean, it was the sound of his voice, breathing, noises. But I couldn't
see. I couldn't say for sure.' "'Well I can. And I will.'” (157)
Briony, a 13 year old girl, accuses
Robbie, who is her sister Cecilia’s love
interest, of raping her cousin, Lola.
We later find out that it is a false
accusation and Robbie spends 3 years
in jail until he joins the army. Here
Briony is 100% sure that she is correct
on her accusation, which is ironic.
This reflects the theme of karma
because this false accusation causes
Briony to live a life of atonement for
her wrongdoings.
While in Jail, Robbie is miserable. The
only reason he is in Jail is because a young
girl claims he sexually assaulted her
cousin, Lola, which is very untrue. He
knows he didn’t do anything, but can’t do
anything about it. He feels hopeless. This
is how the narrator feels later in life. What
goes around comes around.
"Three and a half years of nights like these, unable to sleep, thinking of
another vanished boy, another vanished life that was once his own and waiting
for dawn and slop-out and another wasted day. He did not know how he
survived the daily stupidity of it. The stupidity and claustrophobia. The
hand squeezing on his throat. Being here, sheltering in a barn, with an army
in rout, where a child's limb in a tree was something that ordinary men could
ignore, where a whole country, a whole civilization was about to fall, was
better than being there, on a narrow bed under a dim electric light, waiting for
nothing.” (190)
"Briony knew she had recently
accumulated a string of errors.
Four days ago, despite careful
instruction, a patient in her
care had quaffed her carbolic
garble - according to the porter
who saw it, down in one like a
pint of Guinness - and was
violently sick across her
blankets. Briony was also
Briony feels guilty for accusing Robbie of the
aware that she had been
rape, when she figures out that it may be a
observed by Sister Drummond
carrying only three bedpans at a man by the name of Paul Marshall. Briony’s
life changing false accusation has resulted in
time, when by now they were
atonement for her wrongdoings, which
expected to go the length of the
involves obstacles such as the wrath of Sister
ward reliably with a pile of six,
Drummond for being trained as a nurse in
like a busy waiter in La
the war. She is having to do the “dirty work.”
Coupole.” (254)
This shows the theme of karma as well.
"If I'm lucky it might turn out to
be somewhat benign. I might not be
unhappy - just a dim old biddy in
a chair, knowing nothing, expecting
nothing.” (334)
The narrator is revealing that
she lives in so much regret that
she would rather be
thoughtless, so she didn’t have
to feel any pain anymore. This
shows how much one event in
a lifetime can affect a person.
This is part of her punishment
for sending Robbie to jail.
Personal
Connection
In Atonement by Ian McEwan, I connected to Briony and
her atonement. As a teen, accepting mistakes is part of growing
up. Upon my last couple years, I have accepted to learn from
my mistakes and make up for them, also known as atonement.
Sometimes because of a false accusation, like Briony’s, a person
has to accept the consequences they will face in order to be
absolved from their wrongdoings. When absolved from their
sins at confession, Catholics sometimes have to do penance in
order to be fully absolved from their sins.
It is also as hard to forgive as it is to be forgiven, which is also
another factor. Forgiveness can make or break a relationship,
and it is vital to learn to forgive and ask for forgiveness. Just
like how it was very hard for Cecilia and especially Robbie to
forgive Briony for the crime she committed. Sometimes it does
not always work out, but that is the way the world works.
Part One
The novel’s protagonist, Briony Tallis, writes a play
for her brother, Leon. Her sister, Cecilia, comes
back from college and confronts their landscaper,
Robbie Turner, about the feelings they have for
each other. Robbie writes Cecilia a dirty note, and
Briony mistakenly reads it. Robbie and Cecilia
confess their love for each other and have sex,
which Briony is concerned about. Briony sees her
cousin, Lola, being sexually assaulted by someone
she is convinced is Robbie. Her accusation sends
Robbie to jail. Cecilia is the only person who
believes he is innocent.
Part Two
Robbie is in jail for 3 1/2 years until he is released
on the account of enlisting for the army. Robbie
and Cecilia stay in contact and very briefly meet
after he is released from prison, but before he is
sent to the army. Cecilia breaks off her relationship
with her family and sister, especially. Briony
begins training as a nurse, following in her sister’s
footsteps. Robbie is apart of the Dunkirk
evacuation.
Part Three
Briony is a probationary nurse under the watch of
the intimidating Sister Drummond. She has the
low end job of cleaning everything in sight. Lola
and Paul Marshall, who Briony now believes is the
one that assaulted Lola, announce their
engagement, and later get married. Briony meets a
man named Luc who mistakens her for another
woman, and has a fake love for him, prior to his
request. Everyday is a challenge to get through for
Briony. She realizes that it is all atonement for her
false accusation of Robbie. Briony visits Cecilia
because she does not respond to her letters. Briony
realizes that she was wrong about Robbie, and she
feels guilty about it. Now she has to atone for it.
London, 1999
Briony reveals that Part Three was about
a crime that Lola, Marshall, and her
committed years ago, that she will atone
for the rest of her life. Also, Robbie and
Cecilia did not end up together, they both
died. The ending in Part Three was the
happy ending that Briony longed for.
Purpose
“What goes around comes around” is a definite
theme in this novel. Because of the narrator’s
wrongdoings, she has had to live a life of regret and
atonement. Karma will always come back to haunt
a person. One cannot commit a crime, especially
that causes harm to a loved one, and expect to get
away with no penance. The narrator is an
accomplished writer, but lives a life of regret
because of one event in her life. The purpose of
this novel is to let the audience know that one slip
up can affect the rest of a person’s life, so choose
actions wisely.
Recommendation
Starting out, the audience believes this is just another
powerful love novel, but it ends up being about facing the
consequences for a person’s wrongdoings, no matter what
the circumstance may be. This book was a page turner, and
it keeps the reader on its toes. There is never a dull
moment. McEwan’s writing is completely brilliant and
flawless. I would love to read another book by McEwan.
This novel is complex, but an easy read. The ending was
the best part of the whole book. I would highly
recommend this novel.
Works
Cited
McEwan, Ian. Atonement. New York:
Anchor Books, 2001.