Ian McEwan. Copyright 2001 by Anchor Books. References from “In Memory of W.B. Yeats” by W.H. Auden, the Imperial War Museum’s collection of unpublished letters, journals, and other information, Destination Dunkirk by Gregory Blaxland, No Time for Romance by Lucilla Andrews, and The Miracle of Dunkirk by Walter Lord.
Briony Tallis: Confused girl reaching for adulthood, curious, inquisitive, meddling, gifted writer. She stumbles upon an adult situation she does not comprehend, but because of newfound “adulthood” wishes to protect Cecilia because her older cousin utilized the word “maniac” in describing Robbie. Not venomous or evil, only once she comprehended the situation she became cowardly. Cecilia Tallis: older woman, chain-smoker, faithful to her family: looked after the household because her mother and father neglected their family. Feels both obligation and pressure from and toward her family because of that, and before Robbie went to jail she was tender and caring with them, and very close to her brother Leon. Fell in love with Robbie and remained so loyal to him that she disowned his betrayers. Robbie Turner: Intelligent, dedicated, and loved by the Tallis household. Both him and his mother served the Tallises for years after Robbie’s father left, and Jack Tallis even went so far as to pay for all of his schooling, which he achieved highly in, surpassing Cecilia. Remains innocent throughout the novel because he did nothing wrong but was entirely misunderstood: both Robbie and Cecilia are tragic characters.
Paul Marshall: rich because he created Army Ammo, a sugar coated chocolate substitute, knows the Tallis family because he is friends with Cecilia’s brother, Leon. Often described as being about one gene away from handsomeness, but nevertheless not quite there. He is important to the story line because it was him who attacked Lola, and it was him who Briony half saw, and Briony is unable atone because of his influence as well as Lola’s once Paul marries her. Lola Quincey: Briony’s cousin and daughter of Hermione, Mrs. Tallis’ sister whom Mrs. Tallis dislikes—though the nature of their relationship is hazy, Mrs. Tallis’ feelings may also be called hatred. Lola is sly, beautiful, older than Briony (and therefore influential on her), and conniving. She also knows who attacked her that night, but marries Paul despite everything. She is the one who labeled Robbie as a maniac, which most likely pushed Briony—who wanted to badly to be older like Lola—into sending Robbie to jail instead of Paul.
Setting one: the Tallis household. Mansion: large stretches of gardens which Robbie attends to, a creek running near the household, a nearby forest, an island temple by an artificial lake, a pool, an iron kissing gate, and a large fountain with a statue reproduction of Bernini’s Triton in the Piazza Barberini in Rome. The house itself is made to be practical: large with bright orange bricks, often described as ugly. Indoors there is a front hall with black and white tile, a library, an upstairs, a nursery, a kitchen and dining room, and rooms for everyone in the house. Setting two: The French countryside. This is where the war takes place, and though it is not a specific area, France is where at least a quarter of the book takes place. Here there are many farmers, the countryside is strewn with dead people from German Luftwaffe attacks, and Robbie, Mace and Nettle visit many French homes, which are small (almost ranch houses). Two major scenes which take place here are the scene in which the refugees are crowding the streets to escape just before another attack, and the beach scene where the soldiers are gathered waiting for ships to take them away (since the British army is retreating). Mostly described as shabby, desolated and war-torn.
Begins with an introduction of Briony, Lola, and the twin’s character, mostly through “The Trials of Arabella”. This is followed immediately by an introduction of Cecilia, and then the scene by the fountain (shown firsthand, and then told again through Briony’s point of view). Then, Leon and Paul Marshall arrive (inviting Robbie to dinner shortly beforehand). When Marshall is upstairs, he stumbles upon Lola and the twins, where the twins hurt Lola. Mrs. Tallis is then introduced, and she gives her viewpoint on her family and Robbie. The scene then switches to Robbie getting ready for the party and writing his letter to Cecilia. Briony then goes out to slash at the nettles, where Robbie finds her on his way to the Tallis’ and sends the letter (which is an earlier copy he never intended for Cecilia to read) ahead with her. Briony reads the letter, then delivers it to Cecilia, who is suspicious that Briony read it. While Briony figures out what to think of the letter, Lola comes in and tells Briony about how the twins were abusing her. In an attempt to comfort Lola, Briony tells her about Robbie’s letter, and Lola labels Robbie a “maniac”. While this is occurring, Robbie arrives at the house and he and Cecilia make love in the library, where Briony walks in on them. Then the twins leave at dinner, and while everyone is searching for them Lola is attacked, and Briony testifies to the police that it was Robbie, so when Robbie finds the twins he is taken away. The setting then shifts to wartime France where Robbie and his friends Corporals Mace and Nettle, who have become detached from original platoon, are trying to make it to the ocean to retreat back to Britain. Although Robbie has a piece of shrapnel in his side, he guides the three of them to the beach, where they wait for a ship to come. Throughout this section are descriptions of Robbie’s encounters with Cecilia after he got into jail. Then the scene becomes Briony’s hospital where she is a student nurse and writing her story on Robbie and Cecilia. She goes through her duties at the hospital, attends Lola and Paul Marshall’s wedding, and then goes to speak to Cecilia, where she and Robbie tell her what to do to atone. Later on they get a shipment of wounded soldiers. In the next section, Briony is an old woman, and we find out that the scene where she talked to Robbie and Cecilia was fake, and that she never got to speak to them before they died in the war. She finished her book—which is her atonement—and cannot publish it until Lola and Paul Marshall die.
Motif 1: The phrase “come back”. Cecilia repeats this to Briony when Briony has a nightmare, so when Briony fabricates what Robbie is experiencing in the war, Cecilia always tells him “come back”. Motif 2: heat. Heat is continually addressed throughout the first portion of the novel when it comes to Cecilia and Robbie. Both the heat of the summer and the heat of romance is referenced here.
7. Ian McEwan wrote this novel in a very simple narrative. He tells the story from a limited omniscient stance as to fulfill the purpose of showing the main characters points of view. He only writes from four characters perspectives giving which allows for suspense and intensifying emotions.
8. The most prominent theme in this book is the jealousy that love can cause. It is also used to show how children grow up with increasing jealousy and the crimes the emotion can cause.
9. Our group had many discussions about jealousy, as previously mentioned. We were appalled at the atrocities that it can cause. We also had many discussions about war and the time period. We discussed the parallel structure of two of the main characters (Briony and Robbie). This led to discussions between war and how as hard a person might try he/she cannot save every body, and/or reverse a crime or something similar.
10. Are there any real life instances of jealousy that have completely destroyed a set of lives?
11. “It was madness to go to the man’s defense, it was loathsome not to. At the same time, Turner understood the exhilaration among the tormentors and the insidious way it could claim him… But the real danger came from the mob itself, its righteous state of mind” (McEwan 237).
“You’re in my thoughts every minute. I love you. I’ll wait for you. Come back” (McEwan 201).
“Where the woman and her son had been was a crater. Even as he saw it, he thought he had always known. That was why he had to leave them. His business was to survive, though he had forgotten why” (McEwan 224).
The piece was intended to inspire not laughter, but terror, relief and instruction, in that order, and the innocent intensity with which Briony set about the project” (McEwan 8).
12. 2007In many works of literature past events can affect, positively or negatively, the present actions, attitudes, or values of a character. Choose a novel or play in which a character must content with some aspect of the past, either personal or society. Then write an essay in which you show how the character’s relationship to the past contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
I. Briony commits an act of betrayal at the age of 18 that sends her friend Robbie to Prison. Throughout her life she wants to fix the mistake but fails.
II. By showing both Briony’s trials in her life that her crime caused and the trials in the other characters lives, McEwan proves that past mistakes can haunt a person their whole life.
III. Briony’s jealousy ruins her life and two others lives and she want to atone for her past crime but cannot.
2007 B Works of literature often depict acts of betrayal. Friends and even family may betray a protagonist; main characters may likewise be guilty of treachery or may betray their own values. Select a novel or play that includes such acts of betrayal. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze the nature of the betrayal and show how it contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
I.Briony betrays her sister, Cecilia, her friend/crush, Robbie, and herself in the novel.
II.The betrayal sends Robbie to prison and thus to his death in WWII which torments Briony.
III.The betrayal causes Cecilia to cut all ties with her family.
IV.The betrayal causes Briony to betray her dreams to create stories in order to become a nurse in order to somehow fix her wrong-doings.
V.This betrayal changes the lives of the character and thus creates the story.
7. Ian McEwan wrote this novel in a very simple narrative. He tells the story from a limited omniscient stance as to fulfill the purpose of showing the main characters points of view. He only writes from four characters perspectives giving which allows for suspense and intensifying emotions.
8. The most prominent theme in this book is the jealousy that love can cause. It is also used to show how children grow up with increasing jealousy and the crimes the emotion can cause.
9. Our group had many discussions about jealousy, as previously mentioned. We were appalled at the atrocities that it can cause. We also had many discussions about war and the time period. We discussed the parallel structure of two of the main characters (Briony and Robbie). This led to discussions between war and how as hard a person might try he/she cannot save every body, and/or reverse a crime or something similar.
10. Are there any real life instances of jealousy that have completely destroyed a set of lives?
11. “It was madness to go to the man’s defense, it was loathsome not to. At the same time, Turner understood the exhilaration among the tormentors and the insidious way it could claim him… But the real danger came from the mob itself, its righteous state of mind” (McEwan 237).
“You’re in my thoughts every minute. I love you. I’ll wait for you. Come back” (McEwan 201).
“Where the woman and her son had been was a crater. Even as he saw it, he thought he had always known. That was why he had to leave them. His business was to survive, though he had forgotten why” (McEwan 224).
The piece was intended to inspire not laughter, but terror, relief and instruction, in that order, and the innocent intensity with which Briony set about the project” (McEwan 8).
12. 2007 In many works of literature past events can affect, positively or negatively, the present actions, attitudes, or values of a character. Choose a novel or play in which a character must content with some aspect of the past, either personal or society. Then write an essay in which you show how the character’s relationship to the past contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
I. Briony commits an act of betrayal at the age of 18 that sends her friend Robbie to Prison. Throughout her life she wants to fix the mistake but fails.
II. By showing both Briony’s trials in her life that her crime caused and the trials in the other characters lives, McEwan proves that past mistakes can haunt a person their whole life.
III. Briony’s jealousy ruins her life and two others lives and she want to atone for her past crime but cannot.
2007 B Works of literature often depict acts of betrayal. Friends and even family may betray a protagonist; main characters may likewise be guilty of treachery or may betray their own values. Select a novel or play that includes such acts of betrayal. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze the nature of the betrayal and show how it contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
I. Briony betrays her sister, Cecilia, her friend/crush, Robbie, and herself in the novel.
II. The betrayal sends Robbie to prison and thus to his death in WWII which torments Briony.
III. The betrayal causes Cecilia to cut all ties with her family.
IV. The betrayal causes Briony to betray her dreams to create stories in order to become a nurse in order to somehow fix her wrong-doings.
V. This betrayal changes the lives of the character and thus creates the story.
1-6 KATIE
7-12 CHRIS