How Does Ian Mcewan Present Briony in Part One of Atonement?

So in conclusion, Briar Rose by Jane Yolen has multiple layers of narrative to tell the story of Gemma’s life. By doing this, it creates a feeling of suspense and drama, as we put the pieces of the puzzle together to create a story. The construction of various narratives of Briar Rose conveys the message that traditions and storytelling convey the truth and a deeper understanding of the reality of the

The development of young characters can be seen throughout the novel with the shift in responsibility to be a parent from Ma and Da to Audrey and Devon. “Sometimes, as Da had done, Devon took a thing to town to pawn. He pawned the box that Grandda’s money had come in and brought home second-hand shoes for me.” (135) Further, this can also be seen with Izzy’s adjustment to the rural farming conditions from a previous rich city life and Audrey’s brave decision to work for the selfish pig farmer; even little Harper realises that the world is not just fun and games. Despite the Flute family despising Vandery Cable, Audrey, transitioning into the role of a mature and dedicated second mother, takes this burden upon herself as she values her family’s welfare over her own. The courage and bravery needed to fill the shoes of the previous dependent characters shows how the next generation is helping to ease to hardships faced by the community. Being brave and facing ones fears is the only way to achieve anything in these merciless times and by Audrey facing her fears for the benefit of her family, we can see her develop from a young and naive teenager into a mature and independent adult. The bravery and sacrifices made by the young generation to support

Their outwardly pristine appearance juxtaposes with the drab, unkempt town with peeling paint and rusty fences, where spousal rape, adultery and paedophilia lie just below the surface. Through this leverage of the ability to transform and astound, Tilly is able to gain ‘information’ to achieve her objective of discovering the truth behind the events of her past. The promise to transform Gertrude into the ‘most striking girl in the room’ and Marigold’s] dress looking ‘better than everyone else’ are the beginnings of the truth being unravelled and ‘rubbish’ revealed.

Ian McEwan also uses juxtaposition to address Briony’s character development by showcasing the true qualities of her character under tough circumstances. McEwan uses war as a way of understanding how it affects the psychological as well as physiological pressures of Briony. It is seen that as a result of Briony’s actions, Robbie is drafted to war. McEwan communicates the life of war by describing certain emotional sights like “ It was a perfect leg, pale, smooth, small enough to be a child’s” (192). Robbie’s need to throw up after seeing such a sight juxtaposes the conversation between two corporals describing all of the gore that they have seen. Robbie’s experience in war makes him waiver feelings of guilt due to the dehumanizing intensity of survival. However, McEwan shifts the guilt towards Briony as she is trying to atone for her mistake. She becomes a nurse despite her

Throughout the story there is much detail about what is happening without telling the readers everything which leaves all the details that were left out up to the reader’s imagination. It is a masterpiece that plays on the emotions and never-ending imagination of its readers. Because not all the small details were given by the author, readers are obligated to dissect the story and try to understand exactly what Joyce Carol Oates meant by what she wrote and the meaning behind this story. What makes this story beautiful even though it is full of evil is the way it was written, how every action, and dialogue within the story is carefully thought through, making every part of the text essential to the overall

The reader is first introduced to Miss Brill while she is at the “Jardins Publiques” for her Sunday routine. While at the park, she reminisces about her fur, “[taking] it out of its box that afternoon…and [rubbing] the life back into the dim little eyes.” One might initially perceive Miss Brill as a quirky, yet cheery, woman. However, by having Miss Brill address the fur as “Dear little thing” and emphasizing her recurring need to “touch” and “stroke” it, Mansfield reveals a deeper, more genuine layer to Miss Brill’s character. By observing Miss Brill’s character indirectly, the reader notices the more obscure details, such as the absence of an intimate relation in Miss Brill’s life, and concludes that she is incredibly lonesome. Her solitude provokes a constant need to make her life more

Briony has a need for control and order, even as a young child. She uses writing as a way to create worlds in which she has the ability to manipulate her characters and their outcomes. Briony, the youngest of the tallis children with large age gaps between them, is often alone and isolated. This loneliness causes her to seek attention. Both her desire to be in charge and her need for attention are reflected in the play The Trials of Arabella. Not only has she written the play, but she plans on starring in it as well. Her obsession with order and control makes her commit a crime because she wants to have power over what is the truth. After witnessing the rape she approaches Lola who is confused about who the perpetrator is, but Briony takes control of the situation "if her poor cousin was not able to command the truth, then she would do it for her" (McEwan 158). She seeks atonement for her crime through a novel. Like her play, Briony attempts two roles. She is both the narrator and main character of her novel. Again she is able to direct the truth, yet at the same time she is unable to differentiate between truth and fiction.

The main character, Edie, provides the narration of the story from a first person point of view. She tells her story based on an event from her past. Because she narrates the story the reader is unable to be sure if what she tells of the other characters is completely accurate. Because one does not hear other character's thoughts one could question whether Edie

228) in relation to the way that she is not able to rid herself of the way she separated two lovers. Briony had previously confessed to Robbie when she was ten-years-old, as revealed by Robbie’s thoughts in part 2 of the novel. “He had betrayed her love by favouring her [Briony’s] sister,” (pg. 233) which means Briony could have accused Robbie of rape to separate Cecilia from him. She did not feel guilty until she grew older and began to consider the complexity of her allegation. The war may take Robbie away from Cecilia and leave her devastated all because of a mistake Briony made. In addition, she will never be able to witness the lovers reuniting and may never be able to atone for her mistakes after all. Like a room without a door, she will not be able to escape the fact that she separated two

The major point in the story where a viewer can infer than Briony is an unreliable narrator was during Briony's brother’s welcome home dinner party. In this particular part in the film Briony's two twin cousins, who came to stay with the Tallis family since their parents were getting divorced, ran “away” and all the guests at the dinner party went searching for Briony's two cousins in the dark. When Briony was searching for her cousins she flashed her flashlight towards the ground and saw the two twin boys older sister that was staying with them, Lola, being raped by a man. Briony tells Lola she saw the man’s face who raped her and told her family that the man who raped Lola was Robbie. Briony essentially ruins Robbie’s life because of this rape allegation he gets sent to prison and enlists in the army to become free, but ultimately dies from an infection.

The maturation and growth of each character is displayed with the imagery of each transition. Cecelia recognizes the shift in Briony’s expression of frustration with her, as she “smoothed the jagged triangle of paper and thought how her little sister was changing... addressing Briony’s problems

She pays attention to the smallest details. "Wasn’t the conductor [of the band in the park] wearing a new coat, too? She was sure it was new. He scraped with his foot and flapped his arms like a rooster about to crow… Now came a little ‘flutey’ bit—very pretty!—a little chain of bright drops. She was sure it would be repeated. It was; she lifted her head and smiled" (98). Even if she’s only an observer, Miss Brill is an involved observer. She draws enjoyment from simply being in the park atmosphere. However, her enjoyment is more than a passing mood. It’s actually an indication of a deeper emotion—a kind of happiness. This becomes clear after Miss Brill has paid close attention to several small exchanges between people at the park. "Oh how fascinating it was! How she enjoyed it! How she loved sitting here, watching it all!" (99). That Miss Brill does not actually participate in anything is clear to the reader, but not to her. Vicarious involvement in other people’s lives seems to be fulfilling for her, even though there is no actual interplay with others. The most telling evidence that Miss Brill is happy (and that her happiness is based on a false impression) is when she comes to the conclusion that she’s somehow needed at the park. "No doubt somebody would have noticed if she hadn’t been there; she was part of the performance after all… Miss Brill nearly laughed out loud" (100). This realization eventually moves Miss Brill to

The details as told, seem to be coming directly from Miss Brill at times. The narrator gets us settled into the park with Miss Brill and tells us that she sees those around her as “odd, silent, nearly all old, and from the way they stared they looked as though they’d just come from dark little rooms or even-even cupboards!” This tells me that Miss Brill sees herself differently than she sees others, not odd or funny. She is a part of all this life and activity at the park! An actor in the grand play and “somebody would have noticed if she hadn’t been there.” She really loved to be out with others and thought that she was very much a part of the world and not apart from it. Don’t we all feel this way? Some people are truly introverted and care little of interacting, but I think the majority of us strive to become part of the world and at times feel like this life is one big drama and we have a big part. Our role might only be important for one scene, but we feel like the leading man or woman at times. The narrator leads us to what appears to be a fitting climax; a crescendo of music and song, with all players involved. Miss Brill’s dreams of this were quickly shattered. The comments by the young people, “Why does she come here at all-who wants her? Why doesn’t she keep her silly mug at home?” leaves Miss Brill with the cold realization that she is in fact like the odd, old people that she watches in the

To begin, the naïvety and distorted views of reality that Briony Tallis possess reveals her inability to understand the meaning of justice. Briony, who is only thirteen at the time, “views the adult world from a child’s perspective, seeing adult acts through the lense of melodrama” (“Atonement” 7). As result, in reading Robbie’s letter she immediately “[casts] herself as her sister’s protector” (McEwan 115), and thus imagines that Robbie is attacking Cecilia in the library. This can be seen in her perception that Cecilia’s forearm “was raised

In Araby, the boy is younger than his playmates sister. Joyce does not give us any ages of the characters but we can assume because the main character goes outside and plays games with his friends still. Additionally, through his actions we can tell that he is starting to hit puberty. Normally when boys are young kids, all they tend to care about is having fun and wrecking havoc. In Araby however, the boy is starting to have an attraction feeling for his friends sister. Thus, hinting to the reader that the boy is hitting his puberty stage.