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Perowne's Argumentative Essay

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Another way in which Perowne changes is evident in the window scenes which demarcates the disintegration of his invincibility. In the beginning, Perowne believes that “to know the boundaries, is the essence of sanity” (2). Thriving on clear limits, Perowne seems myopically focused on the confines of his home, car, and routine. His view is framed territorially as he looks out onto “Charlotte Street, towards a foreshortened jumble of façades, scaffolding and pitched roofs, Henry thinks the city is a success, a brilliant invention, a biological masterpiece” (3). To Perowne, London is a fabricated entity, a manipulated ecosystem. From his perch, Perowne feels “immune to the cold as a marble statue” (3). Nothing can bring him down from his impenetrable …show more content…

In many ways, his outlook remains the same as before: Perowne is uncomfortable with his detachment from the real-world issues that occur around him. McEwan allows his protagonist’s thoughts; however, to transition into tangible emotions as his façade of control disintegrates. He knows that he cannot abide by distinct boundaries because all of his perceived control is a façade. Perowne understands that life is not partitioned by hours because “if he counts on sleep rather than the clock to divide the days, then this is still his Saturday, dropping far below him, as deep as a lifetime. And from here, from the top of his day, he can see far ahead, before the descent begins” (282). In this way, Perowne’s day is a microcosm of his life, representing the next phase as he imagines his various evolving roles in his family and career Perowne "feels himself turning on a giant wheel, like the Eye on the south bank of the Thames, just about to arrive at the highest point” (282). He is at his peak, unable to pause or disembark from where he is which is arguably the top because “he’s poised on a hinge of perception, before the drop, and can see calmly ahead,” (282). He finally accepts what his precision and controlling tendencies have allowed him to ignore; all people, including himself, must face a similar end in …show more content…

Preventative measures are not good enough either: “London, [Perowne’s] small part of [the world], lies wide open, impossible to defend, waiting for its bomb, like a hundred other cities” (286). Perowne, and by extension McEwan, conclude that the only effective response is love and empathy. Mimicking adages cemented in posterity, McEwan imparts to his readers Arnold’s message in his final stanza that love is the only way to approach “a darkling plain” (291), a new era of incertitude and tremendous possibilities. Empathy, as shown through Perowne’s compassionate response to Baxter’s intrusion, functions as an imperative that people need to think beyond the nearsighted landscape of the quotidien. Much like Perowne’s nerve endings “peeled and stripped clean” (280), McEwan argues that the inward-focused attitude present in society must be left behind, replaced with a society sensitively responds to its

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