Explore the role of Uncle Clem’s vase in Atonement Within Ian McEwan’s 2001 novel Atonement, Uncle Clem’s vase occurs at critical moments plays a critical role throughout the plot, helping to depict different forms of love and the class division. It is discovered that Uncle Clem obtained the vase during the First World War when he was given the vase by a thankful occupant of a French town that he had helped to evacuate. We learn that the vase itself is a particularly expensive item and has been passed down onto Cecelia and her family. Therefore it could be interpreted that the vase has a lot of sentimental value to the family and is their ‘keepsake’ in memory of their Uncle Clem. The vase itself helps to show the relationship between both Robbie and Cecelia in a multitude of different ways, for example its shattering and the different types of wild flower arranged within. As well as this the vase also signifies the difference in class within the war and how, no matter your status in a time of crisis everyone is the same, either dead or alive. “Bryony raised two hands to her face and stepped back a little way from the window. She should shut her eyes, she thought, sparing her sister’s shame.” This moment alone, demonstrates how the incident of the vase being smashed led to Bryony believing that Robbie is forcing Cecelia to undress in front of him. “The factor that she stepped a little back form the window,” shows how taken aback Bryony is over the incident, this
In The Shoe Horn Sonata, responders are thrust into the lives of a nurse and a student with Misto’s effective use of distinct images to convey the disparity. The fall of Singapore signified the end of the British domination, which was a pivotal moment in the lives of Sheila and Bridie. “The British Empire teetered and fell…” is shown through the projections of images of the Japanese soldiers and the “The Banzai flag”, which is juxtaposed with the singing of the famous British hymn Jerusalem, a patriotic song of England’s greatness, to expresses the initiation of the loss of intense faith for England. “It lay there like a wounded animal, spilling oil instead of blood…” floating next to a disaster, Sheila describes the submerging ship that she was
Louis de Berniere creates a book filled with love and miracles right from the beginning till the end. The novel starts off with a miracle; when Dr.Iannis removes a pea from Stamatis’ ear, giving him a new life of hearing. The meaning of this miracle right away sheds a light of positivity before the war, but it also gives a take into Dr.Iannis’ character, influencing the reader for a fair and happy society. This miracle is used as a structural foundation/device and reveals the theme of Cephalonia's optimistic human spirit.
The imagery used in the story is to help exhibit the respect and admiration that the narrator has for Clarisa. An example of said admiration is when Clarisa arrives home from the parade for the Pope distraught and confused. “I combed her meringue hair high on her head, tied it with a ribbon, and then sat down to accompany her through this crisis, not knowing exactly what it was,” (Allende, 438). This gives the reader a clue about Clarisa’s age, as well as provides a brief description of Clarisa. This text also gives insight into the narrator’s feelings towards Clarisa, and how concerned she is for Clarisa’s well being. Throughout the story Allende hints at the fact that Clarissa is at an age where she has become more fragile and certain activities become too much for her body to handle. “She was exhausted when she reached the house, with the din of bells and cheering still ringing in her temples” (Allende, 438). This
In Atonement, instead of the family’s stability being viewed as a rock like the ideal family, the vase in Atonement maintains peace but creates nothing but chaos and downfall when it is destroyed. When the vase, the family’s heirloom, begins to fall apart, so does the family, until the pieces are so tiny that repair becomes clearly impossible.
By viewing rejection as a personal attack, Briony does not act on their professional and substantial input and instead gives up on her short story, remaining where she started before the
One of the many purposes of birth control is to avoid unwanted pregnancies. In this day and age the decision to take birth control should be a mere right and not a debate, but society has still not fully accepted the use of birth control even though “ninety-eight percent of women use birth control at some point in their lives” (Milligan, 2014, p. 3). Birth control has unfortunately earned a negative stigma because it allows women to have sex without getting pregnant and that is frowned upon throughout parts of society. Some members of society have even compared the use of birth control to abortion. Women who choose to take birth control should not be judged and the use of birth control amongst women should no longer be considered disgraceful. The reliable access to birth control should be made available to all women no matter their race, age, and class.
Kristiina scurried down the hall to make it to her next class, which she feared she was probably going to be late for. She felt some relief when she finally saw the door to her next class. She turned into the doorway sharply still moving fairly fast, so fast she didn't notice the girl that she was about to run into. Before she knew it Tiina had slammed face first into someone. She blushed in embarrassment when she realized she basically had her face shoved into someone's breast and pulled away quickly to apologize. "I am so sorry!" Tiina squeaked, her blush darkened when she realized exactly who she had bumped into, it was Beatrice. Tiina quickly apologized again before Beatrice had a chance to say anything and quickly went to her seat in the back of the room.
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
Whilst in conversation with Lola, Briony’s cousin, Briony tells her of all the events involving Robbie so far, this conveys once more that Briony is a meddling child as she is telling false accusations to people who are not involved in the situation. We can also evidence once more of Briony attention seeking as she had a ‘desire to share a secret and show the older girl that she too had worldly experiences’. Lola further urges Briony’s imagination and makes her belief that Robbie is a ‘maniac’ and could ‘attack anyone’. Following this we can see that not only is Briony immature but she is also ignorant of what is happening and would still rather belief the story that she is building. We can see this when Briony reflects on the memories she had of Robbie as child when he would ‘carry her on his back’ and when he ‘taught her one summer how to tread water and breast stroke’, and instead she perceives these innocent acts to be dangerous as Briony said he ‘pretended to be a beast’ and that ‘she had been alone with him many times at the swimming hole’. These acts would make Robbie seem untrustworthy to a child because beasts are a common factor in children’s nightmares and the thought of a man being
Briony only starts to realise her crime as she grows older. In a letter to Robbie, Cecelia paraphrases a letter from Briony, "She's beginning to get the full grasp of what she did I think she wants to recant." When Briony goes to visit Cecelia, the reader comprehends that Briony doesn't want to withdraw her statement for Robbie's benefit but instead to find favour with her sister and to reassemble her previous family life: " 'I don't expect you to forgive me.' 'Don't worry about that", she said soothingly, Briony flinched as her hopes lifted unreally. ' Don't worry', her sister resumed.
Rosamond is very disappointed and her mother reminds her that her of her input on Rosamond’s purchase that she did tell her to examine the beautiful purple jar before making her decision. Rosamond’s mother tells her “But didn’t I tell you that you had not examined it, and that perhaps you would be disappointed?” With this the author is teaching the didactic lesson that things are not always as they seem and the reader should always closely examine their decisions. Rosamond ends up with stones in her shoes causing her pain and eventually not being able to attend an event with her father due to her appearance. In this the author is showing the poor decision Rosamond made and the consequences of that decision. Rosamond confides in her mother that she made a poor decision and she would like new shoes now. Rosamond’s mother responds to her request with “No, Rosamond, you must abide by your own choice; and now the best thing you can possibly do is bear your disappointment with good humor.” The Purple Jar teaches the difference of need and want, that evaluation of the decision should be thorough as things are not always as they appear and that there are consequences for every decision the readers make.
Briony made mistakes when she was younger that she wants to atone for but she never can. Briony wrote an ending for herself where she set up a way for her to begin atoning for her mistakes “You’re to go to your parents as soon as you can and tell them everything… You’ll go to a solicitor a commissioner for oaths and make a statement which will be signed and witnessed. In it you’ll say what you did wrong, and how you’re retracting your evidence … Then you’ll write to me in much greater detail. In this letter you’ll put in absolutely everything you think is relevant.” Really, Cecilia and Robbie were already dead and Briony would never have a chance for
During my freshmen year I wasn’t very active in my community. I had a lot of spare time, but never participated in any events. During the end of freshman year, I really wanted to do something to give back to my community. I would see my little brother struggle with his homework and realized that many children at school might be struggling too. I decided to volunteer at my old elementary school, Lincoln Elementary School. I volunteered with a program named Engage 360. I went during my freshmen summer and spent 4 hours a day with the children. I was a teacher aid. I would help my assigned teacher with anything she needed. Whether it was with supplies, taking care of a few students, or helping the students with anything. That summer each individual
When reading a piece of literature, a reader often finds many symbolic objects speckled throughout the text. Some of these symbolic objects may be quite obvious to distinguish, while others may be tucked away deep within the text. Whether the symbolism of the object is apparent to the reader or not the author places them in the story to elevate the power of the text. In Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, there are a plethora of symbolic objects that hold a deeper meaning then what appears on the surface. Capote and Plath two diverse authors, fill their novels with a plethora of dynamic objects, such as a bird cage, a bell jar, a mirror, an unnamed cat and a diamond, in order to develop more powerful
#1- Symbolism of caskets Set by her father, Portia’s suitors must choose the correct casket to have her lovely hand in marriage. There are three options for them to choose from: gold, silver, and lead. All three chests are inscribed with short phrases on the outside that hint to their contents. These chests are symbolic of several human natures and beliefs that become clear when the contents of the chest are revealed.