100% satisfaction guarantee Immediately available after payment Both online and in PDF No strings attached
logo-home
Atonement: Summary of notes, Contemporary Literature $3.76
Add to cart

Other

Atonement: Summary of notes, Contemporary Literature

 20 views  0 purchase
  • Course
  • Institution
  • Book

A summary of notes on the novel Atonement by Ian McEwan. It can be said that the novel pertains to three key categories: it is a postmodern, historiographic, metafictional novel. Each of these categories bestows the text with specific elements, whose complex combination makes it such an exceptional...

[Show more]

Preview 2 out of 4  pages

  • February 20, 2022
  • 4
  • 2012/2013
  • Other
  • Unknown
avatar-seller
A- *•☒iemmonn#
Ian McEwan
by




summary
of notes

, Atonement (2001)
by Ian McEwan (b. 1948)

Ian McEwan is one of the finest authors of his generation. His work Atonement is highly
acclaimed and was a “watershed” in his literary career because it marked a progression from his earlier
obsession with the perverse, the grotesque, and the macabre.

In Atonement, we read the voice of an elderly novelist, in 1990, writing the perspective of her own younger
self first in 1935 and then 1940. Her story hinges on a crucial error of perception, with which she destroys
the harmony of her childhood home. The atonement to which the title refers becomes the goal of her life
and her text. As she struggles somehow to make amends for the irrevocable damage that she has caused,
the dark ambiguities of the book call into question the very possibility of achieving such grace, and express
a troubled awareness of the complexities of responsibility and agency - in writing as in life.

It can be said that the novel pertains to three key categories: it is a postmodern, historiographic,
metafictional novel. Each of these categories bestows the text with specific elements, whose complex
combination makes it such an exceptional work.

As a metafictional novel, it openly concerned with “the making of fiction” and storytelling in general. It is
intensely self-conscious and focuses on how reality is modeled after fiction and the opposite. The
protagonist, Briony Tallis, is a 13 year old girl with an uncontrollable urge to become a renowned writer.
Her childish mindset is fouled with this unrestrained, yet very conscious, literary ambition, so that we
watch her constant conflict between reality and her personal embellishment of it. Her effort to clear the
blur line between fact and fiction, gives rise to several metafictional moments. As the story advances,
McEwan show how “narration is in fact interpretation” and moreover how interpretation can easily turn to
misinterpretation, which is another theme of the novel. With the Jamesian seminal scene of the two figures
by the fountain, McEwan underlines the subjectivity in point of view and makes obvious how different
realities can lead to contrasting viewpoints. He also suggests that more often than not, the cause of
misinterpretation is the failure of imagination. For McEwan the ability to imagine how it feels to be like
someone else, is crucial to one’s moral sense. Therefore, failure of imagination leads to failure of empathy.
What Briony experiences with Robbie and Cecilia, either by the fountain or in the darkened library, and
then with the rape of Lola, she channels it, as always, with her self-absorbed focus on her development as
a writer, thus any gaps her melodramatic thought finds in the story, she tries to fill with her imagination.
However what she experienced was beyond the traditional order she was accustomed with, and the moral
binarisms it inflicted were more complex so she had to label it - on her own terms- in order to understand
it. Eventually, Briony’s indictment o f Robbie is caused by her exaggerated sense of her own interpretative
powers as a neophyte author. As she gets older she realizes the wrong she did and through her writing
tries to make amend for it, to atone. When she publishes the book she pleads for our sympathy claiming
that she has now understood the importance of respecting others’ autonomy and that her matures artistic
expression has allowed her to imaginatively put herself in the position of other people. The granting of her
atonement though is doubtful. Throughout the novel her desire to atone contradicts her ongoing, godlike
exertion of her authorial power.

The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.

Quick and easy check-out

Quick and easy check-out

You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.

Focus on what matters

Focus on what matters

Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!

Frequently asked questions

What do I get when I buy this document?

You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.

Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?

Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.

Who am I buying these notes from?

Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller PhaedraGQ. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.

Will I be stuck with a subscription?

No, you only buy these notes for $3.76. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.

Can Stuvia be trusted?

4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)

53340 documents were sold in the last 30 days

Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now

Start selling
$3.76
  • (0)
Add to cart
Added