Study guide
FULL REVISION PACK FOR 'ATONEMENT'
- Course
- Institution
- Book
A full revision guide to the book 'Atonement' by Ian McEwan, taught in AS literature
[Show more]
Connected book
Book Title:
Author(s):
- Edition:
- ISBN:
- Edition:
More summaries for
-
Atonement Key Quotes with Inferences
-
A* Crime Comparison Exemplar Essay 2
-
A* Crime Comparison Exemplar Essay 5
Seller
Follow
jasmineewilliamss99
Content preview
qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasd
fghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzx
cvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmq
Atonement
Exam revision notes
wertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyui
opasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfg
Jasmine Williams
hjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxc
vbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmq
wertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyui
opasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfg
hjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxc
vbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmq
wertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyui
opasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfg
hjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbn
mqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwert
yuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopas
,Chapter 1
BRIONYS CHARACTER:
She has a very clichéd view of love- she believes once you have found a prince you will live happily
ever after.
Briony is influenced by the books she has read
Briony shows through the ‘Trials Of Arabella’ that she sees love as something that is there or not
She fantasies a lot, perhaps proving her loneliness. She exposes herself through her presentation of
Arabella.
Briony has a rather idealistic perception of ‘love’, it is presented in her play by romantic clichés, witch
almost appears comical in their connections. Her perceptions have been influenced by the idealistic
and mythologizing romance culture of art and society.
She basically repeats what she has already been told/read about love and what is ‘common
knowledge’ eg. Being sensible, however, she doesn’t understand realistic outcomes of love and life in
general.
Bryony makes up stories for entertainment and then takes real events and turns them into a story- or
her idealistic view- fantasising- a fairytale- can relate to The Go-Between= Marian is turning the
summer of 1900 into a story. Marian idealises the past, romanticises it and makes it powerful to
convince herself. Delusional.
INTERTEXTUALITY – references/echoes of other novels eg:
eloping to a seaside town- pride and prejudice
She is influenced by the books she has read.
Very naïve character, thinks that every ending is going to be a happily ever after- ironic as the novel
does not end in a happy ever after.
Bryony is a very naïve, innocent character; she makes her “heart thud” surrounding herself with
“fantasies” and “little playlets”. It could be possible that bryony is creating these fantasies as she didn’t
have the “fairytale” upbringing herself due to the “unglamorous” and “dull” divorce of her parents.
Therefore, creating these plays and getting lost in writing allows bryony to create a “formal neatness”
and create her idea of the perfect “marriage”,that her parents didn’t have, as a distraction. A child’s
issues or traumatic events that have passed in their lives often play a giant part in how they express
themselves and the person they come to be. Bryony is the perfect example.
Furthermore, when she writes her fairytales, the way how “the childhood of a spoiled prince could be
framed within half a page” also says a lot. “Half a page” will mean that the prince’s life is summarised,
and almost ‘rushed’. This can link to Bryony in the way that she is a child so eager to grow up, a lot like
Leo in the Go-between who wants to comprehend the “adult world”, Bryony almost wants to ‘be’ the
characters in her stories; she is ‘rushing’ her life away, as most children wish to do.
Bryony uses the romantic clichés in her novel, not because she is delusional or unobservant, but
because she is too young to know any different; at Bryony’s age, she has only grown up being
introduced to what ends happily ever after, apart from her parents’ divorce of course, which gave her a
sneak-peak into adult world, this is why she is creating her fairytales, it’s ironic as it seems she wants to
remain in her childhood, but at the same time, be a ‘grown-up’. In addition, Bryony herself is also too
young to have experienced ‘true love’ on her own, she has taken the ideas from art and society as any
young child her age would do.
, Brionys Character:
Compulsive (order)- “controlling demon”- demonic- her desire for order emphasised as a bad
thing- CANT UNDERSTAND anything that doesn’t follow order eg. Parents divorce.
“controlling demon”- wants sense of control- COMPULSIVE CHARACTERISTIC-need for
perfection- creates stories that fulfil that need- “the realm of disorder”- what Bryony doesn’t
understand is ‘out of order.
“In-betweeness”: liminal states, transitions
Childhood and coming of age are important themes in the novel. This is also an important theme
in the Go-between.
Consider Ian Mckewan’s presentation of Lola, and Brionys reaction in the opening chapter.
The presentation of Lola (page 11):
“Her sandals revealed an ankle bracelet and toe nails painted vermillion. The sight of these nails
gave Briony a constricting sensation an she knew at once that she could not ask Lola to play the
prince”
Lola’s sexuality seen as disruptive- RELATE TO MARIAN IN THE GO-BETWEEN.
Lola=mature and elegant
Very feminine- can link to the Go-between (chapter 4) - Leo realises how comfortable Ted Is with his
sexuality/ sexual features/body/masculinity and was suddenly “confronted”. Leo was jealous- It is the
same with Briony and Lola.
Hint of sexuality- Briony is uncomfortable.
What Lola is wearing signifies the signs of woman adulthood sexuality- playing at being a grown up.
Description describes Lolas superiority to Briony- realises she can’t compete with Lola so therefore
she can’t give her the back-up role/ second best role. Briony backs down to her superior.
Lust with her boyfriend- foreshadowing the novel?- red could also symbolise lust
“vermillion”- a red colour- recklessness- red could sense danger- foreshadowing danger to come in
the novel that foreshadows Lola.
Ankle bracelets used to be associated with prostitutes- the ankle bracelet along with the nails gives
the sense that Lola is a very flirtatious character that is very comfortable with her femininity.
Sexuality being seen as disruptive, disturbing- disrupting order- in the Go between and in Atonement.
HOW DOES MCKEWAN PRESENT LOLA HERE? AND BRIONYS REACTION?
Lola is seen to Briony in a very different world to the world Briony wants to construct in her stories.
This makes Briony uncomfortable as she is very orderly. (page 34)
“if she could only find herself at the crest…She might find the secret of herself”- Briony tries to find
herself/ her identity in her writing- she is young and confused.
Like her parents divorce, Briony tries to recreate a perfect marriage in her stories, similar situation.
“She wore pleated flannel trousers that ballooned at the hips”- deliberate- curves is described as a
more womanly figure- Lola does this deliberately to try and look older and even more developed.
“…Fanned herself with the pages of her play”- snotty, posh and in charge.
“She thought she should take more care of her appearance, like Lola. It was childish not to.But what
an effort it was”- can relate to Leo in the Go-between when he sees Ted Burgess for the first time at
the lake.
“Briony sat with her back on the floor, with her back to one of the tall built in toy cupboards” briony
being confronted by Lolas femeninty has made her turn her back on her childhood.
Briony is now turning “her back” on her childhood/ innocence= toy cupboard is symbolism of her
childhood or naivety.
Briony disagrees/finds it uncomfortable with how Lola acts but also looks up to it. similarly, Leo
expresses feelings of jealousy and hate towards Ted burgess but in the same way admires him for his
individuality and masculinity.
“Muslim dress”- what Briony is wearing- material that you wrap babies into- this compared to lolas
outfit/appearance- “tokens of maturity included a velvet choker of tiny pearls”
Sense that her cousins have come and wrecked Brionys creation of her play- it all seems to be
crashing around Briony.
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
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
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
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 jasmineewilliamss99. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $9.57. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
48298 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 15 years now