100% satisfaction guarantee Immediately available after payment Both online and in PDF No strings attached
logo-home
Previously searched by you
Previously searched by you
logo
‘In McEwan’s ‘Atonement’, war is positioned as a greater crime than Briony’s’. To what extent do you agree? £3.99
Add to cart
Quickly navigate to
Preview
  2.  
  3. AQA
  4.  
  5. English Literature B
  6.  
  7. Elements of Crime Writing

Exam (elaborations)

‘In McEwan’s ‘Atonement’, war is positioned as a greater crime than Briony’s’. To what extent do you agree?
 0 purchase
  • Institution
  • AQA

I thought this essay would have come up on the 2024 exam but it didn't. It is an A* worthy response.

Preview 1 out of 3  pages

Document information

  • June 7, 2024
  • 3
  • 2023/2024
  • Exam (elaborations)
  • Questions & answers

Subjects

Written for

All documents for this subject (151)

Seller

avatar-seller
chocolatedaisy03

Reviews received

Content preview

‘In McEwan’s ‘Atonement’, war is positioned as a greater crime
than Briony’s’. To what extent do you agree?

Truthfully, ‘Atonement’ translates to at-one-ment, making two things
which were formerly separated, at one with each other. This ideology
permeates the entire novel as Briony attempts to retrieve forgiveness for
her purgery through the craft of her writing. Alongside Briony’s main
position as the main antagonist of the postmodern novel, the theme of
war and its impact upon society pervades the text. Therefore, Briony’s
crime and the crime of the war are inextricably linked in her attempt to
seek ‘atonement’ and the reader is forced to consider whether the impact
of Briony’s crime outweighs the collateral damage and overarching
pessimism of the Second World War.

Initially, it can be postulated that perhaps the horror of the war and the
subsequent suffering of innocent victims is greater than the consequences
of Briony’s crime. In particular, the consequences of war are depicted, by
McEwan, through the exploitation of the evocative vignettes to reveal the
‘magnitude of the war’s devastation’. When Robbie Turner and the two
corporals are navigating their way to Dunkirk, they spot a ‘leg in a tree’
which was ‘a perfect leg, pal, smooth, small enough to be a child’s’. The
asyndetic list combined with the semantic field of youth and innocence,
which the adjective evoke, is utilised to capture the stripping of
individuals’ humanity and identity, but also the loss of innocence
eradicated by the brutality of the war. Perhaps, the adjectives associated
with ingenuous nature exposes the unforgiving element of war,
juxtaposed to Briony’s misguided desire to seek justice. Just like
‘Atonement’, Faulks’ ‘Birdsong’ uses the novel and metahistorical status to
uncover the transgenerational effects and truth of the war. Moreover,
McEwan highlights the sheer impact of war when he spotlights, ‘five
bodies in a ditch’. McEwan’s use of the determiner ‘five’ combined with
the noun ‘bodies’ portrays the anonymity of innocent civilians victimised
by the war. Perhaps, McEwan brands the war victims as faceless to
provide a Marxist comment on the plight of the working classes who
suffered at the hands of Plutocratic society, like Paul Marshall, who
profiteered from the war, elucidating that the war is a much greater crime
than Briony’s false accusation.

Alternatively, in some cases, it can be argued that Briony’s crime holds
greater magnitude than the war. Possibly, her deliberate decision to make
Robbie accountable for Paul Marshall’s crime is the main crime of the
novel which provides ‘Atonement’ with a sense of direction. Briony’s
epithet ‘maniac’ to refer to Robbie highlights her misconstrued perception
of reality and her calculated vindication of Robbie Turner. Although, her
crime is undermined by her age and position as a child, as it almost seems
to feed her misunderstanding. Whilst Briony’s crime falsely accuses an
innocent victim, it fails to amount to the severity of the war. Perhaps,
McEwan utilises the juxtaposition of Briony’s crime to the crime of the war
to promulgate the insignificance of her false accusation. In a sense, the

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 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 chocolatedaisy03. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.

Will I be stuck with a subscription?

No, you only buy these notes for £3.99. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.

Can Stuvia be trusted?

4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)

68175 documents were sold in the last 30 days

Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy revision notes and other study material for 15 years now

Start selling
£3.99
  • (0)
Add to cart
Added