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A* Atonement Exemplar Essay 1
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'Briony's privileged life worsens her crime.' To what extent do you agree with this view?
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Atonement Practice Essay'Briony's privileged life worsens her crime'
Plan
1. YES; Briony is spoilt with her tantrums. Potentially adds a class element to the
crime which we frown upon. Financial motives and desperation removed from
her crime, which sometimes justifies the crimes of lower classes.
2. NO; every crime is the same by the law. In fact, Briony's younger age makes her
less culpable by law. Neglected by parents.
3. NO; follow on from parents' neglecting to consider if Briony even has a
privileged life. She's isolated and perhaps this is a genuine reason for her crime.
4. NO; Briony shows a great deal of remorse for her crime. Does remorse make the
person's life before the crime irrelevant?
5. YES; the real crime is committed by Paul Marshall, who also had a privileged life
as we learn at the end and this makes us dislike him further.
Response
When considering the severity Briony's crime, we have to take into account her
privileged lifestyle before the crime was committed, which some critics believe worsens
her crime. In evaluating this view, we also need to consider Briony's motive, her
atonement process, and the jurisdiction of the time, in addition to the ways in which
McEwan shapes our opinion through language, structure, and choices in setting.
From the beginning, it becomes clear that Briony Tallis is something of a 'little
prima-donna', wanting to 'lie alone, face-down on her bed and savour the vile piquancy
of the moment'. The very fact that McEwan combines the verb 'savour' with the
adjective 'vile' emphasises Briony's aching need for attention, which was undoubtedly
nurtured by her upper-class lifestyle. In understanding how these regular tantrums can
lead to criminality, we have to look more closely at Briony's crime; Briony was too
isolated in her privileged life, bored almost, and hence was desperate for an event which
would dispel her boredom, and propel her into the adult life which she craved to
transition into. Briony therefore committed the crime against Robbie simply because he
provided an 'opportunity' for her enjoyment, which adds a particularly despicable and
selfish element to her transgression, which certainly makes her crime worse.
Furthermore, while we sympathise with some criminals driven by financial
motives and downright desperation due to ruined lives (for example, Humbert from
'Lolita'), we cannot apply this to Briony. She lives in the heights of 1930s society in the
traditionally opulent country-house estate, with obvious intelligence, and it is
subsequently difficult to excuse her crime - it was almost as if Robbie was simply
plucked from a group of Briony's acquaintances, as arguably given Briony's mental state
at the window she could've conveniently chosen to misinterpret any scene, to escape
from her complete despair at that moment over what was only a minor issue. In that
respect, like many writers in the Crime Fiction genre, McEwan utilised concepts rooted
in fate and determinist ideology to bring his protagonist to the scene at that exact
moment, where she witnessed an event which unknowingly would change her life
forever. This one pivotal moment invoking the unravelling of the main character's life is
classically McEwan, as he demonstrates in a way which is similarly masterful with Joe in
'Enduring Love'.
However, there is an important excuse, one which is perhaps more potent than
all other justifications for criminality: Briony's age. The simple fact that Briony was only
13 years of age when she committed her crime raises serious questions about her
culpability, and makes her privileged lifestyle prior to her transgression irrelevant.
There is also the question of whether the absence of Briony's parents had an effect. Her
father was often working 'away from home', and Emily admits that 'illness had stopped
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