"Atonement"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how the narrative in Ian McEwan's "Atonement" shows how a story reveals more about the implied author's intentions and beliefs rather than those of her characters. It looks at how Briony Tallis accepts literary criticisms, adopts perspectives of those negatively affected by her actions, and employs other literary techniques in narrating a credible story of how interpretations can have indelible effects on the lives of other people. It also discusses whether Briony's actually atones for her wrongdoing and how her narration is her way of coming to terms with an ordeal that is only based on the story told in "Atonement".

From the Paper:

"The events that take place by the fountain form a pivotal turning point in Atonement; both internally as an aspect of Briony's seeming inability to atone, and externally as a driving force of the third-person narrative. According to Bennett and Royle, "narratives move from a state of equilibrium or stasis through a disturbance of this stability, and back to a state of equilibrium at the end" (55). Based on this view, the reader can perceive the fountain scene as a primary source of 'disturbance'. Innocence (the 'state of equilibrium') is not implicit; Briony stands before a window in a nursery and observes a sequence of action that takes place outside, by the fountain. She does not hear (and therefore, does not completely understand) the conversation between two adults."

Sample of Sources Used:

• "atonement." OED Online. September 2008. Oxford University Press. 6 Oct. 2008 <http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50014218>.
• Bennett, Andrew, and Nicholas Royle. An Introduction to Literature, Criticism and Theory. 3rd ed. Harlow: Pearson, 2004.
• Childs, Peter, ed. "Storytelling as Self-Justification: Atonement (2001)." The Fiction of Ian McEwan: A Reader's Guide to Essential Criticism. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. 129-143.
• Finney, Brian. "Briony s Stand Against Oblivion: The Making of Fiction in Ian McEwan s Atonement." Journal of Modern Literature 27.3 (2004): 68-82.
• McEwan, Ian. Atonement. New York: Anchor, 2007.

More papers on "Atonement":

• Analytical Essay # 146804 : "The Atonement" - A Review"
• Book Review # 110674 : "Ian McEwan's "Atonement"
• Book Review # 75543 : "Atonement" by Ian McEwan"

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