Tuesday, 11 January 2022
Atonement Key Passages
Part One
pg 41
Opening line: ‘Six decades later she would…’
Closing line: ‘…would not have been remembered without it.’
AO1 Any end is a possibility, Briony/McEwan (self insertion?) architect of fate, self-
hatred -> forgiveness ( agellation/celebration?), no actual atonement (does Briony
forgive herself?), coming of age (maturation through writing).
AO2 Stream of consciousness narration, temporal dislocation, meta-narrative, 3rd
person omniscient, parody and irony.
AO3 Awareness of literary movements: modernism, post-modernism - foreshadows
chaos, zeitgeist.
pg 97
Opening line: ‘She ran a hand along…’
Closing line: ‘…forwent another dab of scent.’
• Imagery, evoking senses, physically experiencing it.
• 1920s ‘ apper dresses’ rst time hemlines come up, above knees, spaghetti
straps, bare shoulders, ideal gure almost ‘boyish’ (‘sexless’) - young (‘teenage’),
naive (‘wine stains’, ‘burn hole from her rst cigarette’) - remove sexuality, short
bob (less femininity), bras introduced, independence.
• 1930s bring back femininity, ‘waistlines and curves’, glamorous, ‘dress with the
rst timid hint of shoulder pads’, ‘assertively, muscular older sisters throwing o
the boyish years’, ‘self-su cient disregards for the hopes of men’ - in a sexless
way (Briony’s point of view).
- Ethereal ‘ gure-hugging dark green bias-cut backless evening gown with a halter
neck’, oaty, very descriptive - draws attention to it, important?
- Toning herself down for the evening, ‘moire silk dress with a pleated bodice and
scalloped hem’, ‘pink was muted and musty’, ends up feeling like a child (Shirley
Temple).
- Returns to initial green dress ‘impregnable’, ‘slippery’ and ‘secure’, ‘mermaid’ -
impenetrable, Robbie didn’t nish (ironic: loses her virginity); sexless, male gaze,
loss of femininity.
1
fi
flfl fi fl fi ffi fifi fi ff
Atonement Key Passages
Part One
pg 41
Opening line: ‘Six decades later she would…’
Closing line: ‘…would not have been remembered without it.’
AO1 Any end is a possibility, Briony/McEwan (self insertion?) architect of fate, self-
hatred -> forgiveness ( agellation/celebration?), no actual atonement (does Briony
forgive herself?), coming of age (maturation through writing).
AO2 Stream of consciousness narration, temporal dislocation, meta-narrative, 3rd
person omniscient, parody and irony.
AO3 Awareness of literary movements: modernism, post-modernism - foreshadows
chaos, zeitgeist.
pg 97
Opening line: ‘She ran a hand along…’
Closing line: ‘…forwent another dab of scent.’
• Imagery, evoking senses, physically experiencing it.
• 1920s ‘ apper dresses’ rst time hemlines come up, above knees, spaghetti
straps, bare shoulders, ideal gure almost ‘boyish’ (‘sexless’) - young (‘teenage’),
naive (‘wine stains’, ‘burn hole from her rst cigarette’) - remove sexuality, short
bob (less femininity), bras introduced, independence.
• 1930s bring back femininity, ‘waistlines and curves’, glamorous, ‘dress with the
rst timid hint of shoulder pads’, ‘assertively, muscular older sisters throwing o
the boyish years’, ‘self-su cient disregards for the hopes of men’ - in a sexless
way (Briony’s point of view).
- Ethereal ‘ gure-hugging dark green bias-cut backless evening gown with a halter
neck’, oaty, very descriptive - draws attention to it, important?
- Toning herself down for the evening, ‘moire silk dress with a pleated bodice and
scalloped hem’, ‘pink was muted and musty’, ends up feeling like a child (Shirley
Temple).
- Returns to initial green dress ‘impregnable’, ‘slippery’ and ‘secure’, ‘mermaid’ -
impenetrable, Robbie didn’t nish (ironic: loses her virginity); sexless, male gaze,
loss of femininity.
1
fi
flfl fi fl fi ffi fifi fi ff
