2020 Atonement – Ian McEwan ‘In Atonement
McEwan shows criminals to be products of the
society they live in.ʼ To what extent do you
agree with this view? Remember to include in
your answer relevant detailed exploration of
McEwanʼs authorial methods. [25 m
2020
Atonement – Ian McEwan ‘In Atonement McEwan shows criminals to be products of the society
they live in.ʼ To what extent do you agree with this view? Remember to include in your answer
relevant detailed exploration of McEwanʼs authorial methods. [25 marks]
Briony as a child.
A child who is neglected.
Robbie becoming a criminal because of a class conspiracy and Marshall not even being
suspected due to his upper-class position.
Marshallʼs unclear creation but definite position as the criminal.
Throughout centuries, critics have discussed to what extent criminals are simply products of
the society in which they live in, being a complexed entanglement of social circumstance, class
position, and chance. In Atonement we are presented with two main ‘criminalsʼ of Briony Tallis
and Paul Marshall who are the perpetrators producing a third 'criminal' of Robbie Turner who to
the reader is an unjust victim of the novel but to the characters a “maniac”. In this essay I will
therefore discuss to what extent ‘criminals are products of the society they live inʼ.
As we are introduced to Briony immediately a sense of danger is created surrounding her age.
She is described as inhabiting an “ill-defined space between childhood and the adult world”
which she “crossed and recrossed” randomly. The verbs “crossed” and “recrossed” create a
precarious nature surrounding Brionyʼs age linking to McEwanʼs greater theme of
misunderstandings in the novel. Brionyʼs crime occurs when she is thirteen in the height of an
illustrious summer in 1935. However, this year is significant not just due to its foreshadowing of
the looming shadow of WWII but also the laws at the time which would have marked Briony as
being criminally culpable for the crime which she committed. In 1935, a child would have had to
be only eight to be trialled and convicted of a crime, and although this was rare, Brionyʼs lawful
liability suggests that even McEwan contextually sees her as guilty but also suggests that her
crime occurs due to her age rather than the society – or likely an interaction between both.
Brionyʼs young age and neglect means that she spent a large proportion of her childhood
reading fiction and fairy tales, showcased in the way in which she views other characters lives in
McEwan shows criminals to be products of the
society they live in.ʼ To what extent do you
agree with this view? Remember to include in
your answer relevant detailed exploration of
McEwanʼs authorial methods. [25 m
2020
Atonement – Ian McEwan ‘In Atonement McEwan shows criminals to be products of the society
they live in.ʼ To what extent do you agree with this view? Remember to include in your answer
relevant detailed exploration of McEwanʼs authorial methods. [25 marks]
Briony as a child.
A child who is neglected.
Robbie becoming a criminal because of a class conspiracy and Marshall not even being
suspected due to his upper-class position.
Marshallʼs unclear creation but definite position as the criminal.
Throughout centuries, critics have discussed to what extent criminals are simply products of
the society in which they live in, being a complexed entanglement of social circumstance, class
position, and chance. In Atonement we are presented with two main ‘criminalsʼ of Briony Tallis
and Paul Marshall who are the perpetrators producing a third 'criminal' of Robbie Turner who to
the reader is an unjust victim of the novel but to the characters a “maniac”. In this essay I will
therefore discuss to what extent ‘criminals are products of the society they live inʼ.
As we are introduced to Briony immediately a sense of danger is created surrounding her age.
She is described as inhabiting an “ill-defined space between childhood and the adult world”
which she “crossed and recrossed” randomly. The verbs “crossed” and “recrossed” create a
precarious nature surrounding Brionyʼs age linking to McEwanʼs greater theme of
misunderstandings in the novel. Brionyʼs crime occurs when she is thirteen in the height of an
illustrious summer in 1935. However, this year is significant not just due to its foreshadowing of
the looming shadow of WWII but also the laws at the time which would have marked Briony as
being criminally culpable for the crime which she committed. In 1935, a child would have had to
be only eight to be trialled and convicted of a crime, and although this was rare, Brionyʼs lawful
liability suggests that even McEwan contextually sees her as guilty but also suggests that her
crime occurs due to her age rather than the society – or likely an interaction between both.
Brionyʼs young age and neglect means that she spent a large proportion of her childhood
reading fiction and fairy tales, showcased in the way in which she views other characters lives in
