Elements of Crime
Atonement Questions:
2018: ‘As far as the reader is concerned, Briony never succeeds in atoning for her crime in
spite of all her efforts’.
2019: ‘Briony’s false accusation of Robbie for the rape of Lola is presented as the most
serious crime in the novel’.
2020: ‘In Atonement, McEwan shows criminals to be products of the society they live in’.
2021: ‘Paul Marshall is a criminal with nothing to redeem him’.
2022: ‘In Atonement, criminals get away with their crimes.’
2023: ‘Cecilia is simply an innocent victim’.
Potential Questions:
‘No character in the novel is completely innocent’.
‘Emily Tallis is responsible for what happened to Lola more than any other member of
the Tallis family’.
‘Robbie is a victim of circumstance’.
‘Briony’s privileged life worsens her crime’.
‘Briony is a victim of her own imagination’.
‘War is the greatest crime in the novel’.
‘Briony deserves her punishment for the crime she commits’.
‘McEwan suggests that Briony can be easily forgiven for her crime because she is just a
child’.
‘Plotting and Calculation are central themes of Atonement’,
Brighton Rock Questions:
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Questions:
Comparison Questions:
2018: ‘In crime writing, the guilty are punished’.
2018: ‘In crime writing some of the innocent always suffer’
2019: ‘In spite of all crimes committed, order is restored at the end’.
2019: Explore the significance of mystery and the unknown in two crime texts you have
studied’.
2020: ‘The beginning of the story is crucial to the way the narrative develops’
Atonement Questions:
2018: ‘As far as the reader is concerned, Briony never succeeds in atoning for her crime in
spite of all her efforts’.
2019: ‘Briony’s false accusation of Robbie for the rape of Lola is presented as the most
serious crime in the novel’.
2020: ‘In Atonement, McEwan shows criminals to be products of the society they live in’.
2021: ‘Paul Marshall is a criminal with nothing to redeem him’.
2022: ‘In Atonement, criminals get away with their crimes.’
2023: ‘Cecilia is simply an innocent victim’.
Potential Questions:
‘No character in the novel is completely innocent’.
‘Emily Tallis is responsible for what happened to Lola more than any other member of
the Tallis family’.
‘Robbie is a victim of circumstance’.
‘Briony’s privileged life worsens her crime’.
‘Briony is a victim of her own imagination’.
‘War is the greatest crime in the novel’.
‘Briony deserves her punishment for the crime she commits’.
‘McEwan suggests that Briony can be easily forgiven for her crime because she is just a
child’.
‘Plotting and Calculation are central themes of Atonement’,
Brighton Rock Questions:
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Questions:
Comparison Questions:
2018: ‘In crime writing, the guilty are punished’.
2018: ‘In crime writing some of the innocent always suffer’
2019: ‘In spite of all crimes committed, order is restored at the end’.
2019: Explore the significance of mystery and the unknown in two crime texts you have
studied’.
2020: ‘The beginning of the story is crucial to the way the narrative develops’
