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Atonement Extract Essay

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24 views2 pages

Atonement Extract Essay

Uploaded by

dyuexpress
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Comment closely on the following passage, considering the presentation of Briony's attack

on the nettles and the importance of this extract to the novel.

After the 1940s, many writers questioned the concepts of truth, adopting post-modernism to
challenge the widely-believed notions of reality. Ian McEwan's portrayal of Briony can be
seen through as a clear exemplification of post modernism's core ideas- challenging
conventions of preconceived reality. Briony's destruction of the nettles in the extract can be
seen as the end of her fantasies and imagination and the provocation to the theme of her
path to adolescence. This transition causes Briony to be unable to differentiate between
myth and reality, leading to Robbie Turner's accusation and causing readers to adopt a
post-modernists mindset of distinguishing reality based on one's perspective and
experiences.

Briony's self-hatred for her childhood and innocence is imposed on her destruction of the
nettles, as she instead attempts to embrace the 'real' adult world, unaffected by her
imaginations. She claims to sever "the sickly dependency of infancy and early childhood",
suggesting her violent attempt to tear away the strands of naivety left, as she had "no further
need for it". McEwan's use of metaphor implies Briony's view of her spirituality, shackled
from a separate world by strings of innocence imposed by her previous reveries. Her
desperation to 'shed' these mental restrictions depict a 'metamorphosis of self'- this desire to
seek her own reality is a core concept of post-modernism, the idea of viewing reality through
the lens of one's perspective, shaped by their changing experiences. Moreover, Briony's
abandonment of her childhood is mirrored by the murder of playwriting because of its
'messiness of other minds' and 'the hopelessness of pretending', emphasising her drastic
transformation. Briony inflicts punishment by proxy of 'other minds', suggesting she no
longer needs reliance on others and pursues novel writing. This theme of 'bildungsroman'
draws back to Chapter 3, when her creation "drawn with clear and perfect lines had been
defaced with the scribble of other minds." McEwan draws a contrast between the
uncoordinated chaos of play performances and the abstract beauty of novel creation. This
symbolises not only Briony's transformation of writing preference, but also a spiritual growth
towards life. Hence, Briony's attack on the nettles illustrates a provocation of self- from a
mindset influenced by her earlier childhood to adopting an ever-changing post-modernist
view of reality.

However, Briony struggles to maintain her 'god-complex' throughout this transformation, as


the path to adolescence proves to be demanding for her narcissistic nature. In the passage,
Briony's vivid imagination is mirrored when she visualises herself performing at the "Berlin
Olympics' moving at 'inhuman precision', suggesting her egotism and perfection. McEwan's
use of diction exemplifies Briony's clinging to her childish nature, adopting the role of a
sports commentator and analysing her own movements and techniques, almost like a
quixotic rendition of roleplay. Briony still finds the separation from her innocent nature
difficult, as she continues to subconsciously resort to the imaginations of her past self.
Moreover, although Briony praises the cardinal power a novel writer holds, during Part Two
of the novel, it is 'Nettles' the character who provides Briony with the necessary information
to write Atonement. This necessity to use nettles as her resource contradicts her statements
about novel writers holding supreme power. Therefore, McEwan demonstrates the hardships
of a novel writer and Briony's succession to a new writing style, proving that although her
development is necessary, it is unavoidable to return to past habits. Her bildungsroman
transformation is further seen to cause vulnerability to her 'god-complex' in between
daydreaming and coming back to reality. When Leon spots her vulnerable state, she reflects
later that 'part of a daydream's enticement was the illusion that she was helpless before its
logic', exemplifying the vulnerability that daydreaming can bring towards her supposed
'god-like status'. This perhaps mirrors her future working as a nurse, as she is constantly
being susceptible to many mental attacks working in a tense and stressful environment, and
therefore being exposed to a vulnerable state proves to be helpful towards her career as a
nurse. Later during the scene, Briony walks over to the bridge to calm herself- the water
demonstrating a critical role in symbolising redemption and cleansing. Briony attempts to
atone for her sins, yet is unsatisfied even during her last moments. McEwan illustrates to the
reader the complexity of a path towards adolescence and the possible consequences one
may have to take responsibility for in the future.

Furthermore, Briony's metamorphosis into adulthood is interpreted as the causation of her


inability to distinguish between reality and falsification, leading to incorrect accusations and a
lifetime of guilt. The novel itself is written in a retrospective narrative, drawing a
post-modernist attention to the constructed nature of reality and truth. Briony illudes her
vision by imposing Lola onto the nettles, describing it as "whimper(ing) for mercy" and with
"leaves turned outwards like hands". McEwan's use of personification suggests Briony's
unstable nature- inflicting imaginary harm onto Lola through the nettles, while the imagery
illustrates a violent display of narcissism and emotional instability. Her inability to tell the
difference between her imagination and reality is significant; with the 'lie on her lips' and by
'spreading rumours' McEwan foreshadows to the reader the acts she will soon commit-
accusing Robbie Turner of rape based upon her instincts rather than factual evidence. This
consequences immense guilt for Briony, for which she spends her entire life trying to atone.
Briony illudes herself through a fabrication of her own constructed reality- a post-modernist
view of this is that the reality created is just one of an infinite amount: each person
experiences life differently depending on their upbringing and experiences. The
consequence is that everyone views life through a lens - this one being Briony's. The Trials
of Arabella serves as a foreshadowing device- a synecdoche of the novel that demonstrates
the importance of perspective from seeing reality, with Arabella's ending contrasting Cecelia
and Robbie's fate in the war. McEwan criticises Briony's persona and her rushed attempt to
adopt an adolescent mindset. as it can lead to a mistaken reality and fallacious decisions for
which one may regret for a lifetime.

Briony's attack on the nettles symbolises her transition into adolescence and mature
thinking, however, in the process, she leaves herself vulnerable to her egotistical personality.
As a result, she illudes herself and obscures her own sense of reality, consequently leading
to Robbie Turner's accusation and the guilt she carries for a lifetime. However, one may
argue that from a postmodern perspective, one views reality based on their own interactions
and own spiritual development, and Briony's decision to transition to adulthood is indicative
of her own reality. It is significant that Briony's development leads to her decisions, as it
educates readers on how one should view reality as it is given to them, even if it may seem
incorrect, as everyone has their own lens to view reality from.

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