Atonement By Ian Mcewan

BIOGRAPHICAL

Ian McEwan was born to a Scottish army major. During his lifetime, he moved from country to country with his family living in different places like East Asia, Germany, and North Africa where his father was stationed at the time. While in Northern Africa, at the age of 12, he was separated from his parents; McEwan was sent back to Britain to attend a Boarding School. He was separated from his family for many years of his life (“Biography”). In Atonement, McEwan brings his life into the life of Robbie Turner. McEwan’s father and Robbie were moving around as a result of war, but each are for extremely different reasons. Robbie is serving punishment for an accusation made by Briony about sexual harassment. McEwan’s father had joined
In this particular scene, the weather where Briony is, tells a lot about her thoughts. She has been stumped on whether she should come clean about what she has recently learned about Robbie through a letter and a sighting. The sky is speckled with monstrous clouds as she is pondering whether to speak up or not. The clouds signify her confusion and clouded thinking. A million things are going through her mind, similar to the millions of clouds floating through the sky. At the exact moment she makes her decision and declares “’I can. And I will’” (McEwan 160), the clouds clear and the temperature grows cold. The clearing of the clouds emphasizes her cleared mind; she knows exactly what she shall do. Cold temperature is known, in literature, to suggest anger or hatred. The growing cold temperature in this scene implies Briony’s hatred for Robbie is growing stronger and stronger with her decision to voice what she knows. It is ironic because this is the only point in the beginning of the book where cold temperatures are introduced. The weather has mostly consisted of heat, which is unusual for a place like
He is unable to break into the psychology of Briony’s mind, but a theory of jealousy pops out at him. Robbie remembers one time where Briony fell into the water and faked a drowning only for Robbie to save her. At the end of the ordeal, Briony thanks him multiple times but adds that she loves him. The theory that Briony did what she did because she was jealous relies heavily on the human mind. The human mind is not necessarily wired to go against family, but instead, to protect the family. In Briony’s situation, her ego was seen to protect Cecilia from “sexual harassment.” However, her superego of jealousy, if this is the true reason, took over when she thought Cecilia was getting too close to what she loved. Understandably, Robbie will never be able to psychologically understand why Briony would confess about knowledge that she does not quite