Similarities Between Wit And Atonement

Weldon’s comment on the moral development of characters throughout a story applies directly to both Wit and Atonement. While neither Vivian, a harsh college professor, nor Briony, a young girl enthralled with mature fantasies, actually fix the mistakes they have made, each of them comes to an ethical revelation towards the end of their lives. Wit and Atonement both exemplify dramatic changes from past faulty behaviors at the end of life, but Atonement gives a more concrete demonstration of compensating for one’s sins. The characters in both novels experience a shift in their feelings of significance and arrogance after experiencing and reflecting on exceptionally harsh and complicated events, in both an emotional and physical regard. Vivian spent most of her life
Briony, comparatively, as a young teenager fascinated by sexuality and lacking interest as well as sufficient attention from the adults in her life, is infatuated with the idea of possessing control over other’s lives and has found writing to be an outlet for her desires. Even at her young age, she also finds herself to be superior to those that surround her, wondering if they feel “as conscious as she does” (McEwan 71). It is not until the roles have been reversed that Vivian meekly begins to understand the flaws of her teaching method, and until Briony’s obsession with designing her own story leads to disaster that she realizes her the detriments of her self-importance. When Jason, a former student, “give[s] [Vivian] a pelvic exam” she feels outright “degraded,” an experience common for students in her classroom (Edson 32). While Vivian was an excellent teacher, exceptionally passionate about her work, she never thought of herself as lower, or even on the same level, as her students. Her body wrought with weakness and “crawling with cancer” (Edson 68), she realizes that she is human, as are her