Thematic Paper
Brady 1
Belinda Brady
English 110-74
October 22, 2014
Thematic Essay Atonement
Does Class or Gender Matter?
According to critic Brian Finney, the novel, Atonement “employs the narrative voice of a 77 year old English woman” (1). Ian McEwan sets his novel in 1935 London, narrated through the memory of a woman in 1999. His protagonist, Briony a then 13 year old girl tells a lie that haunts her for the rest of her life. She accused a family friend, Robbie Turner of raping her cousin Lola. Her sister Cecilia did not believe the lie and left her family behind for the man she loved. As the story develops you begin to understand the differences in class and gender in that time period. McEwan illustrates what was expected from men and women. Women were held to a different standard than men. They were expected to stay at home to be a wife and mother or during the war effort become a nurse. Class was no different; this pertained to the amount of money you made and your stature in society. People did not float between classes; if you were lower class you did not per se rub elbows with the upper class. The novel shows the negative effects on characters that do not stay within their gender or class roles.
Class has the most effective role in the novel. Mr. Tallis had taken pity on Robbie and her mother Grace after Robbie's father left. His father worked as the landscaper for several years prior to leaving. They were allowed to stay in the bungalow as long as she worked for them as a cleaning lady. The “adoration that she aroused in both Cecilia and Leon is what saved her and was the making of Robbie” (McEwan 82). Robbie was free to roam between the two houses
Brady 2 while growing up. He had no idea that there was such a thing as upper and lower class. Later on Robbie was given the opportunity to attend school, thanks to Jack’s financial support. This is when it becomes apparent to Robbie that there was a difference. While in school Cecilia would smile as she walked past,
Belinda Brady
English 110-74
October 22, 2014
Thematic Essay Atonement
Does Class or Gender Matter?
According to critic Brian Finney, the novel, Atonement “employs the narrative voice of a 77 year old English woman” (1). Ian McEwan sets his novel in 1935 London, narrated through the memory of a woman in 1999. His protagonist, Briony a then 13 year old girl tells a lie that haunts her for the rest of her life. She accused a family friend, Robbie Turner of raping her cousin Lola. Her sister Cecilia did not believe the lie and left her family behind for the man she loved. As the story develops you begin to understand the differences in class and gender in that time period. McEwan illustrates what was expected from men and women. Women were held to a different standard than men. They were expected to stay at home to be a wife and mother or during the war effort become a nurse. Class was no different; this pertained to the amount of money you made and your stature in society. People did not float between classes; if you were lower class you did not per se rub elbows with the upper class. The novel shows the negative effects on characters that do not stay within their gender or class roles.
Class has the most effective role in the novel. Mr. Tallis had taken pity on Robbie and her mother Grace after Robbie's father left. His father worked as the landscaper for several years prior to leaving. They were allowed to stay in the bungalow as long as she worked for them as a cleaning lady. The “adoration that she aroused in both Cecilia and Leon is what saved her and was the making of Robbie” (McEwan 82). Robbie was free to roam between the two houses
Brady 2 while growing up. He had no idea that there was such a thing as upper and lower class. Later on Robbie was given the opportunity to attend school, thanks to Jack’s financial support. This is when it becomes apparent to Robbie that there was a difference. While in school Cecilia would smile as she walked past,