Reading is Not Always Believing Anonymous 12th Grade

Set in in England during the developments of World War II, Atonement is a multi-dimensional historical narrative that combines the ideas of fantasy versus fiction with love and war. As 13-year-old Briony Tallis witnesses the romance between her older sister, Cecilia, and Robbie Turner, her imaginative mind takes the situation much out of context, leading to her false accusation that Robbie was her cousin’s rapist on the fateful summer night of 1935. Based on a non-linear model of plot development, McEwan engages readers in a metafictional narrative told from multiple perspectives, displaying the idea throughout the novel that not everything is what it seems.

In Part I, McEwan uses a third-person omniscient narrator to highlight Briony’s character who plays a larger role in providing a background to the metafictional element revealed in the epilogue entitled “London, 1999.” McEwan sets the motive behind Briony’s controlling behavior by describing her as a child “possessed by a desire to have the world just so” (McEwan 4) and having a “passion for secrets” (McEwan 5). More importantly, McEwan describes Briony as an aspiring author, always dreaming up fantasy worlds that often skewed her perspective on the reality surrounding her....