Paul Kawabe: Get with the times

Paul Kawabe

Mr. Breaton

ENG 4U

May 26

Get With the Times

Briony facilitated the death of her beloved sister and Robbie when she was twelve. But, is that enough to hate her for the rest of her life? I would say no. Especially after all the evidence presented that shows her regret. Briony’s fictitious meeting with Robbie and Cecelia in part three and the symbolism in London 1999 tell us about the internal struggle she has been having for the past fifty-nine years of her life. I would compare despising Briony for her misguided twelve year old self as hating an ex-con no matter what they have done since their crime.

It is necessary to doubt the reality of part three to understand the overall message of Atonement. The clues presented in part two and London 1999 suggest that part, if not all, of part three was fictitious. Robbie’s promise to Nettle saying “you won’t hear another word from me” (McEwan 250) suggests his death that night which is then confirmed when Briony says “what purpose would be served if, say, I tried to persuade my reader … That Robbie Turner died of septicemia at Bray Dunes on 1 June 1940, or that Cecilia was killed in September of the same year” (McEwan 350). Through these quotations, it shows that Briony’s meeting with Robbie and Cecilia in part three was impossible and had to be something that she wrote herself. Once it is established, you can see how apologetic Briony feels. She wrote the story herself which shows that it is her ideal vision of how things would go. And even then, she doesn’t let them forgive her when she makes herself look foolish by saying “I’m very very sorry. I’ve cause you such terrible distress” (McEwan 329). Her inability to write about them forgiving her shows her inability to forgive herself.

Throughout part one and two there is plentiful water imagery yet it isn’t mentioned in absence or excess throughout part three or London 1999. The only instances where water is mentioned in London 1999 are Briony’s thoughts in her room and after the Trials of Arabella. When she is looking over her old home, she thinks “I could not quite accept the absence of the lake, but it could be restored one day perhaps” (McEwan 344). With water being such a prominent part in one and two, it came to represent purifying, washing off, or atoning to something. The fact that the largest body of water that Briony knew in her childhood was now gone suggests that there is a lot of atoning to do for what she has done. The other instance where water or drinking was mentioned was after her play and she said “I even drank a little wine” (McEwan 348). Thirst was an extreme part of part two with soldiers who could not come to terms with the horrors of what they had seen or done. The symbolism of Briony drinking wine with her family is her coming to terms with what she had done so long ago.

Overall, there is plenty of evidence that Briony feels terrible for what she did. Her almost masochistic determination to avoid forgiving herself makes her at the very least an admirable character. Her flaws that she had when she was a child are so severe that the option to forgive her is left to the reader. I think that it is hard not to for all of the guilt and regret she has lived through. A reader should get with the times and take into consideration all of the suffering she has put herself through and think of her situation from a current perspective.

Emma: I liked your analysis of Briony’s determination as a source for her redemption. I agree for the most part but I feel that Briony’s dedication could have been put toward other things. You mention that she started to care more about herself than the attention she received but it’s important for her to move past herself and think of the effects that Robbie’s and Cecilia’s death/isolation would have and then dedicate herself to fixing those. She eventually will do that through her novel but it will not serve much purpose other than contributing to her own legacy as all the people she could’ve talked to/helped are dead and gone.