Focalism In Atonement

Ian McEwan’s Atonement is great example of character involvement in text, for to understand a characters need to atone, the reader needs to understand the psyche of the character. The book, which is aptly named after that which it represents, is written so that the events transpiring either give insight to the mind of the character, set up the conflicts that will lead to the need for atonement, or are the act of atonement themselves. It is by focalizing through specific characters throughout the book that McEwan creates a theme of atonement and it is by understanding the psyche of the characters, and their need to atone that the novel gets it’s forward movement.

McEwan focalizes first part of Atonement through many different characters, often

The scene where Briony catches Cecelia and Robbie having sex in the is an example of this because it is represented twice in the narrative and is a pivotal moment that changes the way the character think When focalizing the scene through Briony, McEwan invites the reader into the mind of a thirteen year old girl dealing with subjects far beyond her knowledge, but pretending she is old enough to

The reader discovers the immaturity of Briony, and the intended reader is to understand that the two adults are having sex, although because it is focalized through Briony the reader is lead to think about whether it is consensual or not. Briony herself see’s it as an attack on her sister and because she constantly creates narratives around herself, and because she has decided that Robbie is a “maniac”, based on the wrong letter she wasn’t suppose to see. Her ignorance and bias make her think that it was a “hand-to-hand fight” perceiving her sisters eyes as “terrified” by what the “maniac” is doing and decides it is her duty to defend her sister (Atonement 123). By doing this the reader is to understand that Briony, although she pretends to be an adult, is still an ignorant child, lost to the ways of adults. And it is by characterizing her in this way that the reader is driven to think about what action she might take next, and as a reckless child who is prone to creating narrative, the reader knows that the actions caused by these decisions will effect the narrative. McEwan further complicates this when in the next chapter the reader is then focalizing through Robbie at the dinner directly after the