Misreading Situations In Atonement

The brain has a fascinating way of dealing with difficult situations that are not easily solvable. It has the ability to process information on a subconscious level in such a way that enables it to construct reasons and assumptions for various situations. This coping mechanism is the brain’s way of bringing structure into otherwise unruly moments in time. Although this may be useful in some situations, assuming numerous outcomes has the potential to wreak havoc on not only those who think this way but also all those around them. Assumptions have the ability to cause strife and angst among groups of people. In the novel Atonement, Ian McEwan establishes that misreading situations can lead to drastic consequences which have the ability to change the course of history, demonstrating that the human condition is keen to creating order within the chaotic world by subconsciously fabricating fictitious stories.

In Atonement, ten-year-old Briony’s imagination gets the best of her, leading to her guilt-stricken state sixty years after the events. Briony wrongfully accused her sister Cecilia’s lover Robbie of raping her friend (McEwan 50). This postulation manifested itself because Briony accidentally walked in on Cecilia and Robbie being intimate, leading her to believe Robbie did the crime because in her eyes he was a “sex maniac” (McEwan 45). This small assumption inevitably led to the arrest of Robbie, destroying not only his life but also her sister’s (McEwan 87). Because Briony did not stop to completely assess the situation at hand, people close to her were negatively affected, leading to her long-lasting sense of guilt. Later on in her life, Briony even talked about the fact that “though you think the world is at your feet, it can rise up and tread on you” (McEwan