Ian McEwan 20xx

Prose: Atonement

Chapter
VI-Six
Farisya and San Joe
Table of contents
20xx

Chapter Character
01 Overview 📖
02 Profile
Summarised events and Description and quotes
purpose

Character 🗝 Key Quotes

03 Development
04 & Analysis
Events and plot

Symbols & Key Themes &

05 06 Messages
Motifs 🌙
Ian McEwan 20xx

01
Chapter
Overview
Summarised events and purpose
Atonement 20xx

Summary…
Emily Tallis bored at home, immobile due to her migraines

● She is unsatisfied with Leon’s lack of ambition and Cecilia’s lack of

marriage prospects
● She feels sorry for Briony, having to deal with Lola, who is just as sly as
her mother, Hermione (Emily’s sister)
● Emily hears everything in the house, and tells her perspective of the
events in the previous chapters
● After doxing, she hears noise “muted thunder of the plumbing” crease
with “a judder that shook the air”. Then the sound of a “little squeal of
laughter abruptly smothered” and guessed that Lola is in the nursery
with Paul
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02
Character
Profile
Summarised events and purpose
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The Characters
So far up till chapter 6…

Audience 𓂀 Character 𓂀

Redundant Central coordinating

● She is fluctuating force
● Arrogant and
between her childish
unsympathetic
mannerisms and *Misguided view Attentive of her
● Pompous in his vision
adapting to her of Paul* surroundings and her
of chocolate-making
situation by responding state of mind
● Ominous intentions ● Develops into
in a more mature
(Lola and Cecilia) adolescence
approach. Ineffectual and Romantic view of Briony
● Learning skills to be a ● Counterpoints to what
neglectful (refer to that served as a
writer PEDO ALERT is childish and what is
chapter 3- Cecilia) reminiscence of her time
mature
😭🚩🚩🚩 in motherhood

Briony Paul Lola Emily

Adulting The new guy: A big bad little lamb A weak mother
‘Moving into wolf?
adolescence’
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03
Character
Development
HELLO I AM HERE . I THINK WE CAN TALK ABOUT BRIONY AND
LOLA OKOK U TALK ABOUT IT FOR THIS PART :)
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Character Development
Briony Immature Perceptive

Lola
Adulthood-Childhood
(static)
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04
Analysis &
Key Quotes
Summarised events and purpose
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I - Characterisation of Emily Tallis

Emily’s Emotional & Physical Distress
Quote 1: "There were illuminated points in her vision, little Quote 2: "Even groaning increased the agony.” Quote 3: "Unrestrained, a set of matching set of
pinpricks, as though the worn fabric of the visible world was sharpened knives would be drawn across her optic
being held up against a far brighter light." nerve.”

Quote 4: "She lay rigidly apprehensive, held at knife point, Quote 5: “Knifing pains would obliterate all thought, and Quote 6: “It bore her no malice, this animal, it was
knowing that her fear would not let her sleep and that her there would be no chance of dining with Leon and the indifferent to her misery.
only hope was in keeping still.” family tonight.”
“It would move as a caged panther might: because it
was awake, out of boredom, for the sake of movement
itself.”
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I - Characterisation of Emily Tallis

Emily’s Inner Thoughts & Emotions

Quote 1: "But how to protect her against failure against Quote 3: "Illness had stopped her giving her children all a
that Lola, the incarnation of Emily’s sister, who had just mother should.”
been as precarious and scheming at that age, and who
had recently plotted her way out of a marriage, into what
she wanted everyone to call a nervous breakdown.”

Quote 2: "They were not her own. It was as simple as

that.” Quote:“She thought of the vast heat that rose above the house and
park, like smoke suffocating the farms and towns.” - Pathetic fallacy
“Fundamentally uncommunicative, with no gift for
intimacy, and worse they had diluted their identities, for
she had never found this missing triangle of flesh. One
could only know them generally.”
Character Dynamics

II - Relationship between Emily & Cecilia

How Cecilia Views Her Mother VS Emily’s Views On Her Daughter
Quote: "Emily’s hostility felt like a living thing, dense, Quote: "One day [Leon] might bring home a friend for
breathing." Cecilia to marry, if three years at Girton had not made
her an impossible prospect..."

The vivid imagery conveys the palpable and overwhelming

nature of Emily's hostility towards Cecilia. The description Quote: "When Cecilia came home in July with her finals’
of hostility as a "living thing" evokes a sense of animosity result—the nerve of the girl to be disappointed with
that is both tangible and persistent. The word "breathing" it!—she had no job or skill and still had a husband to
adds an unsettling quality, implying that this hostility is not find and motherhood to confront.”
static but constantly active, making it a central element in
their relationship.

Quote: “The cozy jargon of Cecilia’s

Cambridge—the Halls, the Maids’ Dancing, the
Quote: “Emily’s voice was a silky weapon.” Little-Go, and all the self-adoring slumming, the
knickers drying before the electric fire and two to
The metaphorical description of Emily’s voice as a “silky a hairbrush—made Emily Tallis a little cross,
weapon” underscores the manipulative and subtle nature though not remotely jealous."
of her communication. The word “silky” suggest
smoothness and sophistication, while “weapon” implies
that Emily may use her words to assert control or
dominance over Cecilia. This choice of language
highlights the power dynamics at play in their
relationship.
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III - Characterisation of Briony Tallis

II - Briony’s Eccentricism & Furtiveness

Quote 1:“She had vanished into an Quote 2: "Her daughter was always away
intact inner world of which the writing in her mind, grappling with some
was no more than the visible surface, unspoken self imposed problem as
the protective crust which even, or
though the weary, self evident world
especially, a loving mother could not
penetrate.” could be reinvented by a child.”

Quote: "Now the demons of self

consciousness and talent have struck
her daughter dumb.“ “Emily mourned
the passing of an age of eloquence and
this was what it meant to want another
child.”
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05
Symbols, Motifs
& Metaphors 🌙
In Chapter 6 of "Atonement," Ian McEwan employs these literary
devices to deepen the themes of miscommunication, desire, and
the consequences of one's actions. The symbolism and motifs add
layers of complexity to the narrative, making the novel a
thought-provoking exploration of the intricacies of human
relationships and the power of storytelling.
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Symbols & Motifs

I - Water as a Symbol II - The Tallis House as a Symbol
In Chapter 6, water is a prominent The Tallis family house, especially
symbol that represents various the library, is a recurring motif in
aspects of the characters' lives and the novel. It represents the
emotions. It's a motif that recurs privilege and social class of the
throughout the novel, and it's Tallis family but also the
particularly significant in this confinement and isolation of its
chapter. members.

The scene by the fountain in The library, in particular,

Cecilia's presence is a notable becomes the site of key events
example. Water symbolizes purity, and revelations in the story. It
clarity, and the possibility of symbolizes the knowledge,
washing away past sins. It also secrets, and tensions that lurk
represents the distance and divide beneath the surface of the
between characters, as Robbie and seemingly idyllic family.
Cecilia are physically separated by
the water in the fountain.
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Symbols & Motifs

III - The Letter as a Symbol IV - Heat as a Motif
The letter Robbie writes to Heat is a recurring motif that
Cecilia, mistakenly delivered to signifies the sexual tension and
Briony, is a symbol of desire between characters.
miscommunication and the
unintended consequences of In Chapter 6, the summer heat
actions. intensifies the emotions and
actions of the characters, leading
This letter sets off a chain of to the fountain scene and Briony's
events that ultimately changes misinterpretation of it. The
the course of all their lives. It oppressive heat creates an
symbolizes the fragility of human atmosphere of restlessness and
relationships and the irreversible unease, driving the characters to
nature of certain actions. act impulsively.

Quotes: “She thought of the vast

heat that rose above the house
and park, like smoke suffocating
the farms and towns“
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Motifs & Metaphors

V - The Fountain as a Motif VI - Briony’s Notebook as a Metaphor
The fountain in Chapter 6 serves Briony's notebook serves as a
as a motif representing desire, metaphor for her perception of
yearning, and the unattainable. reality and her desire to control
It's a source of fascination for and document the world around
Briony and symbolizes her her. She sees herself as the
awakening to adult desires and author of her family's story, much
emotions. like the novelist writing the novel
itself.
For Cecilia and Robbie, it becomes
a barrier that keeps them apart, This notebook becomes a tool
highlighting the obstacles and for Briony to assert her authority
misunderstandings that stand in and construct her version of
the way of their love. events, which ultimately leads to
the tragic consequences that
follow.
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06
Key Themes &
Messages
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Key Themes & Messages

I- Family Feud & Tensions II- The Fragility of Motherhood
1. Lola's anger over her parents' divorce stems from feelings of Expectations vs. Reality - Emily has certain expectations of
abandonment, rejection, and blame. The divorce disrupts her what her daughter's life should be like, including marrying well
stability, causing insecurity and emotional turmoil. She is and conforming to societal norms. Her disappointment and
self-aware but feels powerless in her unwelcoming family resentment stem from the realization that Cecilia is not living
environment, reflecting the pain of children with divorced parents.
up to these expectations. This contrast between Emily's
2. In Leon and Cecilia's relationship, Leon manipulates Cecilia by idealized vision of motherhood and the reality of Cecilia's
using Robbie to fuel his jealousy, as he believes his sister pays choices highlights the fragility of a mother's dreams for her
more attention to Robbie due to their status, causing emotional child.
conflict for Cecilia.

3. Emily disapproves of Hermione's parenting style and criticizes

her children's behavior. She views them as "not her own" and
attributes their issues to a neglectful family background,
contributing to familial tension and lamenting her sister's constant
breakdowns and divorce.
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Key Themes & Messages

III - Class Divide & Social Norms
The class divide evident given the interactions between
Cecilia and Robbie, and Cecilia and Paul.

Chapter 2: Cecilia and Robbie

- Cambridge and Robbie’s studies that was funded by

her father
- Their relationship : awkward

Chapter 4: Cecilia was introduced to Paul,

- a possible marriage candidate.

- A forced introduction that highlights Cecilia's attitude
and behaviour towards people based on status

-> symbolism of the Amo Bar