Atonement Part 1 Prep 10/3

Definitions of "Realism": teh tendancy to see things are they really appear and are.


Definitions of "Intertextuality": the whole network of relations, conventions, and expectations by which the text is defined; the relationship between texts


Definition of "Prolepsis": the assigning of a person, event, etc., to a period earlier than the actual one; the representation of something in the future as if it already existed or had occurred

(Definitions were taking from www.dictionary.com)

What are Briony's limitations?

-what defines Briony
As a little girl Briony is defined as a unique child who is often times "in her head" meaning she thinks and analyzes situations more than the average child. This is seen most prevelantly when she writes her stories, which have very adult thoughts despite being authored by a child. She is essentially, a wise soul. (Until of course, she lies about Robbie, yet even at that age I think she knew the implications of her crime.)

-how Briony defines and uses her imagination
Her imagination is used both in her writing and how she precieves people. As a little girl, she keeps her thoughts about people to herself yet she seems to assume things about people that aren't real. She imagines Robbie to be attacking Cee in the library, when in actuallity, at her age I think she would understand they were having sex. Witnessing Robbie and Cee justified to others what Briony wanted to think about Robbie because she wanted to confirm that he was a danger to Cee.

-how prolepsis affects her
Above when I spoke of how Briony wanted to think of Robbie as a danger, she had it in her mind that he was so she had assigned him that role ahead of time. She saw Robbie as a threat even before he "attacked" (i don't think Cee would call it that) Cee.

-her view of the vase scene
She was looking out a window while she saw that and to her it was all very confusing. At first the thought of seeing her sister take off her blouse and skirt might have been thought to be a sexual act when really she was just going swimming. Also, since Briony only saw the silent version of what was going on, she didn't hear the dialouge which would have clarified the situation. Due to the fact, that her view of it was from above, in silence, she was able to make her own assumptions, most of which were wrong.

-her reaction to Robbie's note
Briony was simply asked to take the note to her sister, the wrong note at that, but instead of delivering it, she read it. The situation was about as bad as it could have been. A little girl was reading a (i'll call it...) "questionable" note that was never suppose to be sent in the first place, and her child's mind didn't process the meaning of it all. Her reaction was actually more adult than I would expect, as most children would have ran to their parents straight away with a note like that. Briony didn't do that childish expectation, proving she has a cunning side, which leads me to believe she knew Robbie didn't rape Lola all along.

Intertextuality
-What purpose does the novel's epigraph, a quotation from Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey serve?
Upon finishing the book, I went back to the epigraph because I never understoof its purpose until I was done with the novel. I think that Jane Austen's quote serves the basic idea for which "Atonement" lays on. After rereading the quote the last new words echoed most to me, "...and with tears of shame she ran off to her own room" and it made me think back to the night of Lola's rape. I pictured Briony running to her room with tears, not for her cousin, but for the lie she knew she told. Also, when Austen talks about suspicions that people entertain I think McEwan is forshadowing how the Tallis' later precieve the entire rape scene.

-What is the difference between intertextuality and a source?
The difference ist hat intertextuality is a small connection between two texts that make them able to relate to each other, while a source is just used to help define a thought within another text.

-Arabella is the name of Clarissa's sister in Clarissa by British author Samuel Richardson. Why might this be important?
I've never read the book Clarissa, but if I were to take a guess, I would think that maybe the books have similar themes or that perhaps McEwan is a fan of Samuel Richardson. I couldn't find a plot summery for Clarissa to get a general idea of what its about, but my best thought is that the themes about lying, the truth, love vs. war, and acceptance are themes of both books.