Atonement - Context

Question 1

when was atonement written/published

Answer 1

2001

Question 2

significance of atonement being published in the new millenium

Answer 2

atonement written when millenium drew to an end - considering history (ww1 and 2) or possibly looking to the future

Question 3

significance of war

Answer 3

set inbetween ww1 and ww2 - Tallis house being run down possibly foreshadowing war (taboo subject within society)
ww1 rarely mentioned (only when talking about vase)
McEwan aimed to write about ww2 in detail in order to provide a bigger picture for modern-day readers

Question 4

what is metafiction

Answer 4

a form of fiction which constantly reminds the reader that they are reading fiction (narrative voice, hints)

Question 5

world war two examples/ significance

Answer 5

Robbie - part two, dies in June 1940 (Bray Dunes - Dunkirk evacuation), McEwan looked into photography and experiences in ww2 to gain insight - possibly based on his father being in british army
Cecilia and Briony war nurses - based on real-life

Question 6

postmodernism

Answer 6

‘self-reflexive novels’ - McEwan writing about Briony writing about her life/ imagination etc (‘fiction about fiction’)
metafiction involved in post-modernist texts

Question 7

gender roles

Answer 7

1930s-40s generally placed women in the home (Mrs Tallis, Ms Turner)
shocking to see women have education (Cecilia educated for a life she will not live)
Briony and Cecilia take on stereotypical roles of nurses to help with war efforts

Question 8

wealth and class

Answer 8

still quite a strong class system before ww2 - Marshall of aristocratic class, Tallis’ of middle-upper