Atonement Quotes part 1

Question 1

Chapter 1 ‘She was one of those children…

Answer 1

… possessed by the desire to have the world just so’
Grown up spoilt and expects everything to be as she wants it to be. She has lived a sheltered life and has not experienced much discomfort. This changes once she makes her mistake about Robbie and realises her naivety

Question 2

Chapter 1 ‘A shrine…

Answer 2

…to her controlling demon’
It foreshadows her demon-like actions that result in Lola’s rapist escaping and Robbie being wrongfully imprisoned.

Question 3

Chapter 1 ‘A passion…

Answer 3

… for secrets’
She reads Robbie’s letter to Cecilia and then reveals the secret to everyone. It foreshadows events later in the novel. Briony’s greatest secret is that essentially the entire book is fake and she lies to us (Robbie and Cecilia are dead from the start) - holding other people’s secrets or even her own gives her power and control over the readers.

Question 4

Chapter 1 ‘Her effective status…

Answer 4

…as an only child, as well as the relative isolation of the Tallis house.’
She craves attention and uses her position as only child to her advantage in order to get this.
This quote is also useful to look at golden age tropes as the Tallis house is described as isolated - country house trope.

Question 5

Chapter 1 ‘An unruly world…

Answer 5

…could be made just so’
theme of Chaos and Order and loss of innocence.
‘Unruly’ sounds appears like an animal - we see how the wildness of the real world is overwhelming for Briony
The phrase ‘just so’ is prim and quaint it clashes and juxtaposes with ‘unruly’ - shows how Briony’s need for neatness turns to real control
Also shows her naivety as she thinks that she can change the world when really she only makes it worse for so many people

Question 6

Chapter 1 ‘Her sandals revealed….

Answer 6

… an ankle bracelet and toes painted vermillion’
This quote shows Lola’s maturity compared to Briony’s. It also shows the fact that Lola is wanting to be more grown up than she actually is.

Question 7

Chapter 1 ‘You are young but…

Answer 7

…inexperienced, and though you think the world is at your feet, it can rise up and tread on you’
From ‘the Trials of Arabella’ This is symbolic of Briony and this naivety does come up and causes a lot of damage to Robbie and Cecilia.

Question 8

Chapter 2 ‘her mother……

Answer 8

…….seemed distant’
This could be one of the reasons for why Briony is always craving attention and secrets, because she doesn’t get any from her mother.

Question 9

Chapter 2 ‘There was something…

Answer 9

…between them
This is in Robbie’s chapter and it shows his love as there is an obvious connection.

Question 10

Chapter 3 ‘‘This was not a fairy tale: …

Answer 10

…this was the real, adult world’
this shows the retreat from thinking that she is the centre of attention. She realises that the world does not revolve around her
She has been living in a bubble

Question 11

Chapter 3 ‘It wasn’t only wickedness and scheming that made people unhappy,…

Answer 11

…it was confusion and misunderstanding’
It is ironic that Briony understands for the first time the need to grant others their own unique feelings and thoughts when she first witnesses the scene by the pond

Question 12

Chapter 5 ‘It was a cruel face,…

Answer 12

…but his manner was pleasant’
unconsciously makes the reader dislike him as in our first impressions, he is described as looking cruel. Foreshadows his later actions.
Juxtoposes

Question 13

‘She thought a game was being played…

Answer 13

…Which she did not understand’
Shows that Lola is on the precipice between adulthood and childhood. Makes her seem even more innocent and makes the crime feel even more horrific.

Question 14

Chapter 7 ‘She would simply wait……

Answer 14

……until real events, not her own fantasies…dispelled her insignificance’

Question 15

Chapter 13 ‘Within the half hour ..

Answer 15

…Briony would commit her crime’
This foreshadowing creates a sense of suspense for the reader as we are unsure of what Briony’s crime is. Her crime is more of a metaphorical crime compared to Paul’s

Question 16

Chapter 13 ‘Lola was required…

Answer 16

…only to remain silent about the truth’
This quote shows Briony’s controlling nature and how she twists the truth to suit her.

Question 17

Chapter 14 ‘Guilt…

Answer 17

…a rosary to be fingered for a lifetime’
This shows the self guilt that Briony will have to deal with. The rosary is a string of beads used in both Catholicism and Islam. By comparing Briony’s guilt to the beads on a rosary and a “loop” with no beginning and end, the author is able to emphasize the eternity of Briony’s guilt.

Question 18

when they shut their eyes…

Answer 18

…they saw those mutilated bodies’
Robbie describes the horrors of war and shows that once you start fighting, you are haunted by the war forever.

Question 19

He could never be on close terms with Emily or Jack….

Answer 19

…She had pursued his prosecution with a strange ferocity’
Shows the difference in class and the fact that he will never be seen as one of ‘them’

Question 20

To be cleared would be a pure state…..

Answer 20

…He dreamed of it like a lover
Briony ruined his life. It shows the extent to which she has.

Question 21

it was for herself, for her own crime…

Answer 21

….which her conscience could no longer bear
Briony’s want to reveal the truth is purely a selfish action because her guilt is overcoming her.

Question 22

his only thought…

Answer 22

…was of water’
Robbie’s life has been reduced to war

Question 23

In that shrinking moment….

Answer 23

….[Robbie] discovered that he had never hated anyone until now.
Foreshadows his hate for Briony later on in the novel