Context, Genre, Author Flashcards
What does atonement mean?
An remorseful action purposed to make amends for a wrong/injury.
Reparation or expiation for sin.
The reconciliation of God and mankind through Jesus Christ.
Coming to terms with one’s own altered state and accepting the past.
When was the book published?
2001
When is the book set?
Before, after and during WW2
What is the genre?
Historical saga
Romance
Family drama
Melodrama
Reflexive novel
Authorial context
McEwans father was an army officer stationed across the world giving McEwan insight into army life.
Narrative
Anonymous 3rd person narrator
Postmodern novel using a stream of consciousness techniques.
Context: WW2
The book covers before, during and after the war. Part 1 explores the various differing perspectives about the impeding war. Jack Tallis is involved in the planning of the “mass evacuation of large towns” and the probability of “5 million casualties” . Paul Marshall anticipates the war to further his army amo. The war dominates the plot in part 2.
WW2
Broke out in 1939 when German forces directed under Hitler invaded Poland. Britain and France agreed to defend Poland and other European powers followed. The German army was more advanced than the allied forces leading to a protracted war devastating Europe.
Dunkirk Evacuation
The successful mass evacuation of British and French troops from the French port Dunkirk. Huge boost to morale.
The impact of the War on Women’s rights.
The Suffrage Movement brought about the Representation of The People Act that allowed women over 30 (that met certain property rights) to vote .
Between 1914-18 around 2 million women replaced men in employment.
By 1935, around 1/4 of civil servant positions were occupied by women and 1/3 of women worked outside the home.
The limitations of Women’s Rights
Divorce was not an option for women until the 1938 Matrimonial Rights Act. Women were economically dependent on men. Women in the civil service were required to quit if they were married. Oxford only started to award degrees to women in 1923 and Cambridge in 1948.
British Society and class
British society was highly stratified along class lines however developments at the end of the 20th century began to challenge ideas of class.
The upper classes
Consisted of the Aristocracy and Royalty. The wealthy elite.
The upper middle classes
Merchants, financiers and business owners.
Lower middle class
Office clerks
Working classes
Unskilled Labour. Labour was exploited by the upper classes. The Labour Party was established in 1918 thus working class people would have a political mouth piece.
The Tallies and class
Belong to the upper middle class. They enjoy the lifestyles of the upper classes but not the social prestige. Their money is generated from “patents and locks making” and Jack Tallies high level government job. Cecelia and Robbie are Cambridge educated. However, Jacks sponsorship of Robbie makes Emily uncomfortable “unfair on Leon and the girls”
Robbie and Class
Robbie’s class is made ambiguous by the fact he has been raised as a Tallis and his Cambridge education . His social mobility or “elevation” makes Emily Tallis uncomfortable. His working class origins (and Danny Hardmans draws suspicion) His upper class man veneer gains the respect of Nettle and Mace.
The Tallis family home as a symbol
The home is symbolic of the families success but also exclusive nature of their lifestyle. The houses is later forced to take in evacuees and then is converted to a leisure facility which signifies the shifting social structure.
Cultural dislocation
The removal of a person from a set of cultural practices into another. Can shock and alter the ego.
Examples of cultural dislocation in the text.
Robbie- Occupies a liminal status between the upper and lower classes.
Cecelia- Cambridge educated and would have been in the vanguard of women attending higher education. However makes a living as a nurse dislocating her from upper class roots.
Metafiction
Employs narrative techniques such as a stream of consciousness, flashbacks and unreliable narration.
Epilogue
Final section of a literate text that often reflects on the text in some way.
Reflexive novel
A novel which references its own methods processes and composition.
