100% satisfaction guarantee Immediately available after payment Both online and in PDF No strings attached
Previously searched by you
Summary AQA ENGLISH LITERATURE CRIME WRITING ESSAY 2020 Atonement – Ian McEwan ‘In Atonement McEwan shows criminals to be products of the society'$7.26
Add to cart
Summary AQA ENGLISH LITERATURE CRIME WRITING ESSAY 2020 Atonement – Ian McEwan ‘In Atonement McEwan shows criminals to be products of the society'
52 views 1 purchase
Course
Elements of Crime Writing
Institution
AQA
Book
Atonement
AQA ENGLISH LITERATURE CRIME WRITING ESSAY
2020 Atonement – Ian McEwan ‘In Atonement McEwan shows criminals to be products of the society'.
A* ESSAY (24/25)
2020 atonement – ian mcewan ‘in atonement mcewan s
Connected book
Book Title:
Author(s):
Edition:
ISBN:
Edition:
More summaries for
AQA ENGLISH LITERATURE CRIME WRITING ESSAY 'In crime writing some of the innocent always suffer.’
Atonement Essay – Ian McEwan ‘Briony is just as much a victim of her own crime as Robbie Turner is.
AQA ENGLISH LITERATURE B - CRIME WRITING ATONEMENT NOTES - Ideas
All for this textbook (13)
Written for
A/AS Level
AQA
English Literature B
Elements of Crime Writing
All documents for this subject (147)
Seller
Follow
ramiriam
Reviews received
Content preview
2020 Atonement – Ian McEwan ‘In Atonement
McEwan shows criminals to be products of the
society they live in.ʼ To what extent do you
agree with this view? Remember to include in
your answer relevant detailed exploration of
McEwanʼs authorial methods. [25 m
2020
Atonement – Ian McEwan ‘In Atonement McEwan shows criminals to be products of the society
they live in.ʼ To what extent do you agree with this view? Remember to include in your answer
relevant detailed exploration of McEwanʼs authorial methods. [25 marks]
Briony as a child.
A child who is neglected.
Robbie becoming a criminal because of a class conspiracy and Marshall not even being
suspected due to his upper-class position.
Marshallʼs unclear creation but definite position as the criminal.
Throughout centuries, critics have discussed to what extent criminals are simply products of
the society in which they live in, being a complexed entanglement of social circumstance, class
position, and chance. In Atonement we are presented with two main ‘criminalsʼ of Briony Tallis
and Paul Marshall who are the perpetrators producing a third 'criminal' of Robbie Turner who to
the reader is an unjust victim of the novel but to the characters a “maniac”. In this essay I will
therefore discuss to what extent ‘criminals are products of the society they live inʼ.
As we are introduced to Briony immediately a sense of danger is created surrounding her age.
She is described as inhabiting an “ill-defined space between childhood and the adult world”
which she “crossed and recrossed” randomly. The verbs “crossed” and “recrossed” create a
precarious nature surrounding Brionyʼs age linking to McEwanʼs greater theme of
misunderstandings in the novel. Brionyʼs crime occurs when she is thirteen in the height of an
illustrious summer in 1935. However, this year is significant not just due to its foreshadowing of
the looming shadow of WWII but also the laws at the time which would have marked Briony as
being criminally culpable for the crime which she committed. In 1935, a child would have had to
be only eight to be trialled and convicted of a crime, and although this was rare, Brionyʼs lawful
liability suggests that even McEwan contextually sees her as guilty but also suggests that her
crime occurs due to her age rather than the society – or likely an interaction between both.
Brionyʼs young age and neglect means that she spent a large proportion of her childhood
reading fiction and fairy tales, showcased in the way in which she views other characters lives in
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller ramiriam. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $7.26. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
