Hey guys, just wrote this essay under exam conditions ~1 hour including reading/annotating passages. It's pretty crap but any comments for improvement would be appreciated, as always karma+
note its around 600~ words
A careless fountain scene gives Briony the temptation to be “magical and dramatic”. The fragmentation of the narrative at this point is symbolic of her self-centered attitude. The portrayal of this character throughout this scene of the text suggests Briony is truly egotistic, witnessing the event as a “tableau mounted for her alone”.
Being an inquisitive thirteen year old, it is of no surprise that she deserves an explanation from Cecilia on what she witnessed, even though it had nothing to do with her to begin with. However she resists this as she feels elusive excitement of an outlook “she was coming close to defining”. Once again, her mind trails of and she begins to fantasise about reconstructing her memories of the incident and plotting it out as a scene where “she could include a hidden observer like herself”, feeling significant to the actual plot itself. It is here that the reader is exposed to a glimpse of Briony’s arrogant personality and the beginning of her anarchy.
Her selfish personality blocks her moral values. But alternatively there “did not have to be moral” afterall. Briony quickly comes to terms with her “mind” being of somewhat “alive” and struggling with the idea that “other minds were equally alive”. It is evident through passage two that Briony’s arrogance is portrayed with the slightest bit of questioning. Upon looking for the twins, she simply looks “without even calling”, although not surprisingly, Briony seeks to blame someone or rather something else “the steepness of the bank” where the complexity of the language “of course” provides a sensory impact of her constant blame upon anything else besides herself. Albeit she does realise this, however it is far too late. It is misleading to focus so narrowly on her personality, however it is this grotesque personality that ultimately destroys Robbie.
Passage one highlights the importance of Briony’s views on “maniac” Robbie, albeit she doesn’t realise this yet. Instead lost in her world of fantasies on portraying what she witnessed, the fountain scene with Robbie and Cecilia, as a part of a ‘scene’. Briony constructs her own world due to immaturity and misunderstanding, both in her literature and in her mind. When writing, Briony feels ‘free’, she feels important and significant in her fantasy. She constantly seeks attention and praise. She soon comes to realise her egotistic attitude is in jeopardy here, “for it was not all about her” and only chance had brought her to the window.
These thoughts drive her into a fantasy life, where consequences cease to exist. Her ignorance destroys the lives of Cecilia and Robbie, where her over thinking is substantially to blame. In the fair essence of anyone who actually feels sympathy for Briony, one may dispute that she does realise her faults and seeks ‘atonement’. McEwan does a reasonably good job on linking the bad events with Briony, albeit in a sympathetic way.
Passage three highlights the importance of Briony’s realisation that she isn’t the centre of the world anymore. The writer’s preoccupation with questioning oneself can be seen quite frequently here. McEwan, through Briony, breaks down herself, questioning those characteristics that made her the ignorant girl she truly is, “did she really have the strength for this journey?”. She obviously had no difficulty stating the ‘apparent truth’, but when the truth came to her, she could not face it. This approach highlights the importance of moral values, something Briony seems to lack, a “backbone”.
Ultimately Briony seeks atonement for her sins, however she cannot face her past as she lacks a “backbone”. Her pathetic excuse for giving a life to Cecilia and Robbie through story which they never shared as her atonement shows a cowardly path to take. Her egocentric personality outweighs her moral values and it proves to be too late to acquire forgiveness.
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