Atonement social class hour 6

1. The Role of Social Rank and
Class Expectations in
An AP English Presentation by Angela Accurso, Laura Camarata,
Sarah Murphy, Meg Nulton, and Ali Swee
A T O N E M E N T

2. Setting/Plot: Part One
Story begins in the picturesque Surrey, England
○ starts out very magical, almost fairytale-like
Tallis Estate
○ "[B]arely forty years old, bright orange brick, squat, lead-paned baronial Gothic,
to be condemned one day in an article by Pevsner, or one of his team, as a tragedy
of wasted chances, and by a young writer of the modern school as "charmless to a
fault." An Adam-style house had stood here until destroyed by fire in the late
1880s. What remained was the artificial lake and island with its two stone bridges
supporting the driveway, and, by the water's edge, a crumbling stuccoed temple.
Cecilia's grandfather, who grew up over an ironmonger's shop and made the
family fortune with a series of patents on padlocks, bolts, latches and hasps, had
imposed non the new house his taste for all things solid, secure and functional." -
pg. 18
○ Class aspiration
○ shows hypocrisy
Relationship b/w Robbie and Cecilia begins to develop
○ attended Cambridge University together, however, their class distinction separated
them there
Ali Swee

3. Setting/Plot: Part One
Continued
Paul Marshall comes to visit
○ Cecilia tries to impress him with vase- the most expensive thing they own
○ "Even though it was worth more than the other pieces in the Tallis home...." -
description on pg. 23
Fountain Scene
○ Briony witnesses this and automatically thinks the worst
○ "What strange power did he have over her? Blackmail? Threats?..... She
should shut her eyes, she thought, and spare herself the sight of her sister's
shame" -pg.36
Paul and Cecilia flirt
○ "Watching him during the first several minutes of his delivery, Cecilia felt a pleasant
sinking sensation in her stomach as she contemplated how deliciously self-destructive
and erotic to be married to a man so nearly handsome, so hugely rich, so unfathomably
stupid." -pg. 47
○ " 'I knew some grammar school types at Oxford and some of them were damned clever.
But they could be resentful, which was a bit rich, I thought." -pg. 49
Ali Swee

4. Robbie's letter
○ We realize Robbie is fully aware of his social class, he didn't care.
○ "He had politics to protect him and his scientifically based theories of
class, and his own rather forced self certainty. I am who I am." -
pg.74
The awkward dinner
○ The twins run away, leave a note at their chair
Lola's rape
○ " It was Robbie, wasn't it?' The Maniac. She wanted to say the word.
Lola said nothing and did not move. Briony said it again, this time
without a trace of a question. It was a statement of fact. 'It was
Robbie.' " -pg. 156
Setting/Plot: Part One
Continued
Ali Swee

5. Setting/Plot: Part Two
Taken to the battlefields of World War 2
○ Dunkirk evacuation and war experiences
○ representative of survival and escape
Spent 3 years in a prison for his "crime"
Cecilia abandons Tallis family, still believing Robbie is innocent
The couple writes letter back and forth
○ "And there was hope. I'll wait for you. Come back. There was a
chance, just a chance of getting back. He had her last letter in his
pocket and her new address. This was why he had to survive, and use
his cunning to stay off the main roads where the circling dive-
bombers waited like raptors." -pg. 190
He wonders if he'll ever be able to forgive Briony
Setting plays an important role within part two.
○ endless marching... similar to "The Things They Carried"
○ "I'll wait for you was elemental. It was the reason he survived. It was
the ordinary way of saying she would refuses all other men. Only
you. Come back." -pg. 249
Ali Swee

6. Setting/Plot: Part Three
We meet Briony, who is now a nurse.
○ fears Sister Drummond
Briony passes up Cambridge University
○ compares the all the opportunities she missed out on
○ punishment for her "crime"
○ somehow trying to make up the mistakes she made- trying to
physically "heal wounds" and emotionally undo the damage
Completely detached from Tallis family
○ monthly letters reveal fighting at the Tallis household
Paul Marshall and Lola are to be married
○ Most likely, Paul was Lola's rapist
○ "It wasn't a surprise; the shock was in the confirmation. Briony was
more than implicated about this union. She had made it possible." -
pg. 268
Still carrying the guilt and shame for her "crime"
○ Hopes for forgiveness someday from Robbie
Ali Swee

7. Changed through her horrific experiences as a nurse
○ "Neither girl spoke, and when they linked arms it seemed like they
were resuming, after a lifetime of experience, their walk across
Westminster Bridge. They could not begun to describe their time in
the wards, or how it has changed them." -pg 293
○ "She would like to cry for him, and for his family in Millau who
would be waiting to hear news from him. But she couldn't feel a
thing. She was empty. " -pg. 293
Visits Cecilia and Robbie
○ " 'And what's made you so certain now?' She hesitated, conscious that
in answering she would be offering a form of defense, a rationale,
and that it might enrage him further. 'Growing up.' "-pg. 323
○ " 'You're eighteen. How much growing up do you need to do? There
are soldiers dying in the field at eighteen. Old enough to be left to die
on the roads. Do you know that?' " -pg. 323
Ali Swee
Setting/Plot: Part Three
Continued

8. Style- Sarah Murphy
Part 1
Imagery
■ House
■ p. 26: Robbie takes off his shoes and socks
● "Robbie made a great show of removing his boots which weren't dirty
at all, and then, as an afterthought, took his socks off as well, and
tiptoed with comic exaggeration across the wet floor. Everything he
did was designed to distance her..."
■ p. 27: The Fountain
● "Bernini's intention must have been for the water to trickle musically...
but the pressure was too weak,"
■ p. 90: Cecilia's Dress Problem
● "she hated the thought of appearing austere...she wanted to look as
though she had not given the matter a moment's though, and that
would take time."
■ p.80: Robbie's outfit
● "Robbie preferred to shine his own shoes..."

9. STYLE PART I -SK
Part 1
Symbols
● p 23: The Vase
○ "The truth was, whatever its great value, and
beyond its association, Emily Tallis did not
much like the vase"
● Fountain
● The Island Temple p. 68
○ "was intended as a point of interest, an eye-
catching feature to enhance the pastoral ideal,
and had of course, no religious purpose at all"

10. Style- SK
Part 1
Tone
■ Condescending toward how Cecilia views Robbie
● Pretentious
● Presumptuous
● "She was being mocked, or she was being punished- she did
not know which was worse. Punished for being in a different
circle at Cambridge, for not having a charlady for a mother;
mocked for her poor degree-" (26)

11. Style- SK
Part 2
Imagery
● Memories- very vivid; stick with Robbie
○ The leg in the tree
■ It was a perfect leg, pale, smooth, small enough
to be a child's...this is a leg." p180
○ The kiss
■ "A disembodied part of himself was abjectly
grateful, for he knew he now had a memory in the
bank and would be drawing on it for months to
come."
● The horrors of war
● The "tranquil ocean"
○ Represents hope for his future with Cecilia

12. Style SK
Part two
Symbols
The map p180
"The map was his only privacy"
"He acted like an officer, but he didn't
even have a single stripe."
The letters p 191
"He was naturally in love with her words"
"But what did the poets know about

13. Style SK
Part 2
Tone
■ Hopeless
■ Exhausting
■ Monotonous
■ Introspective
■ Bitter

14. Style- SK
Part 3
Imagery
● "Polished black Rolls Royce...warmth of
its radiator, as intimate as body heat, and
the click of contracting metal. " 304
○ Rape
○ False intimacy
○ Reference to the past

15. Style- SK
Part 3
Symbol
Rolls Royce
"there was a metallic screech as he
changed gear- a good sign perhaps" (308)
-Foreshadowing
- reference to the past
- Importance of money > love

16. Style- SK
Part 3
Tone
■ uneasy, tension building, anxious
● "the hospital had been emptying..."
● preparations for war
■ guilty
● "if something happened to Robbie, if Cecilia and Robbie were
never to be together... her secret torment and the public
upheaval of war had always seemed separate worlds, but now
she understood how the war might compound her crime."."
271

17. Point of View
● Without knowing that Briony is the narrator, the
reader concludes the story is third person
omniscient and would assume class roles and
prejudice are in their standard form.
● Upon learning Briony is the narrator, class roles
are exemplified due to her bias and her own social
class.
● The unfortunate events in Atonement are the
product of imaginative thinking of Briony due to
the standards of class roles at the time.
Angela Accurso

18. Point of View
● Briony doesn't fully understand the complexity
of the adult world.
○ Ex. Two people from opposite classes falling in love.
○ Ex. Why Jack Tallis would ever consider paying for
an education for Robbie.
● To handle her confusion she resorts to the only
standards she knows: social standards.
● Briony must protect Cecilia from falling below
her social class.
● Robbie is of a low class and could be the only
one responsible for the "rape" of Cecilia and
actual violation of Lola.
Angela Accurso

19. Point of View
● Notice the only other person accused of rape is the
Tallis family servant.
● Robbie even dreaming of going to medical school was
"rather pretentious and presumptuous" (pg. 18) in
Briony's eyes.
● Briony's interpretation of the fountain scene is
seriously just a whirlwind of random crazy thoughts.
● CiCi would rather "drown" herself than accept
Robbie's pretentious proposal. (pg. 36)
● She thinks Robbie is "blackmailing" and "threatening"
CiCi (pg. 36) when in fact they broke a vase.
● Briony knows she "does not understand" but she can
"just watch" and make sense what is going on (pg. 37)
Angela Accurso

20. Point of View
Breakdown of Social Class Barriers
● The Fountain Scene:
○ Cecilia undresses in front of Robbie and Robbie watches,
both breaking standards of their social class.
○ The vase is what separates them socially, but it is broken,
allowing them to break down the barrier and finally share
open feelings.
○ "The truth was, whatever its great value, and beyond its
association, Emily Tallis did not much like the vase." (pg.
23)
● To punish herself, Briony takes on a job as a "slave",
giving up all upper class luxuries.
She was "one of a batch of probationers--there was intake every few
months--and she had no identity beyond her badge." (pg. 260)
● "A person is, among all else, a material thing, easily
torn, not easily mended." (pg. 287)
Angela Accurso

21. Point of View
Doe Briony Atone?
● In my opinion, no.
● She had a brief feeling of what it was like to be of low
class, but in her old age, she still has the luxuries of
upper class and lower class members working for her.
● Briony caused the unfortunate sequence of events from
LYING and she LIES and makes up a story to atone? No
way.
● Real atonement would've been for her to admit
everything and play out the true story so everyone could
she the tragedy she created.
● Yet, she slowly loses her memory, forgetting everything
she caused and continues living in her childish world
that shelters her from the possibility of broken
standards.
Angela Accurso

22. Characterization: Robbie and Cecilia
● Robbie represents the lower class, while Cecelia represents the nobility
● Both are trying to break away from the social restraints put upon them by
others
○ Robbie aspires to go to medical school, although it is looked down
upon because he will have to borrow money from the Tallis family in
order to do so
○ Cecilia does follow social norms at university when she ignores
Robbie. But she later realizes her wrongdoings and stands by his side.
After Robbie is falsely accused, Cecilia enters into a lower social class
as a nurse in order to escape the corruption that she grew up in
○ Their relationship alone exemplifies their efforts to break away from
expectations, but it clearly has horrible consequences
● This poses the question: Are you ever truly able to escape the social class
you are born into? Even when the lovers try, their lives are forever ruined,
ultimately resulting in death. And, even when Cecilia rejects the upper
class, she still accuses Danny Hardman of the rape, rather than Paul
Marshall. Clearly, the superiority complex she was raised to believe is still
grounded in her subconscious thoughts.
Meg N

23. Characterization: Paul Marshall
● serves as Robbie's foil; while Robbie is dedicating his life to removing a false
crime from his name, Paul never has to pay for the rape
○ shows the power of the upper class, Paul was never even a suspect in the
case
● Makes a profit off of "Army Ammo" chocolate bars which is symbolic for his
character as a whole
○ He makes his money by taking advantage of the horrible situation of
World War II, thus, his power comes from something corrupt and
harmful.
● Extremely charming and deceitful, uses his wealth to appeal to Lola and
others
● The fact that Paul Marshall was never even accused is proof of the social
hierarchy of the time. Even when Briony realizes her fault, she never
confronts Paul about the crime when she sees him later at the wedding. It is
almost as if wealth has made Paul "untouchable" and he can get away with
anything.
Meg N

24. Characterization: Briony
● One of the main reasons why Briony accuses Robbie of the rape is the fear
that her sister will fall below her social class
○ This instinctual fear drives her actions, ultimately resulting in the ruin
of Robbie's life
○ Clearly the largest social injustice in the novel
○ As a child, Briony views her actions as protection for her sister; as an
adult, she begins to realize her mistake
■ Similar to Cecilia, Briony also wishes to escape the upper class by
becoming a nurse (which can be compared to a servant in many
ways, connecting to the fact that Robbie was a servant)
■ Briony is a product of her society, she believes in the
prince/princess concept, not the servant winning the princess
● Briony spends the rest of her life trying to correct the wrongs that occurred
because of the social values she held as a child
Meg N

25. Characterization: Emily Tallis
● Perfect example of the expectations of women and their role socially at the
time
○ believes in traditional female roles in the home
○ submissive to her husband; even though she suspects an affair, she
stays with him
○ extremely reliant on her household staff, lets them do the work while
she lays in bed with migraines
● Completely supportive of Briony's accusations, doesn't really second guess
them at all
● Never makes any effort to question social expectations and class roles,
appears to be completely content with the way society is arranged. But, is
she truly happy? It doesn't appear so. She simply goes through the motions
and molds herself into the role that is expected of her.
Meg N

26. Literary Allusion: "Twelfth
Night"
● Robbie Turner = Malvolio
● Robbie is concerned with the difference in class:
○ "She always seemed to find it awkward - That's our cleaning lady's son
... There goes my mother's employer's daughter, he once said to a
friend. He had ... his scientifically based theories of class, and his own
rather forced self-certainty." (74)
● Malvolio fantasizes about marrying Olivia -- reveals his ambition to rise
about his own social class
● Irony in the fact that Robbie played Malvolio in his college cast of "Twelfth
Night":
○ "...himself as Malvolio, cross-gartered. How apt." (77)
LAURAC

27. Literary Allusion:
"Northanger Abbey"
● In an interview, Ian McEwan:
○ "Catherine Morland, the heroine of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey,
was a girl so full of the delights of Gothic fiction that she causes havoc
around her when she imagines a perfectly innocent man to be capable
of the most terrible things. For many, many years I’ve been thinking
how I might devise a hero or heroine who could echo that process in
Catherine Morland, but then go a step further and look at, not the
crime, but the process of atonement, and do it in writing—do it
through storytelling, I should say." (Noakes and Reynolds 20)
■ Wells, Juliette. "Shades of Austen in Ian McEwan’s Atonement." Web. 22 Apr. 2012.
<http://www.jasna.org/persuasions/printed/number30/wells.pdf>.
● The fact that Robbie is of a different class fuels Briony's over-excited
imagination
LC

28. Literary Allusion: "Lady
Chatterley's Lover"
● A novel by D. H. Lawrence, 1928
● Tells the story of an aristocratic woman who engages in an affair with a
working-class man
● Extremely controversial in its time because of its explicit writing and
sexual obscenity
○ also for use of "f" and "c" word
● Despite class differences, Lady Chatterley revels in the fact that Mellors is a
real, living man (unlike the empty intellectuals with which her husband
surrounds himself)
○ In same way: Cecelia prefers Robbie over Paul Marshall
LC

29. Literary Allusion:
Jude the Obscure
● Robbie's situation slightly resembles Jude's
○ both are working class, and largely self-educated
○ both long for higher education
■ but thwarted by the situations around them
● Jude does not have the status/wealth to
attend university --> stuck, immobile,
helpless
● Robbie does not have the status/wealth to
protect himself against Briony's claims