Saturday, November 8, 2008

Atonement Achievement

The literal definiton for atonement is a compensation for a wrong. Throughout the novel many people try to achieve atonement. I feel that Brioney in a sense achieves atonement. I feel this way because not only did she spend her entire adult life trying to achieve it but she did everything she knew possible to do that. She in the end published the book to let the whole world know what truly happened. She did this because I feel that she believed she had achieved atonement which is why she finally published the book. I do not feel that the young girl or the male cousin that raped her achieved atonement. Both did not try to compensate for their wrongs. The girl had occasions to tell the truth and she never did. I think that Brioney was the most developed character in the sense of reaching atonement but I think that an underlying theme in the book is the yearn to feel a sense of atonement and what each character will do or not do to satisfy that. 

No comments: