Deception in Atonement PDF

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To what extent is Atonement a novel about deceiving oneself? ...

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“The best way to deceive someone is first to deceive yourself” – McKewan How far is atonement a novel about deceiving oneself? Deception is a prevalent issue throughout the novel, and some would argue that deception forms for the basis of the novel itself. Briony, the narrator, creates this work of fiction in order to atone her lie, which of course deceives every character in the novel apart from Cecilia and Robbie. It could also be said that by doing this and developing this web of lies that Briony finds herself enraptured in, she in fact winds up deceiving herself. At the age of 13 she has already dedicated herself to a life of a writer, and she ruthlessly subordinates everything the world throws at her, to her need to make it subserve the demands of her own world of fiction. She places such a pressure upon herself to write, she loses sight of reality in the process of persistently creating ‘worthy’ fiction to suffice her needs for secrets and prestige. She can be likened to that of James Gatz in this sense, as he also struggles to differentiate between his own fantasies of which he longs for so desperately and the harsh unfair reality of real life, predetermined by his looked down upon reputation in new money. Although Gatsby does not write his fantasies down in order for them to feel real, he gets lost within his own imagination, this is something which he shares with Briony. It can be argued that because Briony does indeed know of her lie, but simply does what she feels will enrich her story, she is extremely self-deceptive. She tells us of her ‘waiting for real events, not her own fantasies to dispel her insignificance’, perhaps she was pining for this so desperately that she allowed herself to believe in her own lie, finding solace in her belief which temporarily lessens the guilt with which she has to live with until she finds atonement. In her upper class family, Briony may feel as though the only way in which she can ensure her family’s attention and affection is through deception, as her mother would be far too concerned with the importance of pleasing those of a high status. This can only be seen as a pitiful excuse of her lack of morality and honesty when it comes to Robbie Turner and the life to which she condemns him to. We know that as readers because Briony has deceived us, we cannot trust anything she says, however, she does state that ‘mayhem and destruction were too chaotic for her tastes, she did not have it in her to be cruel’. This being said, Briony may have only possessed the capability to condone her lie if she did in fact deceive herself, as she may have thought that by doing this it would be possible to convince herself that she is innocent (another element of self - deception as the novel itself proves that she knows this is not the case). Without Briony’s self-deception the novel would never have been written, thus making Atonement a novel which is entirely centred around this. Another character in the novel who shows a high level of self-deception is Lola, the victim of Paul Marshalls sexual assault. Lola is presented by both McKewan and Briony as though she craves maturity and a level of respect that she is not quite old enough to attain, leading her to present herself in a provocative and ‘leading’ manner. She is said to be wearing a ‘dress that made it difficult to walk’, and dismisses her little brothers as ‘children’ when talking to Paul Marshall, intending to create an older image for herself in the eyes of both Paul, and the rest of the household. Her levels of self-deception vary from convincing herself she is old enough to be perceived in a certain light, to marrying her own rapist. When the novel is set, divorce is thought extremely low of, and because of this, Lola rebels herself, taking on a persona that is far beyond her years, deceiving herself into happiness, which is not possible at this difficult time for the family. It is argued that due to McKean’s provocative authorial decisions surrounding Lola, that she partakes in the action with Paul Marshall willingly. From this point, we can say that Lola deceives herself into thinking she is the ultimate victim in this situation. Even though Lola’s consent to this does not make it right on Paul Marshall’s behalf, the fact that her consent was granted changes thing greatly, and Robbie, in a sense was sentenced for no good reason. However, Lola is described in a sarcastic manner by Briony as ‘poor and vulnerable Lola’, so any description surrounding her has to be taken lightly, and we must as readers consider the strong possibility of Briony’s jealousy towards her cousin. Upon the marriage between Lola and her rapist, it is safe to say that if Lola is in fact the hard done by victim in which she claims to be, then the self-deception she must partake in to live with this decision is pitiful. Another comparison from the Fitzgerald novel could be the character of Daisy, and how she is likened to Lola in the sense that she also willingly proceeds in a marriage in which she is emotionally abused. Both types of abuse can be considered as just as taunting as each other and shows that both Daisy and Lola are weak characters, despite what they like to believe of themselves. Lola’s ultimate self-deception is

confirmed by Briony when she states that Lola simply married Paul to ‘save herself from humiliation by falling in love…or persuading herself that she had…and what luck that was…to marry her rapist’. Even the two true protagonists of the novel Cecelia and Robbie show an element of self-deception; even though it has a strong difference from that of Briony of Lola, it is still present. Cecelia deceives herself at the beginning of the novel into believing she is in fact longed for and needed in the Tallis household. She ‘persuaded herself she remained for Briony’s sake or to help her mother’ but ‘no one would care particularly if she left. Unlike Briony, Cecelia possesses the capability to know where her limits are, when it comes to Robbie being falsely accused she leaves her house willingly, understanding that no body actually needs or longs for her to stay. Her self-deception in no way harms others around her, in fact it only ever benefits Briony; she has her older sister of whom she admires so greatly living under the same roof as her. Robbie’s self-deception is only minimal and is respectable in the eyes of readers. He allows himself to believe that he will one day find himself back with Cecelia, and he will be served with the justice, respect and acknowledgement he has been worthy of his whole life. Also, in the fictional heated scene between Cecelia, Robbie and Briony, he demands that Briony ‘retracts her evidence’, despite having said whilst in Dunkirk that ‘there weren’t enough people to take the statements of all the witnesses and gather in the facts.’ This subtle contrast is used by McKewan to reinforce the underlying element of selfdeception that even the protagonists of the novel feel as though they have to cling onto to maintain a strand of hope in the midst of WW1. Of course, Atonement as a novel could be ‘about’ a number of things. One in particular aside from selfdeception would be the persistent judicial criticisms that McKewan amplifies through the eyes of Briony Tallis. Criticisms such as class division, something that we can focalise on. In a country manor in 1935, social class was seen as the priority; Emily Tallis in particular treats Paul Marshall as though he is royalty due to his position in the class system and the wealth in which he possesses. Due to this detrimental division between Paul and the Tallis’, Emily is blind to the true character of whom she is allowing to roam freely as though he is in his own home, projecting arrogance into every corner of the place. Emily is not the only one, however, who has such blindness. Briony, Leon and even Lola herself recognise Paul as a very respectable man. It is only Cecelia who recognises his true nature from the start describing his as ‘unfathomably stupid’ when remarking on his ignorance at the dinner table. Class division is also presented as an issue in Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, the house butler Parker is almost instantaneously Despite being the only character not to be blinded by class, this does not stop her from using it against Robbie, stating ‘you think he can’t hold a knife and fork’. It could be said that the blindness that class division caused allows for Paul Marshall to go free of the crime he commits, as all it takes is one word pointing towards the young cleaner’s son for a life sentence to be branded to him, and never questioned by anybody other than his lover; somebody who holds the ability to see beyond class in a time of which class was the only importance. The novel could also be about the tragic love story that Robbie and Cecelia lead. McKewan has said himself that in writing Atonement, he wanted to see if it was still possible, in the ate twentieth century to write a novel about love. In the time in which atonement was set, the possibility of love between those of two entirely different social classes was virtually unheard of, and would have been certainly disapproved within the family of the upper class. The almost forbidden nature of their love in the country manor of the 1930’s adds a whole new feeling to the relationship between the lovers. We, as readers, attain a lot of respect for Cecelia as the divide between her and Robbie in terms of their wealth and class does not for one moment dim her feelings for him, or her willingness to act upon them. Her abandonment of her family, even her beloved older brother whom she now believes to be a ‘grinning spineless idiot’ completely intensify the love between the two young adults, as for Cecelia to leave a life in which everything is handed to her on a silver plate, for the love of her life; a boy who simply worked for her mother and father would come as such a shock to the people of the 1930’s, they would not be familiar with such loyalty and such boldness and willingness to sacrifice. Love such as this is present in the Shakespeare classic ‘Romeo and Juliet’ which of course is considered to be one of the greatest love story

to exist. The disapproval of both the lovers’ families tries so desperately to tame the love between the two teenagers, but instead it ends up driving them to their death, which is of course the real ending of their love. The love between Robbie and Cecelia is the only thing that remains unchanged through the entirety of the novel, nothing that happens could possibly tarnish it, right up until the closing words. Robbie’s adoration for Cecelia keeps him alive until his dying breath, he lost control of his body and mind long before his heart stopped beating; even from when he was imprisoned he was ‘in love with her, willing himself to stay sane for her’. This is tragic as Robbie fights and fights to stay in control of his thoughts just for that extra day, which would allow him to find himself back with Cecelia, but it in fact Cecelia which allows him to die peacefully, still just as mesmerised by her as he was in their adolescence, his dreams of her allow him to float away in his sleep, with only her on his mind. Of course, the scenes in Dunkirk are entirely fictionalised by Briony, but this could be used to back up the point that Atonement is in fact a novel about tragic love, as she focuses the whole of part 2 on the relationship between Robbie and her sister. As well as this, at the end of the novel, Briony reveals that she sought out Atonement in the form of fiction in order to give Robbie and Cecelia the happy ever after they deserved and to unite them once again, healthy and happy, together. Her ‘fifty-nine-year assignment is over’ and the whole purpose of her writing the novel she declares her ‘assignment’ is to ensure that ‘the lovers survive and flourish. As long as there is a single copy, then my spontaneous, fortuitous sister and her medical prince survive to love’. If the novel was about self-deception, then why would the whole purpose behind Briony’s writing be to create a world in which this love can never die? I believe that when writing ‘Atonement’, McKewan had no singular theme or purpose of the novel as a whole, and I feel that this is reflected in his choice of narrator. Briony projects importance onto everything mentioned in this essay, she may not realise she is doing so, but her writing allows for the voice of McKewan to leak through both in the dialogue in which she gives characters, and her untamed imagination. Each different reader has a different interpretation of the novel, and different opinions when concerning the importance of each theme, and this depends on the feelings that they conjure for these characters as you find yourself falling deeper into Briony’s narration. This was almost certain to be purposeful, as McKewan simply wanted to bring certain issues to light, and not entirely focus on one, he was happy to let the readers of the novel decide for themselves how they wanted to feel and ultimately, to decide whether or not Briony is ever worthy of atonement, and to decide whether they trust Briony’s narration or they feel as though they have been deceived through the manipulation of her language and structure....