How Are Cecelia and Robbie's Lives Presented in Atonement

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Close analysis – In this section, how are Robbie and Cecilia’s lives presented? In this section Robbie and Cecilia’s lives are presented through the theme of loneliness and the idea of tension between them as their love is moving forward through their letters, however in person they face reality of Briony’s crime and how it has affected their lives. The narrative in this section is omniscient which helps us to understand both the views and feelings of Robbie and Cecilia. To begin with, we can see through the language and structure of this section how Robbie and Cecilia’s lives have changed since section 1 and how they are now presented. The short sentences allow us to apprehend how fast paced their lives have become and how anxious Robbie is of what Cecilia thinks of him. ‘He was conscious of the oversized suit his mother had saved for.’ This shows us how insecure he has become in comparison to when in section 1 Robbie walked along the Tallis’ lawn, ‘in his best suit, swaggering on the promise of life.’ We can also see in this section how McEwan uses little dialogue. This could be portraying how tense and awkward their lives are when their together. This could be because they have been living their lives with each other through their letters and it shows us how far from reality their now becoming, ‘As the distance opened up between them, they understood how far they had run ahead of themselves in their letters.’ This may be hinting at Briony’s 13 year old self and the mistake she made of how ahead of herself she would get in her writing, and it would therefore lead her into trouble which is what McEwan may be hinting towards. Furthermore, in this section we have a glance between past and present and how McEwan incorporates the present into the narrative. ‘He was drawing on it now, in a French barn, in the small hours.’ This tells us how fresh the memory still is

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