To what extent are the protagonists of ‘Atonement’ and ‘The Girl Who Would Speak for The Dead’ similar and different?
Often, in times of struggle, people can be put in different situations and come to similar conclusions. Authors, Ian McEwan and Paul Elwork, push their protagonists to extremes within their stories and come to the same conclusion, that to move on in their lives they need to find reparation. Briony Tallis from Ian McEwan’s novel ‘Atonement’ leads her family through a long period of denial due to a life ruining lie she created. Years after the event Briony is still trying to fix her mistakes as she finds she cannot live in a world without reparation. Similarly, Emily Stewart, From Paul Elwork’s novel ‘The Girl Who Would Speak …show more content…
McEwan’s protagonist Briony Tallis is only 13 years old at the start of her stories, coincidently, so is Elwork’s protagonist Emily Stewart. At the young and tender age of 13 both protagonists are finding their identity and coming out of their innocence. It is their breaking away from innocence that leads both Briony and Emily into their complications. Briony’s discovery of her sister, Cecilia’s, breach of innocence and her cousin’s sexual assault push Briony to a place where she lies to the police and sends her sister’s boyfriend, Robbie, to jail for a crime he didn’t commit. During the moments of Briony’s initial loss of innocence the book reads “the very complexity of her feelings confirmed Briony in her view that she was entering an arena of adult emotion” (Atonement, page 113). Similarly, Elwork’s Emily Stewart faces the end of her innocence after the First World War and the death of her father. Months after the war, Emily is surrounded by grief and mourning. Unconsciously, she makes the decision, sparked by her twin brother Michael, to pretend that she can speak to dead people. However, what started off as an innocent and childish prank turns to a serious problem. It is the loss of innocence that leads McEwan’s and Elwork’s protagonists through similar …show more content…
McEwan and Elwork both use their protagonist to explore themes of forgiveness and reparation. Protagonists Briony and Emily, both share experiences that lead them to a similar conclusion, that they need to find forgiveness. Both protagonist’s lies and deceitfulness lead them to believe that the only way to make things right is to reveal the truth and find some sort of closer from themselves and those who they have hurt. In Briony’s search for redemption, she reaches out to her sister, the one she hurt the most. She attempts to come to a resolution with her and promises to ‘come clean’ about her lies in order to redeem herself and let go of her guilt. Similarly, Emily must also be honest with herself and those who she lied to. Although neither protagonist finds exactly what they were searching for there is a sense of clarity and closure with the knowledge that “From this new and intimate perspective, she learned a simple, obvious thing that she had always known, and everyone knew: that a person is, among all else, a material thing, easily torn, not easily mended." (Atonement, page 287). Both protagonists are searching for redemption in a similar
Often, in times of struggle, people can be put in different situations and come to similar conclusions. Authors, Ian McEwan and Paul Elwork, push their protagonists to extremes within their stories and come to the same conclusion, that to move on in their lives they need to find reparation. Briony Tallis from Ian McEwan’s novel ‘Atonement’ leads her family through a long period of denial due to a life ruining lie she created. Years after the event Briony is still trying to fix her mistakes as she finds she cannot live in a world without reparation. Similarly, Emily Stewart, From Paul Elwork’s novel ‘The Girl Who Would Speak …show more content…
McEwan’s protagonist Briony Tallis is only 13 years old at the start of her stories, coincidently, so is Elwork’s protagonist Emily Stewart. At the young and tender age of 13 both protagonists are finding their identity and coming out of their innocence. It is their breaking away from innocence that leads both Briony and Emily into their complications. Briony’s discovery of her sister, Cecilia’s, breach of innocence and her cousin’s sexual assault push Briony to a place where she lies to the police and sends her sister’s boyfriend, Robbie, to jail for a crime he didn’t commit. During the moments of Briony’s initial loss of innocence the book reads “the very complexity of her feelings confirmed Briony in her view that she was entering an arena of adult emotion” (Atonement, page 113). Similarly, Elwork’s Emily Stewart faces the end of her innocence after the First World War and the death of her father. Months after the war, Emily is surrounded by grief and mourning. Unconsciously, she makes the decision, sparked by her twin brother Michael, to pretend that she can speak to dead people. However, what started off as an innocent and childish prank turns to a serious problem. It is the loss of innocence that leads McEwan’s and Elwork’s protagonists through similar …show more content…
McEwan and Elwork both use their protagonist to explore themes of forgiveness and reparation. Protagonists Briony and Emily, both share experiences that lead them to a similar conclusion, that they need to find forgiveness. Both protagonist’s lies and deceitfulness lead them to believe that the only way to make things right is to reveal the truth and find some sort of closer from themselves and those who they have hurt. In Briony’s search for redemption, she reaches out to her sister, the one she hurt the most. She attempts to come to a resolution with her and promises to ‘come clean’ about her lies in order to redeem herself and let go of her guilt. Similarly, Emily must also be honest with herself and those who she lied to. Although neither protagonist finds exactly what they were searching for there is a sense of clarity and closure with the knowledge that “From this new and intimate perspective, she learned a simple, obvious thing that she had always known, and everyone knew: that a person is, among all else, a material thing, easily torn, not easily mended." (Atonement, page 287). Both protagonists are searching for redemption in a similar