Briony Tallis In Ian Mcewan's Atonement

637 Words3 Pages
As the main character of this novel, Briony Tallis is the main element in making sure the plot carries through. If thirteen year old Briony never made the accusation of rape on Robbie, then the reader would have learned after her mistake and consequences. Briony is a representation of adolescence and irresponsibility at such a young age, while teaching the importance of not meddling in other’s lives. In addition, Briony has a vivid imagination and does not yet understand adult relationships causing much confusion and misinterpretation. The guilt Briony feels after realizing the truth behind who raped Lola causes her to feel both remorseful and regretful. In Ian McEwan’s novel, Atonement, Briony’s attempt to recapture and fix the past allows her to realize her damaged relationships, face the consequences after making a false…show more content…
Facing consequences, she is able to understand her mistakes but realizes that she must apologize and ultimately tell the court that Robbie in fact did not rape Lola. Even Robbie was asking Briony to “tell them everything they [needed] to know to be convinced that [her] accusation was false” (326). Robbie is very much demanding in how he wants everything told to the police. He wants Briony to inform him of any “pressures on [her] from the police or [her] parents and he wants the letter to be long and descriptive of everything that “led up to [Briony] [seeing] [him] by the lake” (326). Adding to her consequences, Briony does not have much of a choice in how to go about to fix the matter. She actually has others telling her how to explain to the police and this adds to the fact of her immaturity and adolescence. She is yet to understand how to react to serious situations at such a young age. Guilt predominantly causes Briony to realize how badly the accusation affected both Robbie and Cecilia by their demanding demeanors towards
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