The play -- for which Briony had designed the posters, programmes and tickets, constructed the sales booth out of a folded screen tipped on its side, and lined the collection box in red crepe paper -- was written by her in a two-day tempest of composition, causing her to miss a breakfast and a lunch. When the preparations were complete, she had nothing to do but contemplate her finished draft and wait for the appearance of her cousins from the distant north. There would be time for only one day of rehearsal before her brother arrived.

At some moments chilling, at others desperately sad, the play told a tale of the heart whose message, conveyed in a rhyming prologue, was that love which did not build a foundation on good sense was doomed. The reckless passion of the heroine, Arabella, for a wicked foreign count is punished by ill fortune when she contracts cholera during an impetuous dash towards a seaside town with her intended. Deserted by him and nearly everybody else, bed-bound in a garret, she discovers in herself a sense of humour. Fortune presents her a second chance in the form of an impoverished doctor -- in fact, a prince in disguise who has elected to work among the needy. Healed by him, Arabella chooses judiciously this time, and is rewarded by reconciliation with her family and a wedding with the medical prince on “a windy sunlit day in Spring”.

Mrs Tallis read the seven pages of The Trials of Arabella in her bedroom, at her dressing table, with the author’s arm around her shoulder the whole while. Briony studied her face for every trace of shifting emotion, and Emily Tallis obliged with looks of alarm, snickers of glee and, at the end, grateful smiles and wise, affirming nods. She took her daughter into her arms, onto her lap -- ah, the hot smooth little body she remembered from its infancy, and still not gone from her, not quite yet -- and said that the play was “stupendous”, and agreed instantly, murmuring into the tight whorl of the girl’s ear, that this word could be quoted on the poster which was to be on an easel in the entrance hall by the ticket booth.

Briony was hardly to know it then, but this was the project’s highest point of fulfilment. Nothing came near it for satisfaction, all else was dreams and frustration. There were moments in the summer dusk after her light was out, burrowing in the delicious gloom of her canopy bed, when she made her heart thud with luminous, yearning fantasies, little playlets in themselves, every one of which featured Leon. In one, his big, good-natured face buckled in grief as Arabella sank in loneliness and despair. In another, there he was, cocktail in hand at some fashionable city watering hole, overheard boasting to a group of friends: “Yes, my younger sister, Briony Tallis the writer, you must surely have heard of her.”  []

Her play was not for her cousins, it was for her brother, to celebrate his return, provoke his admiration and guide him away from his careless succession of girlfriends, towards the right form of wife, the one who would persuade him to return to the countryside, the one who would sweetly request Briony’s services as a bridesmaid.

It is 1935. Briony Tallis is a 13-year-old girl with a talent for writing. Her cousins are coming to visit, so she has written a play for them all to perform for her brother, Leon, when he comes home to visit the family. She shows the play to her mother, Emily.

ATONEMENTby Ian McEwan

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SECTION A

01:    Read again the first part of the source, lines 1-6

List four things Briony has done in preparation for her cousins’ arrival. [4 marks]

02:     Look in detail at this extract, lines 16-23 of the source.

Mrs Tallis read the seven pages of The Trials of Arabella in her bedroom, at her dressing table, with the author’s arm around her shoulder the whole while. Briony studied her face for every trace of shifting emotion, and Emily Tallis obliged with looks of alarm, snickers of glee and, at the end, grateful smiles and wise, affirming nods. She took her daughter into her arms, onto her lap -- ah, the hot smooth little body she remembered from its infancy, and still not gone from her, not quite yet -- and said that the play was “stupendous”, and agreed instantly, murmuring into the tight whorl of the girl’s ear, that this word could be quoted on the poster which was to be on an easel in the entrance hall by the ticket booth.

How does McEwan use language here to describe the emotions of Briony and her mother? [8 marks]

You could include the writer’s use of:• words and phrases • language features and techniques • sentence forms.

03:    You now need to think about the whole of the source.

This text is from the opening of a novel. How has the writer structured the text to interest you as a reader? [8 marks]

You could write about: • what the writer focuses your attention on at the beginning • how and why the writer changes this focus as the source develops • any other structural features that interest you.

04:    In this question, focus on the whole source.

A student, having read this text, said: “This part of the novel introduces an important character, Briony Tallis. She seems to want to be in control of everything and always be the centre of attention.”

To what extent do you agree? [20 marks]

In your response you could: consider your own impression of Briony Tallis evaluate how the writer presents her character support your opinions with quotations from the text

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Section B

Either:

5) Write a description suggested by this picture:

   

OR

6) Describe a time when you had to prepare for something important.

[40 marks]

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Indicative Content

1) Briony has: Written a play / in two days Designed / made posters Designed / made programmes Designed / made tickets Made a sales booth / made a collection box / lined the box with paper Waited and thought about / contemplated their arrival

2) Language. Answers could include:

The pair read the play in the mother’s bedroom, emphasising their closeness

The description of Briony: “arm around her shoulder the whole while”; “studied her face”

The mother’s actions: the verb “obliged”; the nouns and adjectives used to describe her actions: “looks of alarm”; “snickers of glee”; “grateful smiles” “wise, affirming nods”

The mother’s thoughts about Briony:adjectives “hot”, “smooth”, “little”; “tight whorl”; “remembered from its infancy”; repetition of “not”; adverb “yet”

Verbs “took her”; “agreed instantly”; “murmuring” Sentence forms: the list of Emily’s actions shows her intent focus on

Briony and her desire to please her; the aside about Briony’s “hot smooth body” shows how Emily is suddenly taken back to her past

3) Structure:Answers could include:

The text has distinct sections: the introduction to Briony’s preparation, the content of the play, the mother’s reading of it, Briony’s fantasies about her brother, Briony’s hopes for his return

The structure introduces a different character or aspect of the family in each section

The summary of The Trials of Arabella contrasts with the rest and tells a story-within-a-story: it adds to our understanding of Briony’s character and maybe foreshadows later events

The viewpoint shifts to Emily’s to give a different side of their relationship

The structure alternates between things that actually happen and things that are unreal or imagined

The structure shows a changing focus: it starts off by focusing the reader on the play, then on the mother, but in the end we see the return of Leon is most important

4) Evaluation:Answers could include:

Briony’s “control” is evident in the list of preparations she has made for the play

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She closely monitors her mother’s reaction to see if her play is having the right effect, BUT possibly she is only thinking of her brother in doing so

Briony’s play and her fantasies about her brother are motivated by the same desire: instigate stable relationships that are built on “good sense” and curb other’s excesses or poor choices. This shows her trying to control the behaviour of others

Briony’s attitude towards her brother’s “girlfriends” is almost territorial Briony is a natural performer, comfortable with the idea of an audience

and of being talked about Every other character mentioned – the cousins, the mother, her brother

– is included into plans that have Briony at the centre

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