Curated set · answers marked
What crucial error does thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis make that triggers the novel's tragic events?
AShe accidentally burns Cecilia's letter to Robbie.
BShe falsely accuses Robbie Turner of attacking her cousin Lola, which results in his arrest and imprisonment.✓
CShe informs her parents that Cecilia and Robbie are secretly engaged.
DShe destroys the inappropriate letter Robbie wanted to keep private before anyone else could see it.
Rationale
Briony wrongly identifies Robbie as the one who attacked Lola (the real culprit is Paul Marshall) and gives a false statement to the police. This misidentification — stemming from her youthful misunderstanding of adult relationships and her vivid imagination — serves as the novel's central sin and the basis for the "atonement" Briony seeks throughout her life.
In Ian McEwan's Atonement, which false accusation made by thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis has a lasting impact on the lives of her sister Cecilia and Robbie Turner?
AShe says Robbie stole money from the Tallis household.
BShe accuses Robbie of assaulting and raping her cousin Lola Quincey.✓
CShe informs her parents that Robbie and Cecilia plan to elope secretly.
DShe claims that Robbie threatened her with violence in the library.
Rationale
In the darkness, Briony mistakenly identifies Robbie as the one who attacked her cousin Lola, and her testimony results in Robbie’s arrest and imprisonment, leading to his conscription. This act leaves Briony grappling with the consequences for the rest of her life, as she struggles to atone for her actions.