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Robbie:

Traumatised by war and his prison experience, has become very cold with internalised rage, he is closed off from the other soldiers which contradicts his friendly personality, as a coping mechanism for war he has shut himself off from all thoughts except Cecilia, the only hope he has is the thought of reuniting with Cecilia.

Cecilia:

She feels betrayed by her family and as a result her character has become self- isolated from her family, her loyalty to Robbie is shown in her character showing the extent to how much she is in love with him. The fact that she would rather be lonely than unloyal to him shows her stubbornness.

Briony:

Although her perspective is not explicitly shown in this chapter, through her narrative perspective we see how her character feels guilt about the situation and can recognise her mistake but isn’t mature enough to confront her mistake, instead just change the narrative to protect her image.

Katie, Amelia, Jess

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McEwan clearly shows how war has destroyed everything — there are burned villages, empty houses, and dead people and animals everywhere. The countryside, which used to be peaceful and beautiful, is now ruined and scary. This is very different from the calm and tidy world of the Tallis home. The setting also reflects how Robbie feels inside — his life has been ruined and unfairly taken from him, just like the world around him.

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War and its impact

Physical and emotional toll on soldiers.

Quote: “There is no one, not one here”

Shows Robbie’s isolation + trauma of war.

Love and separation

Robbie and Cecilia’s relationship.

Quote: “i’ll wait for you. Come back.”

Shows their love + pain of separation, but hope for the future.

Guilt and redemption

Robbie struggles with his past.

Quote: “Only God now, and useless.”

Shows his desire for redemption andd pressure from society to find forgiveness.

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The transformation in setting from Part 1 to Part 2 of the novel is used represent the chaos and destruction that is reflected in Robbie and Cecelias lives (and the lives of other people during war) and mirrors Robbies transformation from sweet to cold as a result of Briony's false accusation. The description of the bombed villages, destroyed countryside and the bodies he sees scattered everywhere, creates a brutal and gruesome atmosphere. The death that surrounds Robbie and his companions could represent the death of Robbies (and Cecelia's) youth and their hopes and dreams to see Cecelia again after the war, which is the only thing keeping him going, which considering the ending of the book we already know is inevitable.

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briony recalls an event when she was 10- her and robbie are wandering near a river and she throws herself in, trusting him to save her. She then confesses she is ‘in love’ with him. This is a key example of her delusion, risking her and his life to prove a silly idea in her head.

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war torn country, reflecting the devastation of war and the consequences of Briony’s actions

Symbolic of Robbie’s mental state, desensitised to the horrors of war

In contrast to the comfort and wealth of the Tallis house as he now barely has access to basic needs

The physical space between Robbie and Cecilia mirrors the mental distance between the two as Robbie’s lying about his mental state to Cecilia

The leg in the tree- innocent little boy sleeping- is a symbol of how Robbie’s own innocence and life got thrown upside down also through no fault of his own

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Robbie clings to his memories of cecila while going through world war 2. Briony describes an interaction in which they meet up and reconcile after 3 years, which is an example of fantasy vs reality.

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half dream sequence where Robbie is delirious from sepsis

Cecilia and Robbie’s imagined remedying

Robbie witnessing the horrors of World War II

THE BARN

Enigma code at end his final words and recall of the cees last motivational words

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Robbie and ceiling represents their ever lasting love and how it is flourishing.

The repetition of 'come back' has some type of irony in it as Robbie doesn't come back as he dies and even if he did come back , he won't be the same person due to his experiences with the war and prison.

There devotion to each other her is admirable and saddening to see with hindsight.

The reflection of environment is a reflecting of how their relationship is going to end. With nothing hut death and decaying surround them which means their relationship cannot blossom due to being surrounded by such stigmatised barriers ( for example briony accusation)

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Briony mentioning of drowning scene may be underlying reason for her hate to Robbie, his public condemning of her actions had shocked. As she is not used to such treatment. As well as the crush she had on him, he shouting at her shut her down. And could be the reason why continued developing this criminal and minac nature of robbie turner in the novel.

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robbie is enrolled in WWII after spending time in prison.

He is relied on heavily by his comrades due to his education and higher class

He is in the midst of dunkirk and dies shortly after due to sepsis.

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Themes-

Guilt:

- Brionys underlying sense of guilt throughout the narrative

- This is evident through her continuous attempts to excuse her behaviour and blame it on those around her- for example- “ they encouraged her by giving her no room to turn back. She was a young thirteen”

- Apparent that Briony is the one writing and conducting the narrative

Love and fantasy:

The portrayal of Robbie and Cecilia’s tragic love is interlinked with Briony’s fantasy- Briony fantasises their relations partially due to her tendency to romantasise all elements of life, as seen throughout the novel, yet she also embeds herself within the narrative of Robbie and Cecilia- revealing that she is jealous of Cecilia and fantastises about Robbie- Evident on page 131 where Robbie ‘saves her’ - Brionys narsasistic nature leads her to believe that his makes her special, yet robbie would have saved anyone from drowning, not just Briony.

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-He has now been released from prison and now has joined the army.

-Robbie Turner making his way to Dunkirk during the second world war.

-He is with two other British soldiers, Corporal Mace and Corporal Nettle as they walk through the devastated French countryside

-Robbie is determined to reach Dunkirk to be evacuated, his letters from Cecilia are his motivation to make it out alive and reach her.

-The letters between Cecilia and Robbie sustain them both through their hardships of separation, they express their loyalty,love and reflectiveness.

-Cecilia have cut off her family, and now works as a nurse in London, she refuses to forgive her family’s role in Robbie’s imprisonment.