Week 4 - Coming of Age as a Writer

It's now the ending of our fourth here in London, and this week we analyzed the novel Atonement, by author Ian McEwan. This week, we related our site visits to the story of our narrator Briony Tallis, as these places helped us develop a better understanding of the circumstances that take place throughout Briony's life.

The first location we traveled to this week was the British Library, which is the host of one of the most highly recognized documents in the world - the Magna Carta.

 Here is the Lincoln Magna Carta, on display inside of the British Library. The Magna Carta was a document, created to establish justice in society during the reign of King John of England, passed in 1215. King John was a tyrant, who was dependent on his Barons to provide him with money. The only way that I was able to relate this document to our novel Atonement, is that the protagonist - Briony Tallis - desires a world that is "just so" and is only able to create this through her writing. Her writing aims to establish justice, similar to the Magna Carta, as she tries to feel redemption for the crime she committed when she was a young girl.

The second location we visited was the Imperial War Museum. This location corresponds best with the second portion of the novel, where Briony is a nurse during World War II, and Robbie overseas, as a member of the British army present in France. At the museum, it was demonstrated that Britain had to grow up quite a bit during the war, both technologically and mentally, and it affected the lives of all of the citizens of England.

The last location we visited was the Florence Nightingale Museum, and this museum introduces us to Florence Nightingale, who has many similar character to traits to Briony.


Like Briony, Florence was brought up as a privileged child. As a child, she was quiet, observant, and extremely organized. All of these traits are shared by Briony. Additionally, similar to Briony, despite Florence's parents approval, Nightingale opted to become a nurse. During the war, Florence was extremely dedicated to her work, but she also continued to write. This is similar to Briony, because Briony continued to write while she was a nurse.