Atonement Pt. 2

Why did the corporals call Robbie "guv'nor"?

• His education at  Cambridge placed him higher than the corporals because he could speak French and read a map.
• He had to take the position of commander when he got the corporals out of the scuffle in the French barn. 
• He is a general in charge of the troop and they are relying on him to make it to the beach. 
• The corporals are making fun of him and his social position. 

Why would McEwan have Robbie see the child's leg in the opening scene of Part 2?

• The leg represents his lost and innocence and inability to repair the past. 
• The leg symbolizes the fracture that exists between Robbie and Cecelia. 
• The leg symbolizes the fact that he is trapped in the war and cannot survive.
• The leg represents the anger he feels toward Briony. 

The corporals calling Robbie "guv'nor" illustrate

• Dramatic Irony
• Situational Irony
• Metaphor
• Antithesis

The epistolary aspect of the text best supports the theme 

• Lost Innocence 
• The Power of Art and Literature
• Memory
• The Trappings of Social Class

Cecelia's occupation is evidence of 

• The Power of Art and Literature
• Social Class: Trappings and Transience
• Guilt and Redemption
• Perspective

Briony's occupation is evidence of

• The Power of Art and Literature
• Social Class: Trappings and Transience
• Guilt and Redemption
• Perspective

Why do Robbie and Cecelia stick to mundane reports of their days in the letters they write back and forth?

• They don't. They plan to move to a sea cabin in Wiltshire once the war is over. 
• Since the war is raging, they use the events as symbols of their future together.
• They understand that they will probably not survive the war, and thus they chronicle their lives. 
• They don't. Cecelia writes love poems to Robbie as a way of connecting and uplifting him. 

Why did Cecelia stop talking to Leon?

• He supported Briony in her account of the rape. 
• She realizes that he is weak and spineless as he hides behind money.
• He testified that he too saw Robbie raping Lola. 
• He refused to join the army at the outset of the war. 

What does Cecelia repeat in her letters?

• I love only you. 
• Come back.
• I hate Briony.
• You are in my thoughts

Why would McEwan set Part 2 at Dunkirk ?

• It illustrates that we should all have hope in the face of turmoil.
• It shows how much Robbie has grown up since his time at Cambridge. 
• It shows that hope is a fallacy. 
• It shows that he and Cecelia will wait for each other no matter what.