3.6.1

Pages 246-254: Key Events

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Key Events in Pages 246-254: Arrival at Dunkirk

The men arrive at Dunkirk in a state of exhaustion. There are chaotic scenes on the beach as troops wait for rescue.

Illustrative background for Fight in the barIllustrative background for Fight in the bar ?? "content

Fight in the bar

  • Robbie and the two corporals go to a bar where they rescue an RAF man from a violent confrontation.
  • The soldiers take out their frustrations with the RAF for a lack of air cover on the man in the bar. As animosity grows, all their other frustrations boil to the surface.
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Quotation: mob mentality in bar

  • “They laughed at his comic yelp. They hated him and he deserved everything that was coming his way. He was answerable for the Luftwaffe’s freedom of the skies, for every Stuka attack, every dead friend” (p251).
Illustrative background for Danger of a **"lynching"**Illustrative background for Danger of a **"lynching"** ?? "content

Danger of a "lynching"

  • McEwan provides us with an insight into the mentality of a mob with its growing list of grievances which become ever more personal.
  • There is a genuine danger of a “lynching” with even Robbie feeling the temptation to get involved: “Turner understood the exhilaration among the tormentors and the insidious way it could claim him” (p251).
  • Grief, trauma, anger and frustration are all ready to erupt in an act of violence.

Jump to other topics

1Introduction to Atonement

2Chapter Summaries & Analysis: Part One

3Chapter Summaries & Analysis: Part Two

4Chapter Summaries & Analysis: Part Three

5Chapter Summaries & Analysis: Part Four

5.1Epilogue: London, 1999 - Pages 353-371

6Key Character Profiles

7Key Themes

8Writing Techniques

9Context

10Critical Debates

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