7.2.2
Structural Patterning & Ambiguity in Crime Texts
Structural Patterning in Crime Texts
Structural Patterning in Crime Texts
In your exam, you could discuss the structural placement of the crime(s) in Atonement and other set texts.
Pre-narrative crimes
Pre-narrative crimes
- In texts such as Hamlet, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and The Ballad of Reading Gaol, the crimes that propel the action have taken place before the narrative begins.
- This means the texts focus more on the consequences of these crimes and the process of detection than the actual crimes themselves.
Crimes during the narrative
Crimes during the narrative
- In texts such as Atonement and Porphyria’s Lover, we see the events which lead up to these crimes.
- How does this affect our response to them, and to the characters involved?
- Do we ‘understand’ the crimes or criminals better, having witnessed the motivations which led to these acts?
Ambiguity/Doubt in Crime Texts
Ambiguity/Doubt in Crime Texts
In your exam, you could discuss the ambiguity audiences feel about the nature of the crimes in Atonement and other set texts.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
- In The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Agatha Christie intentionally withholds the identity of the murderer to create suspense and place the reader in the role of detective until the shocking revelation in the final chapter.
Hamlet
Hamlet
- In Hamlet, the audience (and Hamlet himself) are initially unsure about whether they should trust the Ghost – is it telling the truth or is it an evil spirit which seeks to lure Hamlet to his destruction? Also, to what extent is Gertrude complicit in her husband’s murder?
Peter Grimes
Peter Grimes
- In Peter Grimes, Crabbe also creates ambiguity around the precise details of the boys’ deaths with the full extent of his guilt only revealed by the torment he endures before his death.
1Introduction to Atonement
1.1Introduction & Background to Atonement
1.2Focus of Your Exam: Crime Texts
2Chapter Summaries & Analysis: Part One
2.6Chapter 6
2.10Chapter 10
2.11Chapter 11
2.12Chapter 12
2.13Chapter 13
2.14Chapter 14
3Chapter Summaries & Analysis: Part Two
3.1Pages 191-201: To the Farmhouse
3.2Pages 202-213: The Night in the Barn
3.3Pages 214-226: The Attack
3.4Pages 226-234: Robbie's Reflections
3.5Pages 234-246: To the Bridge over the Canal
3.6Pages 246-254: Arrival at Dunkirk
3.7Pages 254-265: To the Cellar
4Chapter Summaries & Analysis: Part Three
4.1Pages 269-277: London, 1940
4.2Pages 277-286: Briony as Writer
4.3Pages 287-315: Victims of War
4.4Pages 315-327: Lola & Paul Marshall’s Wedding
4.5Pages 328-349: The Visit
5Chapter Summaries & Analysis: Part Four
5.1Epilogue: London, 1999 - Pages 353-371
6Key Character Profiles
6.1Briony Tallis
6.2Robbie Turner
6.3Cecilia Tallis
6.5Paul Marshall
6.6Emily Tallis
7Key Themes
7.1Introduction to Crime Texts
7.2Crimes in Atonement
7.3Criminals in Atonement
7.4Victims in Atonement
7.5Detection in Atonement
7.6Settings in Atonement
7.7Guilt & Punishment in Atonement
8Writing Techniques
9Context
9.1Historical Context
9.2Social Context
9.3Literary Context
10Critical Debates
10.1Marxist Literary Criticism
Jump to other topics
1Introduction to Atonement
1.1Introduction & Background to Atonement
1.2Focus of Your Exam: Crime Texts
2Chapter Summaries & Analysis: Part One
2.6Chapter 6
2.10Chapter 10
2.11Chapter 11
2.12Chapter 12
2.13Chapter 13
2.14Chapter 14
3Chapter Summaries & Analysis: Part Two
3.1Pages 191-201: To the Farmhouse
3.2Pages 202-213: The Night in the Barn
3.3Pages 214-226: The Attack
3.4Pages 226-234: Robbie's Reflections
3.5Pages 234-246: To the Bridge over the Canal
3.6Pages 246-254: Arrival at Dunkirk
3.7Pages 254-265: To the Cellar
4Chapter Summaries & Analysis: Part Three
4.1Pages 269-277: London, 1940
4.2Pages 277-286: Briony as Writer
4.3Pages 287-315: Victims of War
4.4Pages 315-327: Lola & Paul Marshall’s Wedding
4.5Pages 328-349: The Visit
5Chapter Summaries & Analysis: Part Four
5.1Epilogue: London, 1999 - Pages 353-371
6Key Character Profiles
6.1Briony Tallis
6.2Robbie Turner
6.3Cecilia Tallis
6.5Paul Marshall
6.6Emily Tallis
7Key Themes
7.1Introduction to Crime Texts
7.2Crimes in Atonement
7.3Criminals in Atonement
7.4Victims in Atonement
7.5Detection in Atonement
7.6Settings in Atonement
7.7Guilt & Punishment in Atonement
8Writing Techniques
9Context
9.1Historical Context
9.2Social Context
9.3Literary Context
10Critical Debates
10.1Marxist Literary Criticism
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