Pages 234-246: Key Events
English Lit: AQA A Level Atonement - Specification B, topic 3.5.1
Key Events in Pages 234-246: To the Bridge over the Canal
The men walk by the last village on their route north. They come under attack from a Stuka plane. Robbie tries in vain to help a mother and child find safety.
Detail of the Stuka attack
- McEwan describes the Stuka attack in intense detail.
- McEwan uses a range of sensory detail to capture the terror of the attack with a particular emphasis on aural (sound) imagery.
Quotation: war as a crime
- “Nightmares had become a science. Someone, a mere human, had taken the time to dream up this satanic howling” (p235-6).
- Again, war is presented as a crime against humanity.
Diabolical imagery
- The use of diabolic imagery (“satanic”) helps to convey the human capacity for evil while the references to a “dream” and “nightmares” link to the terrors we experience in childhood.
Test yourself on Pages 234-246: Key Events
Who does Robbie try to help during the Stuka attack?