Pages 234-246: Key Themes
English Lit: AQA A Level Atonement - Specification B, topic 3.5.2
Key Themes in Pages 234-246: To the Bridge over the Canal
The sensations of terror and panic during the attack are focalised through Robbie.
Robbie's survival instinct
- Throughout, we see Robbie's survival instinct (“His business was to survive…”) but afterwards we see him experience “the paralysis of shock”.
Everyday vs war images
- The narrative juxtaposes images from everyday life in the village of the civilians who “lived in parallel” with the war (e.g. the farmer, the woman knitting and the man teaching his son to kick a ball) with the scenes of carnage following the Stuka attack and the advance to the canal. The juxtaposition helps to make the almost instant destruction even more shocking.
Ruin at the canal
- When Robbie, Mace and Nettle reach the canal bridge there is ruin everywhere: “All the way in now, not a farmhouse or barn was left standing” (p242).
- Ominously, they are still seven miles from Dunkirk.
Test yourself on Pages 234-246: Key Themes
Complete the quotations showing Robbie's feelings during the Stuka attack.