CHAPTER 1
DETAILED AND VIVID DESCRIPTIONS CREATE AN IDYLLIC ATMOSPHERE
BRIONY'S PERSONALITY
BRIONY'S PASSION FOR STORYTELLING
"this was the project's highest point of fullfillment"
"nothing came near it for the satisfaction, all else was dreams and frustration"
"She was one of those children possessed by a desire to have the world just so"
Brattish/innocent reaction
Her family saw her more on the shy side but when she read her stories aloud, her family was astonished at her bold and big-gesture-making plays
Another was a passion for secrets (...) she had no secrets
nothing in her life was sufficiently interesting or shameful to merit hiding
Bossy
The descriptions usually include her feelings in certain places which create a greater sense of idyllicy
"There were moments in the summer dusk after her light was out, burroweing in the delicious gloom of her canopy bed, when she made her heart thud with luminous, yearning fantasies, little playlets in themselves, every one of which featured Leon
"Her wish for a harmonious, organised world denied her the reckless possibilities of wrongdoing (...) she did not have it in her to be cruel"
"At the age of eleven she wrote her first story"
The innocent intensity with which Briony set about the project—the posters,tickets, sales booth—made her particularly vulnerable to failure.
This was precisely why she loved plays,or hers at least; everyone would adore her.
"Imagination itself was a source of secrets"
"When preparations were complete, she had nothing to do but contemplate her finished draft"
"Briony was encouraged to read her stories aloud in the library and it surprised her parents and older sister to hear their quiet girl perform so boldly, making big gestures with her free arm, arching her eyebrows as she did the voices, and looking up from the page for seconds at a time as she read in order to gaze into one face after the other, unapologetically demanding her family’s total attention as she cast her narrative spell."
"She spent long afternoons browsing through dictionary and thesaurus"
"Her efforts received encouragement. (...) Tallises began to understand that the baby of the family possessed a strange mind and a facility with words"
Passion for tidiness
"they could never understand her ambition"
"In a generally pleasant and well-protected life, she had never really confronted anyone before"
"Her straight- backed dolls in their many-roomed mansion appeared to be under strict instructions no to touch the walls"
"At some moments chilling, at others desperately sad, the play told a tale of the heart whose message, conveyed in a rhyming prologue, was that love which did not build a foundation on good sense was doomed"
description of Trials of Arabella
Writing her stories brought her a sort of power
foreshadowing of what will come in the novel
shows how descriptions aren't only of places but of things that happen, her plays, creating an overall idyllic atmosphere even though things might not be that nice
"she wanted to leave, she wanted to to lie alone, face down on her bed and savour the vile piquancy of the moment"
"Briony’s was the only tidy upstairs room in the house."
“I’ve got your parts, all written out. First performance tomorrow! Rehearsals start in five minutes!”
3rd person, omniscient, focalization is constantly changing, which gives the reader several doors into different characters' minds, perspectives
HOW DOES THE AUTHOR PAINT A SCENE IN THE READER'S MIND
foreshadowing
sophisticated language/diction
imagery (descriptions)
"Her wish for a harmonious, organised world denied her the reckless possibilities of wrongdoing" (also foreshadowing)
simile
"it was like diving into the swimming pool in early June"
"whereas her big sister's room was a stew of unclosed books, unfolded clothes, unmade bed, unemptied ashtrays, Brionny's was a shrine to her controlling demon: the model farm spread across a deep window ledge consisted of the usual animals, but all facing one way..."
characterization
the author describes characters through different objects they possess or their rooms (Briony with the drawers in her room where she keeps her diary) (Cecilia through her room)
listing
the author uses lists to add information about different settings, rooms, objects and characters (Cecilia's room)
also alliteration in the description of Cecilia's room, prefix /un/ meaning lack of and focusing on Cecilia's lack of order and others
non-defining relative clauses/appositions
"the various thumb-sized figures to be found standing about her dressing table - cowboys, deep-sea divers, humanoid mice - suggested by their even ranks and spacing a citizen's army awaiting orders."
the clauses add extra information that isn't that necessary
hyperbole