Hello, everyone.

It's lovely to see you today.

My name's Dr.

Clayton.

I'm meant to guide you through your learning journey today.

Today's lesson's called Identifying and Analysing Ian McEwan's Use of Plot Twist in "Atonement".

So we're gonna be defining what a plot twist is and why a writer might choose to use one before reading the ending of McEwan's "Atonement" and think about how we respond to it.

Now, you'll need a copy of the 2023 Vintages of "Atonement" by Ian McEwan's for this lesson.

So make sure you have that hand.

So if you're ready, grab your pen, laptop, whatever is for this lesson and let's get started.

So, by the end of the lesson, you'll be able to identify and analyse McEwan's use of a plot twist in "Atonement".

So we've five words there we're gonna be focusing on as our keywords.

They're identified in bold throughout the learning material, and I'll try to put them out as well since they're being used in context.

So, our first key is atonement, which means the action of making amends for a wrong or injury.

This is the title of McEwan's novel.

We're gonna be thinking about what the plot twist might mean for the concept, being able to make amends for a wrong.

Our second key word is plot twist, which means a radical change in the direction or the expected outcome of the plot of the work of fiction.

We're gonna be thinking generally about why a writer might choose a plot twist.

We thinking about McEwan's plot twist and how it's effective.

Our third key word is subvert, which means to criticise or undermine the usual way of doing something or common values.

We're gonna be thinking about how a plot twist might undermine the reader's expectations.

Our fourth keyword is bleak, which means not hopeful or encouraging.

We're gonna be thinking about how McEwan's plot twist links the idea of bleakness, and then not being any hope.

Finally, our fifth keyword is idiom, which means a phrase or expression that's usually presents a figurative, non-literal meaning.

We're gonna be thinking about how McEwan uses idioms for effect in the plot twist of "Atonement".

So, I'll just give you a moment to write down these keywords and their definitions.

So pause the video, write them down now.

Fantastic.

Let's go start with the lesson.

So we have two learning cycles in our lesson today.

For our first learning cycle, we're going to think about why a writer might choose a plot twist before reading the ending of McEwan's "Atonement", think about how the ending makes us feel.

For our second learning cycle, we're going to think about how McEwan uses idioms, repetition, and plosive sounds to create an effective emotional plot twist.

So let's start by thinking about what a plot twist is and where you might have encountered them.

Now, plot twist is a radical change in the direction or expected outcome of the plot in a work of fiction.

So what I'd like you to start off by thinking about, is what plot twists have you experienced in books or films? How did they make you feel? Pause video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone, some fantastic discussions there.

Now, there are many examples you could have chosen.

There's a general consensus about the idea of a plot twist being emotionally shocking, one that stays with you after you finish the book or the film.

Now, one of our peoples, Laura said, "The plot twist at the end of Jackson's 'The Lottery' was deeply shocking and emotional.

It really makes you question what human beings are capable of." Now, Jackson's "The Lottery" is my favourite short stories.

It's very dark and morbid, but it really does make you question the nature of humanity and tradition.

I think that's what makes this an effective plot twist.

It's really emotionally shocking to us.

So now, we've talked about what a plot twist is.

Let's think about why a writer might choose to end their story on a plot twist.

So, why might they want to radically change the expected outcome of a plot? Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone, some great ideas there.

Let's talk through some things you might have said.

So you might have said it could challenge or subvert to undermine the reader's assumptions, and that might lead the reader to question their beliefs or ideas.

Might way of implying that life is not always as it seems, that we cannot truly predict people's behaviour or their actions.

I think this is why a plot twist stays with us.

It's something unsettling, because it shows us we can't truly know what's gonna happen next in life.

So, before we read the ending of "Atonement", let's talk through a summary of the plot.

So, Briony is a 13-year-old girl who lives with her family on an English country estate in 1935.

Briony's older sister, Cecilia, is secretly love with their gardener.

Robbie, and Robbie's also in love with Cecilia.

So, what I'd like you to start off by thinking about is what do you think an upper class English family would think of their daughter wanting to have a relationship with their gardener? Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone.

Let's talk what you might have said.

Now, some of you might have been aware the greater class divide in the 1930s than there is today.

Now, it's likely a family would disapprove their relationship due to that class divide, and their stereotypical ideas what the lower class were like.

So, we're already starting off the idea that Celia and Robbie are going to face some sort of adversity.

They want to have a relationship together.

I think it makes us root for them from the beginning, 'cause we want love to succeed.

So, let's continue the plot of "Atonement".

Now, Briony begins to notice how Robbie's looking at Cecilia and starts thinking he's a threat to her.

Later, the family gathers to celebrate the visit of their son who's brought a friend, Paul, with him.

During that night, Briony discovers her cousin, Lola, being assaulted.

Now, the assailant runs away before Briony can see who it is, but she accuses Robbie of the crime and testifies to the police that it was him.

So, what I'd like you to think about now is how do you feel towards Briony at this point? Pauses video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now, there's general consensus of negative feelings towards Briony, that feels of a prejudice and suspicion have got in the way of justice.

We all want to believe that life is fair, that he had been accused of a crime he didn't commit.

It's something that they ever would agree is an awful thing.

Now, after Briony accuses Robbie of assaulting Lola, Robbie serves three and a half years in prison, Cecilia cuts ties with her family.

Robbie and Cecilia remain in love even though she's unable to visit him while he's in prison, but they do write to each other constantly while he's there.

After the outbreak of "World War II", Robbie enlists in the army and Cecilia works as a nurse.

During this time, Briony's grown up and realised she made a mistake by falsely accusing Robbie as she wants to retract her statement.

Now, I know we haven't read the entire novel, but imagine you've read the intense letters of love and longing between Robbie and Celia.

Letters of how she's keeping him alive and how they long to simply be together again.

You've experienced the brutality of the war on the frontline with Robbie.

Now, he clung the hope for a life with Cecilia.

We see him experience life in the trenches.

Now, he holds on Celia's letters as a way of keeping hope alive for himself.

We also hear Robbie's dreams of being cleared, being able to study as a doctor.

So, what I'd like you to think about is how do you want the story to end? Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now, I think there's a general consensus, we want a happy ending.

As Sophia says, "I would want Robbie proven innocent for him and Cecilia to live happily ever after." We want love to succeed.

We want someone's innocence to be proven.

This is something that keeps us going in society.

We want to believe that happiness comes to those who deserve it.

So, now, have a quick check for understanding.

Which of the following statements are true of "Atonement"? Is it A, Robbie was guilty of the crime Briony accused him of.

B, Robbie and Cecilia remain in love despite his present sentence.

Or C, Briony instantly regressed her actions and tried to put them right.

Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now, Robbie was innocent the crime he's accused of, and it took several years for Briony to grow up and realise she made a mistake.

So correct answer is B, Robbie and Cecilia remain in love despite his prison sentence.

So, very well done if you got that right.

So, now, let's read the ending of the story.

You need a copy of the 2023 Vintage edition of "Atonement" by Ian McEwan.

I'd like you to read from the word they on page 348 to begin on page 349.

So pause the video, read the ending now.

Welcome back, everyone.

I really hope you enjoyed reading that small section of the novel.

Now, what I'd like you to do is tell me what happens in this ending.

Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone.

Let's talk through what you might have said.

So, Robbie and Cecilia are living together.

Nothing's managed to keep them apart.

Love has triumphed over everything else.

They're able to be together despite everything that's happened.

Briony promises to write to her family and write a formal statement to correct her previous wrong.

So we get a sense of hope that Robbie will be cleared and proven innocent after all this time.

So, what I'd like you to think about is how does this ending make you feel? How do you respond to the idea that Robbie and Cecilia are able to be together, and Briony is trying to correct a mistake? Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now, as Laura says, "It makes me happy.

I like the idea that love can conquer all.

You can rise above any misfortunes that others cause you." As Izzy says, "Yes, it makes me feel as if people can get through anything.

War, betrayal, family problems, as long as they have each other." As I said before, we want a happy ending.

We want to believe that love can overcome adversity and that justice will prevail, and those who are innocent be cleared of any crime.

However, that's not the end of the story.

There's also an epilogue set in 1999.

So, 64 years after the original events of the story in 1935.

Now, this is where we discover the plot twist.

So, before we read it, I'd like to think about what you think the plot twist will be.

Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone, some great ideas there about how maybe Robbie and Cecilia can't make it work after all, or maybe Robbie was, in fact, guilty of the crime all along.

So, what I'd like you to do now is read the epilogue and find out what the plot twist is.

So, pause the video and read from the word there on page 370 to the word sleep on page 372.

So, in the epilogue, we learn that Briony made up the happy ending between Robbie and Celia.

In reality, Robbie and Celia only met once after he was released from prison before he goes to war, a fleeting meeting that fills them both with regret.

They didn't make the most out of it.

Briony never had the courage to speak to her sister.

Robbie died of septicemia, so, blood poisoning, in 1940, and Cecilia died in a bombing in 1940.

It's really shocking ending, 'cause the entire novel makes us so emotionally invested in their love story.

And then we learned that one third of the novel was a lie.

Everything we read in Part 3 was a figment of Briony's imagination that she made up because she too wanted a happy ending.

So, what I'd like you to think about is how does this ending make you feel? Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now, as Laura says, "It makes me feel quite heartbroken.

It feels worse to think there was a happy ending only to have it ripped away." As Izzy says, "Yes, it makes me feel quite cheated.

I felt so invested in this story and turns out none of it was real." Now, the plot twist in "Atonement" is widely said to be one of the greatest plot twists in literature, because of how it's constructed.

We have no inclination as we're reading the novel that this will happen.

We have no idea that what we're actually reading, it's something Briony has constructed.

Now, a lot of people say that "Atonement" is one of their favourite books they'll never read again.

It's almost too hard to read it again, because you know that happiness you're reading about isn't real.

It's almost too emotional to go through again.

So, now, for a quick check for understanding.

What I'd like you to do is tell me whether the following statement is true or false.

Is this true or false? The McEwan's plot twist changes the novel from a happy to an unhappy ending.

Pause the video, make a selection now.

Now, the correct answer is true.

Now, I'd like to tell me why it's true.

So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone.

You might have said, "We discover that Robbie and Celia never meet again and they both died in 'World War II'.

Briony never saw her sister again and never spoke to them about the mistakes she'd made." So, very well done if you got this right.

Fantastic work, everyone, with the first task of the lesson.

What I'd like you to do is think about that why question and answer the following questions in order to consider why McEwan wrote the ending in that way.

So question one, why do you think McEwan chose that plot twist? What might it suggest about happy endings and reality? Question two, autonomy is the action of making amends for wrong or injury.

What do you think the plot twist might reveal about making amends? Pause the video, answer the questions now.

Welcome back, everyone, some amazing work there.

What I'd like you to do now is think about Izzy's ideas.

Think about how well they align with your ideas.

So question one, why do you think McEwan chose to use that plot twist? What might it suggest about happy endings and reality? And Izzy said, "I think it's just we can't always expect life to work out in the way we want it to.

It subverts or undermines the stereotypical fairytale ending when it comes to love.

Implies that reality is bleak than we'd like it to be." So, reality is less hopeful and less happy than we think it's gonna be.

Question two, atonement is the action of making amends for a wrong or injury.

What do you think the plot twist might reveal about making amends? And Izzy said, "I think it's just that sometimes we can't always make amends for something we've done wrong.

This is something we'll have to live with." So, pause the video.

Think about how well Izzy's ideas align with your ideas.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now, we're moving on to the second learning cycle.

We're going to think about how McEwan's craft has affected plot twist.

Amazing work so far, everyone.

For the second learning cycle, we're gonna talk through how McEwan's craft is a mostly charged plot twist.

So, as I said, we're focusing on how McEwan's craft has affected plot twist.

Now, on page 370, McEwan refers to the idiom, sailing off into the sunset.

Now, an idiom is a phrase or expression easily presents a figurative, non-literal meaning.

So, what I'd like you to think about is what does this phrase mean to you? Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone, some great ideas there.

Let's talk what you might have said.

Now, typically, we hear sailing off into the sunset as a way of ending a story.

It's just saying character or characters are gonna have a new, happy start, they have a bright future ahead of them, provides a happy resolution at the end of the story.

So, let's think about how McEwan uses this idiom.

McEwan has referenced the idiom, sailing for the sunset, occurs before we find out about the plot twist.

So, what I'd like you to think about is how does a reference to the idiom enhance the emotional plot twist.

Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone, some amazing discussions there.

As Izzy said, "By referring to a common idiom that suggests a happy ending, McEwan builds up our expectations and it enhances our disappointment of realising the plot twist takes the happy ending away." It makes the ending even more shocking and even more heartbreaking, because we've been set up to think they're going to have this bright, hopeful future, and then that's ripped away from us.

Now, following the plot twist, McEwan repeats the following words, never and ended.

So, what I'd like you to think about is what are the connotations of these words? So what feelings or words do you associate with them? Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone.

You might have said that both words are quite negative and suggests something won't happen.

A sense of finality.

They create a sense of them being concluded.

Something never being able to start.

So, what I'd like to think about now is what are the effect of their repetition? Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now, as Laura says, "Perhaps the emphasis on the negativity and the finality suggest that McEwan emphasises the reader that they won't find the ending they seek." There's a real sense of conclusion about the words.

So it puts a stop to any hope we might have had that there will be a happy ending.

So, now, to think about the following words in the epilogue ending.

So, pitiless, fulfilled, bleakest.

Now, bleakest's one of our key words.

It means something not hopeful or encouraging.

Despair, happiness, flourish.

What I'd like to think about is what are the effect of using these words? How do they relate to the plot twist? Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone, some great ideas there.

Let's talk through what you might have said.

You might have thought there's a juxtaposition or a contrast between the words with a happy meaning, such as flourish and happiness and those with an unhappy meaning such as bleak and despair.

And this contrast reminds the readers that the happy ending's been taken away, we're reminded of what we wanted and hoped would happen, and that makes it even more heartbreaking, has been taken away from us.

So, now, let's focus on the words with unhappy connotations.

We have pitiless, bleakest, despair.

What I'd like you to think about is what sound all of these words have in common? What is the effect of this? Try saying the words aloud and see what it feels like.

Pause the video, take a few moments to consider Welcome back, everyone, some great ideas there.

Let's talk what you might have said.

You might have noticed the words begin with a P, a B, and a D, and they're plosive sounds.

Now, plosive sounds are made by closing the mouth then releasing a burst of breath.

If you say them aloud, they sound abrupt and harsh.

That reflects the abruptness and the harshness of the plot twist.

As I said, there's no indication of what we're reading isn't true.

So it creates a shock that the plosive sounds mimic.

So, now, for a quick check for understanding.

What I'd like you to do is tell me whether the following statement is true or false.

So, is it true or false? That McEwan's use of the idiom, sailing off into the sunset, sets the reader up to expect the plot twist.

Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Now, the correct answer is false.

Now, I'd like to know why it's false.

So, pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone.

You might have said, "We connect sailing off into the sunset with a connotation of happy endings.

Therefore, McEwan's use of this idiom makes a plot twist more sudden and more unexpected." So, very well done if you've got this right.

Amazing work, everyone, with the final task of the lesson.

What I'd like you to do is bring everything from this learning cycle together and write an analytic paragraph to answer the question, how has McEwan crafted an emotional plot twist in "Atonement"? Now, you might consider McEwan's reference to the idiomatic, sailing off into the sunset.

McEwan's repetition of never an ended.

McEwan's juxtaposition of words such as bleak and flourish.

McEwan's use of plosive sounds.

So, pause the video, write your paragraph now.

Welcome back, everyone, fantastic work there.

What I'd like you to do for the final part of the lesson is think about Izzy's answer.

How might she extend it by considering the effect of the plosive sounds? So Izzy wrote, "By opening the plot twist with the idiomatic, sailing off into the sunset,, McEwan arguably creates the expectation of happy ending.

Thus, when the plot twist is revealed, the reader's expectations are subverted and it enhances their disappointment.

Once revealed, McEwan's repetition of never and ended, may be seen as emphasising the finality of the plot twist.

Then McEwan arguably reminds the reader the happy endings were taken away from them through the juxtaposition of words such as bleak and flourish.

So, pause the video, because how we might extend Izzy's answer by considering the plosive sounds? Welcome back, everyone, some great ideas there.

Now, potentially, we might extend it by adding, "Furthermore, the plosive sounds with the juxtaposed words add a sense of abrupt harshness to the plot twist." You all did amazing work, everyone.

Here's a summary of what we covered.

Writers may choose to use a plot twist to subvert the reader's expectations around life and people's behaviour.

Some might undermine or criticise our expectations around how life will turn out or how people will behave.

In "Atonement" McEwan's use of a plot twist may subvert our expectations of love and forgiveness, so may undermine our ideas about how love can conquer all.

Now, we can be forgiven for any wrongs we commit against others.

In "Atonement", it turns out that love doesn't conquer all and sometimes, we can't find forgiveness.

To create an emotional plot twist, McEwan arguably uses idioms, juxtaposition, and plosive sounds.

So, McEwan used the idiom, sailing off into the sunset, to build up our exposure of happy ending and then takes it away.

This enhance the juxtaposition of words with happy and unhappy meanings, and these are plosive sounds that mimic the abruptness and harshness of the plot twist and the happy ending being taken away.

I really hope you enjoy the lesson, everyone.

I hope to see you for another lesson soon.

Goodbye.