Identifying and analysing Ian McEwan's use of a plot twist in 'Atonement'
I can identify and analyse McEwan’s use of a plot twist in ‘Atonement’.
Identifying and analysing Ian McEwan's use of a plot twist in 'Atonement'
I can identify and analyse McEwan’s use of a plot twist in ‘Atonement’.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Writers may choose to use a plot twist to subvert the readers’ expectations around life and people’s behaviour.
- In ‘Atonement’, McEwan’s use of a plot twist may subvert our expectations of love and forgiveness.
- To create an emotional plot twist, McEwan arguably uses idioms, juxtaposition, and plosive sounds.
Keywords
Atonement - the action of making amends for a wrong or injury
Plot twist - a radical change in the direction or expected outcome of the plot in a work of fiction
Subvert - to criticise or undermine the usual way of doing something or common values
Bleak - not hopeful or encouraging
Idiom - a phrase or expression that usually presents a figurative, non-literal meaning
Common misconception
Plot twists typically reveal something hidden about a character.
While plot twists may reveal something hidden about a character, plot twists can be used to subvert our expectations of life and resolution.
Equipment
You need a copy of the 2023 Vintage edition of ‘Atonement’ by Ian McEwan for this lesson (not provided).
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of sexual violence
- Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).
Lesson video
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