摘 要

伊恩·麦克尤恩是英国当前最具影响力的作家之一。《赎罪》是他进入千禧年的一篇代表作，获了包括全美书评人大奖在内的多项殊荣。相比于之前的作品，这部小说在思想上更加深刻，写作手法和技巧也更加娴熟。虽然之前伊恩·麦克尤恩也写过类似的以青少年为主人公的小说，并且青少年的成长也是麦克尤恩作品关注的焦点，但在《赎罪》中对于小女孩布里奥妮懵懂的暗恋、对爱情的憧憬、丰富多彩的内心戏的描写十分透彻清晰。本文首先对作者及其作品进行了简要的介绍，并试图分析不同元素对布里奥尼在赎罪中成长的影响，主要从布里奥尼在赎罪时的心态变化、家庭成员对布里奥尼的影响以及环境变化对布里奥尼成长的影响等三个方面进行分析，最后得出结论:布里奥尼在赎罪获得成长可以看出作者对下一代的人文关怀。

关键词：伊恩·麦克尤恩；赎罪；成长；布里奥妮

Contents

1. Introduction -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------1

1.1. A brief introduction to Ian McEwan and his works------------------------------------1

1.2. A brief introduction to Atonement--------------------------------------------------------2

2. Demonstration --------------------------------------------------------------------------------4

2.1Briony’s mentality change during atonement --------------------------------------------4

2.1.1 Briony’s innocence -----------------------------------------------------------------------4

2.1.2 Briony’s escape and guilt----------------------------------------------------------------6

2.1.3 Briony’s maturity--------------------------------------------------------------------------7

2.2 Different influences of family members on Briony-------------------------------------9

2.2.1 The father’s influence-------------------------------------------------------------------10

2.2.2 The mother’s influence------------------------------------------------------------------11

2.2.3 The elder sister’s influence-------------------------------------------------------------12

2.2.4 The brother’s influence------------------------------------------------------------------13

2.3 The impact of environmental change on Briony’s growth----------------------------14

2.3.1 Childhood in a secluded countryside--------------------------------------------------14

2.3.2 Adolescence in a confined wartime hospital-----------------------------------------15

1. Conclusion-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------16

Works Cited -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17

Bibliography ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------18

An Analysis of Briony’s Mental Growth in Atonement

1. Introduction

1.1 A brief introduction to Ian McEwan and his works

Ian McEwan, one of Britain's most outstanding and influential novelists, has lived by his writing for nearly a quarter of a century. McEwan first came to public notice in 1975. As a new voice of generation, he, together with Martin Amis, Salman Rushdie, Julian Barnes and Graham Swift, is considered to bring about a renaissance in contemporary British fiction (Elam 13) In 2008, The Daily Telegraph ranked him number 19 in their list of the "100 most powerful people in British culture". As a prolific writer, Ian McEwan has become the author of eleven works of fiction, among which are novels and short story collection. He has also won many prizes and much prestige for his achievements.

McEwan was born in Aldershot, Hampshire, on 21 June 1948. His father David McEwan was a working-class Scotsman who had worked his way up through the army to the rank of major, and his mother Rose Lilian Violet was a cleaner with vivid imagination. McEwan spent much of his childhood in many countries such as East Asia (including Singapore), Germany, and North Africa (including Libya), where his father was posted. Different experiences in many countries, along with violent father as well as always worried mother, have exerted a great influence on his later life and writing. Then his family returned to England when he was 12. Afterwards McEwan was educated at Woolverstone Hall Boarding School and the University of Sussex, where he received his B.A. degree in English literature in 1970, and then the University of East Anglia, where he became one of the first graduates of Malcolm Bradbury's creative writing course with his M.A. degree in 1971.