Abstract：Ian McEwan is one of the most outstanding contemporary British writers. And Atonement is widely regarded as one of McEwan’s best works. It is even included in the list of the 100 greatest English language novels since 1923 by Time magazine. The novel epitomizes the situations of the British upper-middle class before and during the outbreak of the Second World War and the disastrous aftermath brought by the war. The book mainly tells that young Briony misunderstands innocent Robbie and accuses him of being the rapist, which makes her sister Cecilia separate from him. Tragically, Briony’s distorted view leads to Robbie’s torture in prison and his subsequent death in the Second World War. And unfortunately, Cecilia loses her life in the war as well. Since then Briony spends her lifetime writing the fiction Atonement to make atonement for her mistakes. On the basis of the previous academic researches, this thesis will analyse the causes and effects of Briony’s trauma and how she eventually gets recovered from the perspective of trauma theory.

This thesis is made up of five chapters. Chapter one briefly introduces Ian McEwan and Atonement, and makes a literature review. Chapter two focuses on the introduction to trauma theory. Chapter three illustrates causes and influences of Briony’s traumatic experiences. Then chapter four tracks how Briony recovers from her trauma. Finally chapter five makes a conclusion of this thesis.

Key words:  Traumatic experiences  Recovery  Briony  Atonement  

Contents

Abstract

摘要

Chapter One Introduction-1

1.1 Introduction to Ian McEwan-1

1.2 Introduction to Atonement-2

1.3 Literature Review-2

Chapter Two Trauma Theory-4

2.1 Origin and Development of Trauma Theory-4

2.2 Trauma Theory in Literature Criticism-5

Chapter Three Causes and Influences of Briony’s Traumatic Experiences-6

3.1 Causes of Briony’s Traumatic Experiences-6

3.1.1 Mistaken Perception from Literary Imagination-6

3.1.2 The Absence of Parental Love and Education-7

3.1.3 Victimization of the Second World War-8

3.2 Influences of Briony’s Traumatic Experiences-9

3.2.1 Constant Intrusions of Traumatic Memories-9

3.2.2 Alienated Relationships with Others-10

Chapter Four Efforts to Heal the Trauma-12

4.1 Reconstructing Connections with Others-12

4.2 Atoning through Writing-13

Chapter five Conclusion-15

References-16