Chapter 11
Summary
Everyone in the Tallis household is preparing to have dinner. As they sat down in the "suffocating" room (pg. 117), they are all taking their seats with Emily Tallis at the head of the table with Leon to her right and Paul Marshall and Cecilia to her left followed by Robbie and Lola. Prior to this Robbie is feeling amazed that no one could notice how he felt with his heart thumping and hands gripping on the chair. After the prayers were said by Leon, the whole room was full of silence. everyone was in their own world thinking about their own situations, especially Cecilia, who was still in a haze from what had happened just 10 minutes before. Robbie, who sat right next to Cecilia however, was too "turmoil" (pg 118) to start off a conversation topic. instead he focused more on the existence of Cecilia right next to him and how he could feel the heat of her arm, and also the gaze of Briony who knew everything about their relationship. Lola was too shocked from the physical assault, and contradictory emotions and the twins are planning a plot together (which foreshadows future events. throughout everyone’s mental chaos, Paul Marshall is the one who broke the silence at the dinner table who is wondering whether the tennis game is still on for tomorrow. Robbie leaned back over his chair to hear the remark and replied tersely "I suppose we are" and later added on "has England ever been hotter?” This remark seemed to relate to Cecilia. Robbie then noticed the tension that the twins were feeling as if they were struggling to understand a concept in class. Throughout the whole dinner conversation there were many tensions that arise within Briony, Cecilia, Robbie and Paul. It was plainly obvious that Cecilia felt uncomfortable when talking about the topic of wrong-doings. Cecilia starts to confess about what had just happened, but Robbie interrupts her before she could finish. Robbie's thoughts are all about Cecilia and he can’t help but feel personal desires for her and he also starts to plot about where a good place to express his desires would be. He knew this was no fantasy.
Prior to the dinner, Briony disappeared with the note from Robbie, Robbie was stuck in a predicament on what he should do. The note that Briony had was the wrong note that was delivered from Robbie that talked about his personal pleasures. At this point, Robbie had 2 choices: to run after Briony and provide an explanation, or to just go home without a word. He finally made the decision to try to explain his intentions but Cecilia was disapproving of his actions. They soon relocated to the dark library to talk alone. Robbie kept on trying to explain and Cecilia was moving into the darker corner of the library to hide her tears from him. She soon confesses to Robbie how she felt the whole time and find themselves making love to each other until Briony entered the library and witnessed their actions.
Returning back to the scene of the dinner table, as they were eating the main course plates, Jackson and Pierrott are whispering into each other’s ear and soon asked to use the lavatory. Lola's arms full of scratches were noticed by everyone in the table. These scratches were caused by the violence of the twins. They soon decided to phone the doctor and found a letter from the twins that said that they ran away. When this happened they decided to separate and look for them.
Analysis
There were many events that took place in this chapter. One, Briony witnessed an act of love between Cecilia and Robbie. Second, prior to this event, Briony read a note that was unintentionally given to Cecilia from Robbie.
Lastly, the twins ran away. All throughout the dinner, there were many events that foreshadowed
the events that the twins were going to run away. For example, as when Robbie and Marshall were conversing about the tennis match and Jack and Pierrot were whispering to each other and also their frightened gaze at Robbie in the beginning of the chapter when Robbie made a remark about England being "hot". Finally when the twins asked to go to the bathroom that is when they made their escape and left the note that they ran away. The images that Mcewan describes thoroughly is the interior of the house. he describes the house as almost suffocating. Through this description, it builds up the tension of the scene of the dinner table. Also, the tension could also be because that everyone was in their own little world and had their own problems and personal issues that they were all hiding.
Even though this chapter mainly focuses on the the actions of Robbie, Cecilia, and Briony, the twins play a huge part in what will happen in the future events of the book. In previous chapters, the twins did not feel comfortable in the Tallis home and blamed their older sister, Lola, for bringing them into the situation that they are in now. The desires of the Twins were just to feel a little more freedom. They both felt isolated in the home and because of this it resulted rebellion against Lola, who now has scratches on her arms.At the end of this chapter, Robbie shares how much he loves Cecilia, and how his life has been transformed.
- Nice discussion of the tension that dominates the dinner scene.
- You might connect this more completely to the themes, motifs, and symbols in the text, in particular the fact that Briony narrates this after the fact, and as such is constructing it according, perhaps, to a certain agenda.
Everyone in the Tallis household is preparing to have dinner. As they sat down in the "suffocating" room (pg. 117), they are all taking their seats with Emily Tallis at the head of the table with Leon to her right and Paul Marshall and Cecilia to her left followed by Robbie and Lola. Prior to this Robbie is feeling amazed that no one could notice how he felt with his heart thumping and hands gripping on the chair. After the prayers were said by Leon, the whole room was full of silence. everyone was in their own world thinking about their own situations, especially Cecilia, who was still in a haze from what had happened just 10 minutes before. Robbie, who sat right next to Cecilia however, was too "turmoil" (pg 118) to start off a conversation topic. instead he focused more on the existence of Cecilia right next to him and how he could feel the heat of her arm, and also the gaze of Briony who knew everything about their relationship. Lola was too shocked from the physical assault, and contradictory emotions and the twins are planning a plot together (which foreshadows future events. throughout everyone’s mental chaos, Paul Marshall is the one who broke the silence at the dinner table who is wondering whether the tennis game is still on for tomorrow. Robbie leaned back over his chair to hear the remark and replied tersely "I suppose we are" and later added on "has England ever been hotter?” This remark seemed to relate to Cecilia. Robbie then noticed the tension that the twins were feeling as if they were struggling to understand a concept in class. Throughout the whole dinner conversation there were many tensions that arise within Briony, Cecilia, Robbie and Paul. It was plainly obvious that Cecilia felt uncomfortable when talking about the topic of wrong-doings. Cecilia starts to confess about what had just happened, but Robbie interrupts her before she could finish. Robbie's thoughts are all about Cecilia and he can’t help but feel personal desires for her and he also starts to plot about where a good place to express his desires would be. He knew this was no fantasy.
Prior to the dinner, Briony disappeared with the note from Robbie, Robbie was stuck in a predicament on what he should do. The note that Briony had was the wrong note that was delivered from Robbie that talked about his personal pleasures. At this point, Robbie had 2 choices: to run after Briony and provide an explanation, or to just go home without a word. He finally made the decision to try to explain his intentions but Cecilia was disapproving of his actions. They soon relocated to the dark library to talk alone. Robbie kept on trying to explain and Cecilia was moving into the darker corner of the library to hide her tears from him. She soon confesses to Robbie how she felt the whole time and find themselves making love to each other until Briony entered the library and witnessed their actions.
Returning back to the scene of the dinner table, as they were eating the main course plates, Jackson and Pierrott are whispering into each other’s ear and soon asked to use the lavatory. Lola's arms full of scratches were noticed by everyone in the table. These scratches were caused by the violence of the twins. They soon decided to phone the doctor and found a letter from the twins that said that they ran away. When this happened they decided to separate and look for them.
Analysis
There were many events that took place in this chapter. One, Briony witnessed an act of love between Cecilia and Robbie. Second, prior to this event, Briony read a note that was unintentionally given to Cecilia from Robbie.
Lastly, the twins ran away. All throughout the dinner, there were many events that foreshadowed
the events that the twins were going to run away. For example, as when Robbie and Marshall were conversing about the tennis match and Jack and Pierrot were whispering to each other and also their frightened gaze at Robbie in the beginning of the chapter when Robbie made a remark about England being "hot". Finally when the twins asked to go to the bathroom that is when they made their escape and left the note that they ran away. The images that Mcewan describes thoroughly is the interior of the house. he describes the house as almost suffocating. Through this description, it builds up the tension of the scene of the dinner table. Also, the tension could also be because that everyone was in their own little world and had their own problems and personal issues that they were all hiding.
Even though this chapter mainly focuses on the the actions of Robbie, Cecilia, and Briony, the twins play a huge part in what will happen in the future events of the book. In previous chapters, the twins did not feel comfortable in the Tallis home and blamed their older sister, Lola, for bringing them into the situation that they are in now. The desires of the Twins were just to feel a little more freedom. They both felt isolated in the home and because of this it resulted rebellion against Lola, who now has scratches on her arms.At the end of this chapter, Robbie shares how much he loves Cecilia, and how his life has been transformed.
- Nice discussion of the tension that dominates the dinner scene.
- You might connect this more completely to the themes, motifs, and symbols in the text, in particular the fact that Briony narrates this after the fact, and as such is constructing it according, perhaps, to a certain agenda.