Seeking Hope In Hopelessness

Ian McEwan is “one of the most influential English writers in contemporaryworld”.(Shang Biwu，2010：20) He has been nominated for the Man Booker Prizesix times, though he only won the Prize for once in1998. As for his five failures, JohnSutherland, the president of Man Booker Prize said:“one reason is jealousy, the otheris also jealousy.”(Solar,2003:287）His words, with a bit of exaggeration, expressedMcEwan’s popularity in contemporary English literature world. At the same time,“heis one of the most arguably writers in the living British novelists”.(Bruno M. ShahOP,2008:38) He is famous for his concise and elegant writing style and in-depthexploration of the human nature. His Atonement is one of his representative works,and it has been widespread noticed since it was published in2001. This novel makeshis writing career reach the second apex after Amsterdam. This novel arouses aboundof thinking, and makes the easy reading become symphonic reading.(余华，2008)In this thesis the author will analyze this novel according to the theory ofnarrative judgment which is put forward by James Phelan. This thesis will give moresystematic and comprehensive study which would serve as a guide in the appreciationof McEwan’s novel. In conclusion, this thesis examines three different judgmentswhich are reflected in Atonement, a clear representative work of this genre.The dissertation consists of four chapters:The first chapter focuses on the theory of narrative judgments. The three types ofnarrative judgments—interpretive judgment, ethical judgment and aestheticaljudgment and the six theses about narrative judgments will also be introduced.The second chapter has concentrated on the action of Briony’s misidentificationto her sister’s lover—Robbie, and helps the readers make a profound judgment to hertransgression whether she is guilty or not.The third chapter mainly pays attention to the protagonist’s atoning effort, andjudging what she has done for her atonement is to atone sincerely or just seek the pleasure of atonement. By using the theory of narrative judgment, each reader will gethis or her own answer.The fourth chapter discusses the real author, Ian McEwan’s deceptive action. Thereaders will judge whether Briony’s atonement is hopeful or hopeless, and then, theywill judge whether they both can seek the hope in hopelessness to atone for theircrimes.Through this study and analysis, it is safe to conclude that the significance of thepresent study to arrive at a much more comprehensive interpretation of Atonementthrough this new perspective.