Theme: Imagination can affect your reality Aaron Simmons Tim Foster Joe Ford Alex Austin Tyler Fagan

After Briony writes and reads her first book she reflects that her book was a “first clumsy attempt at imagination that it was the source of secrets.” She was embarrassed by how bleak and unimaginative her book was and from this point on she tried to be more imaginative in order to become a better author. This spread from her writing to things she saw, imagining they were more than she thought.

“The princess was well aware of his remorseless wickedness. But that made it no easier to overcome the voluminous love she felt in her heart for Sir Romulus. The princess knew instinctively that the one with red hair was not to be trusted. As his young ward dived again and again into the depths of the lake, in search of the enchanted chalice, Sir Romulus twirled his luxuriant mustache. Sir Romulus rode with his two companions, northwards, drawing ever closer to an effulgent sea. So heroic in manner, he appeared so valiant in word... And no could ever guess at the darkness lurking in the black heart of Sir Romulus Turnbull. He was the most dangerous man in the world.”

The quote was written after she saw the scene between Robbie and Cecilia in front of the fountain, but before Lola was raped. After Lola was raped Briony wasn’t sure of who it was, but assumed it was Robbie because in her imagined world, Robbie was evil. Her imagination affected what she thought she saw and is an example of the theme “Imagination can affect your reality”

When Briony is with Luc in the hospital and he mistakes her for the English girl he was meant to marry, he asks “do you love me.” Briony answers “yes” because she thought she actually did in that. She thought of a different life where she actually got married to Luc and had a life with him. We think this is what made her apologize to Robbie and Cecilia because she finally understood what it was like to love someone as much as they loved each other. This is another major way which the theme affected reality. Briony’s imagination convinced her to set reality right.

We think that this theme was put into the book by Ian McEwan because it is important in everyday life. In the book imagination when it was looking for the bad side in people, it made Briony look for the worst in Robbie which got him sent to jail. When it was used to look for the best in people it led to Briony to try to make amends for what she had done. “You can only imagine the truth”