Atonement

"But hidden drawers, lockable diaries, and cryptographic systems could not conceal from Briony the simple truth: She had no secrets. Her wish for a harmonious, organized world denied her the reckless possibilities of wrongdoing. Mayhem and destruction were too chaotic for her tastes, and she did not have it in her to be cruel. ... Nothing in her life was sufficiently interesting or shameful to merit hiding; no one knew about the squirrel's skull beneath her bed, but no one wanted to know(5)."

I feel like everyone wants there life to have some aspect of drama, and mystery. This character Briony, her entire life is orderly and in place, she knows where everything is, behaves well, and has an encredible brain. But sometimes that's not enough, in many cases I would say that's not enough. But this passage doesn't only chacaterize, this passage forshadows much of the plot of the book. "Her wish for a harmonious, organized world denied her the reckless possibilities of wrongdoing." Except, everything that happens in this story is because of Briony's wrongdoing. Even her organization couldn't keep her away from making this mistake. Her love for writing and fictionizing blinds her from the reality of something she "think" she see's. "Nothing in her life was sufficiantly interesting or shameful to marit hiding..." Practically every word in the quote foreshadows. It's sort of amazing how some authors have that much control over their writing. I remember reading Toni Morrison both freshman year and last year and being awed by her power over her writing. It just amazes me bacuase when you read something you don't really think about how much work it is to write successfully, meaning that a lot of people don't realize what writing is and perhaps that's because it's in some ways an intangeable thing.