Discussion Questions on Atonement by Ian McEwan

1. Why is Robbie able to speak French during the retreat to Dunkirk and how does this ability raise his importance to the men around him?

2. What is the tone of Cecilia's references to Briony in the letter that she has sent to Robbie and that he carries with him back to Dunkirk?

3. Why do Robbie, Nettle and Mace choose to save the RAF man in Dunkirk?

4. What causes Nurse Drummond's treatment of the nurses under her charge to shift suddenly? How does this treatment shift?

5. What do we learn about the book before us (and its author) in the letter to Briony from "CC" (Cyril Connolly—an actual publisher)?

6. What, in your opinion, is the most important thing readers learn about Atonement's story from the final section, titled "London, 1999"? How does this section change one's understanding of the novel?