Quarter 4: Week 1, Post A

This week it was fairly difficult to find cultural differences in Atonement. Since the book takes place in England, the culture is very similar to here in America. Also, the plot is still in the beginning stages. However, there was one difference that stood out to me in my reading this week, which is the great importance of family. In the beginning of the book, Briony's family has just taken in her three cousins, the daughters of her mother's sister. They take them in because their home had become somewhat of a war zone and their mother fled. Their father feels the children would be safer with the Tallis family. And the Tallises were more than happy to help out: "...the house could easily absorb three children and the Quinceys could stay as long as they liked..." (8). This willingness to do nearly anything to help one's family is less common here in the U.S. It is much more unusual to find extended families living together in one household. Perhaps this is because the United States is not a war zone, but I think it goes beyond that because I've noticed this difference in other cultures as well. My dad's family is from Spain and two of his aunts and their children have lived together in the same home since they arrived here many years ago. Since one of his aunts is widowed, it is simply expected that her sister and her sister's husband will welcome them into their home. This is much the same as with Briony's family being expected to welcome the Quincey girls into their home when their mother abandons them.