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چکیده
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Ian McEwan’s Atonement (2001) is well-known for its complex narrative structure and themes of guilt, memory, and the power of storytelling. However, most previous studies have used traditional close reading and paid little attention to systematic patterns in word use that signal changes in narrative perspective. This study fills this gap by using a corpus-stylistic approach to explore how lexical repetition helps trace the development and unique features of Briony Tallis’s narrative voice throughout the novel. A digital corpus of the full novel was built and examined with AntConc software. Tools such as word frequency lists, concordance lines, and collocation patterns were used to identify repeated words and phrases. The results showed much higher levels of lexical repetition in sections told from Briony’s point of view, especially clusters linked to watching (e.g., “saw,” “looked,” “watched”), writing (e.g., “write,” “story,” “novel”), and guilt (e.g., “wrong,” “crime,” “forgive”). Close analysis of these patterns revealed that repetition grows stronger as Briony’s voice matures from child to adult author. This stylistic choice highlights her growing control over the story, her unreliability as a narrator, and the novel’s final revelation that she is the true author. These findings show how McEwan uses repeated words to mark and sometimes blur narrative perspective, while emphasizing Briony’s dominant yet flawed voice and the book’s ideas about truthful storytelling. By combining quantitative data with careful interpretation, this study offers new understanding of Briony Tallis’s narrative voice in Atonement and demonstrates how corpus methods can deepen the analysis of narrative perspective in modern fiction.
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