Atonement's Briony Tallis and The Go-Between's Leo Colston spend significant periods of their adolescence in large country houses, both surrounded by large areas. Hartley and McEwan use the landscapes found in many of these books to explore key themes such as growing up. Several aspects of landscapes make them suitable as symbols to explore as we grow: the presence of boundaries, both natural and artificial, the existence of the visible and the hidden, and the fact that landscapes change over time. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on 'Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned'? Get an original essay One of the main differences between the landscapes of the two novels is the fact that Briony knows hers very well, calling the bridge a “ornament so familiar” as if to be invisible”. In contrast, Leo was a guest at Brandham Hall and is not used to the scenery. This might reflect the relative confidence with which Briony faces adulthood, declaring that "her childhood was over", although she later admits that she may have only gained a "better understanding of her own ignorance”; this confidence could perhaps come from her relationship with her mother, very present in her life, as well as the advice of her brother and sister, the first of whom she respects and loves. Conversely, Leo's parents are mostly absent from the novel and his main source of advice is Marcus, who in reality has little more understanding of the adult world than Leo. McEwan also explores Briony's familiarity with the landscape during the night of the rape, when she is searching for the twins and the landscape becomes strange and unfamiliar to her in the darkness, as she notes that "the oak was too bulbous, l 'elm tree too scattered'. Perhaps parallels could be drawn between this and her experience growing up: she was surrounded by familiar events and people, and yet they were obscured and made strange by "adult emotion", an "arena" in which Briony thinks you have entered. This is similar to Leo's ignorance in the adult world, but its difficulty is increased by the fact that he belongs to a different social class than those around him. Summer therefore offers the opportunity to explore not only one's maturity, but also a new social setting with different rules. This is reflected in the way Leo explores the landscape, particularly on the first afternoon when Marcus is ill; The Lion ventures "further", to the farm, which is representative of the adult world - it is dangerous, but offers "challenges" and "adventures" to the Lion. This is also one of the ways in which the borders are explored, through the "deeply rutted farm road" between Brandham Hall and Black Farm. While crossing this road, Leo meets Ted and this event is a catalyst for many changes and developments in Leo's life, mainly through the carrying of letters. The farm path could therefore be representative of the border between the world of children and that of adults; by crossing it, Leo enters a very adult situation, for which he is somewhat ill-prepared. When describing the road, Leo notes that he “could barely get [his foot] out” of the ruts and imagines what would happen if he got stuck there. This perhaps reflects the difficulty teenagers can have transitioning from a child to an adult - it is far from a smooth process and this is demonstrated in the lives of Leo and Briony, as both do not know often not if they are children or adults. adults and struggle to overcome their own naivety. In Atonement, McEwan seems to use water as a symbol of the adult world; Célia's undressing.