"But hidden drawer, 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 to chaotic for her tastes, and she did not have it in her to be cruel. Her effective status as an only child, as well as the relative isolation of the Tallis house, kept her, at least during the long summer holidays, from girlish intrigues with friends. 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. None of this was particularly an affliction; or rather, it appeared so only in retrospect, once a solution has been found." (McEwan. 5)
This paragraph profoundly shows me Briony's rich personality. She loves to keep her stuff perfectly organized and her harmonious world won't permit her have any secrets or reckless behavior. She hasn't get in touch with much people outside of the family. Thus she doesn't have much the social skills to get along with people and has vague understandings about adult stuff. She puts her yearning towards adventure and love in her writing. She seems sensitive and introvert. It is kind of hard for others to get in her inner world.
And her sister is kind of opposite with her. Cecilia's room is messy, and she tends to like things organized by its own nature. She already has her college life outside of the family house. She likes to go out and yearns for freedom, but she still miss the bored but comfortable feeling of lingering in home. And she already has her dream guy, Robbie. She spends her childhood and college time with him.
I think Briony and Cecilia's entirely different personalities and experiences imply their misunderstandings and discord in the following chapters.
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