Atonement

"Atonement" is a novel by Ian McEwan, that has been transformed to a movie a couple of years ago. It tells the story of Briony, a thirteen years old smaller daughter of the Tallis family. He saw a moment of flirtation between her sister Cecilia and Robbie, the servant's son, which she think is a rape. She accuses him, making her sister Cecilia to be unable to maintain their relationship. It's a pretty sad story, in which afterwards Briony tries to make an atonement for her accusations.
Now, I'll answer some questions about the plot, so you can understand it better.

1. What sort of social and cultural setting does the Tallis House create? What emotions and impulses are being acted upon or repressed by its inhabitants?

They live in a huge, old style house, that gives us the idea of the richness the family has; the power, honour and tradition. And this is why their pride doesn't allow their daughter, Cecilia, to have a relationship with the servant's son, Robbie. 

2. A passion for order, a lively imagination, and a desire for attention seem to be Briony's strongest traits. In what ways is she still a child? Is her narcissism - her inability to see things from any point of view but her own - unusual in a thirteen-year-old?

She is almost in all senses a child. The attitude she has got of not accepting that she may be wrong and just believing her own part of the story, makes her a child. It probably is her narcissism, apart from other features of her personality, that makes for her impossible to stop believing in her point of view and focusing the problem from other perspectives.

3. Why does Briony stick to her "version of the story" with such unwavering commitment? Does she act entirely in error in a situation she is not old enough to understand, or does she act, in part, on an impulse of malice, revenge, or self-importance?

Because she is childish in many aspects. It's probably a mix between what she saw and thinks to have watched about Robbie and Cecilia, something that she doesn't understand; and also the fact that she feels jealous and alone. "Why should her sister be in love and have a couple and she didn't?" Was probably what she asked herself. 

4. As she grows older, Briony develops the empathy to realise what she has done to Cecilia and Robbie. How and why do you think she does this?

As everyone else, when you grow you get more mature. And this is what happened to Briony, but with the only fact that she also felt very guilty for not letting her sister to be happy with Robbie. Therefore, she wanted to do something for Cecilia, as she couldn't have a relationship with her lover: and what Briony did, was to write a book, in which she made them have the happy ending they deserved. That's why I love literature, because it's a magic world in which everything is possible.