Paragraph 1: The document provides background on the novel Atonement by Ian McEwan, describing how thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis changes the lives of her sister Cecilia and Cecilia's lover Robbie Turner in 1935.
Paragraph 2: It then discusses how the Nile River was vitally important to the development of ancient Egyptian civilization, providing silt for fertile soils, food sources like fish, and transportation routes that enabled trade and cultural exchange. This helped Egypt prosper.
Paragraph 3: The essay argues that transportation was a particularly important river function, as it led to trade which allowed civilizations to obtain