Assignment of paper no: 13 The New Literature

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 Theme of the novel Sense of an Ending

                                 Name: Mital Raval

                                      Roll No: 18

                                   M.A. SEM: 4

                         Batch Year: 2016 – 2018

                  Enrollment No: 2069108420170026

                  Email Id: ravalmital5292@gmail.com

                         Paper Name: The New Literature

                           Submitted to: Dr. Dilip Barad

                                     Smt. S. b. Gardi

                                Department of English

                           M .k. Bhavnagar University

Topic: Theme of the novel “The Sense of an Ending”

Introduction of the author:

                                               

        Julian Patrick Barnes is a contemporary English writer of Postmodernism in literature. He was more famous for his prosaic style, who was born in Leister on 19 January 1946 and was educated at the city of London school and magladen college Oxford.He is the author of several books of stories, essays, and numerous novels, including Man Booker Prize wining novel “The Sense of an Ending.” It was published in 2011 and got Man Booker prize in the same year. He has also written crime fiction under the pseudonym Dan Kavanagh. In 2004 he became a Commandeur of L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. His honours also include the Somerset Maugham Award and the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize. (Barnes)

Introduction of the novel:

                                             

   

       Julian Barnes’s 2011 Booker prize winning novel “The Sense of an Ending” is a memoir which focuses on a particular period in the life of the narrator, Tony Webster. The Sense of an Ending is narrated by a retired man named Tony Webster, who recalls how he and his clique met Adrian Finn at school and vowed to remain friends for life. When the past catches up with Tony, he reflects on the paths he and his friends have taken.Tony Webster is a Historian, in his sixties. He was a ex-husband of Margaret and father of thirty four year old daughter Susie. He has a peaceful life and he judge himsel “average at life; average at truth; morally average.” This novel is devided into two part.  The divisions are entitled as ,

                                        Part One

                                        Part Two

       The first part begins in the 1960s. It begins with four intellectually arrogant school friends. We are told two friends out of four. The first one is Tony Webster who is the narrator of the story and the second one is Adrian the most talented and intelligent among four. When they were in the last year of the college, a boy killed himself after getting a girl pregnant. In this part Tony’s friend also died.  

          The second part of the novel is in the present tense. In this part Tony speak about his current life as a retired hospital library assistant. In this part character are more grown than frist part. At the end of this part the secret of the  chlid was reveal. Tony realize that, that child was not not Adrian and Veronica but he was child of Adrian and Sarah Ford. (Blackman) 


Here issummary video of the novel.

Title of the novel:

      The title “The Sense of an Ending” is borrowed from a same name text by Frank Kermode. It was frist published in 1967 and subtitle of this book is ‘Studies in the theory of fiction’ the stated aim of which is ‘marking sense of our lives. The title of the novel depicts ending of two lives one of them Robson and another Adrian. On the other hand title also suggests that this is the ending of joury of Tony too as he is very close to ending of his life. Hence at the last it can be clarified that the title of the novel is absolutely appropriate through it is difficult book to evaluate but up to some extent we can say that julian Barnes has chosen relevant title of the present nove. (Bhammar)

Theme of the novel The Sense of Ending:

            In the novel “sense of an Ending “ there are six major theme and that are,

ØWeakness of memory

Ø History

Ø Eros and Thanatos

Ø Existentialism

Ø Suicied or Death

Ø Class Conflict

      Let’s us we illustate these all theme one by one. 

Weakness of memory:

        The central theme of the novel is weakness of memory. Through the narrative of Tony Webster and his search for reason of Adrian’s death tries to justify one thing that is imperfection of memory, how our partial memory mislead us! Throughout the novel, writer tries to prove human memory and how it creates assumption on human mind.

     As ‘The Sense of an Ending’ is memory novel, narrative also tries to give effect of fragmented memory. This novel  is narrated by Tony Webster who is in his age of sixty. He tells us his school day’s insident so it is difficult to recall all the events of childhood same way old age is the age when memory gets faded, Weak or lighter. A person doesn’t remember all the events in detail. At the begning of the novel Tony say’s that, “I remember, in no particular order”. This sentnce of Tony Webster suggeste that his mamory became fragmented that’s why he not remamber in perticular event. Julian Barnes also say’s that,

“When you are in your twenties you can remember your short life in its entirety. Later, memory becomes a thing of shreds and patches.”

(Jadeja)

       In the first part Tony tells his story of schooldays, all the events are in order and narrative has particular flow. But at the end of the first part narrative moves faster like “Time passes” section of ‘To the Lighthouse’. In only a paragraph the narrator tells about his marriage and divorce with Margaret, story of 40 years is told in some lines only. And the second part moves so slowly that, events are some but covers half novel. 

“Well, in one sense, I can’t know what it is that I don’t know. That’s philosophically Self-evident.” 

       Adrian’s this sentence is heart of the novel. Because of imperfection and weakness of memory, we cannot reach to reality as we have an assumption that whatever our memory suggests is only reality. Tony did not get sense about many things, about young Adrian; because his memory tells him one thing that Adrian has relationship with Veronica. Having this memory, he is in assumption that, young Adrian may is Veronica and Adrian’s son. He even doesn’t know what he doesn’t know, means he cannot bring himself out of his memory and cannot have view that, perhaps Adrian had relationship with other. So, he cannot even guess that, Adrian was in love with Mrs. Sarah Ford!

History

       With criticising memory, the novel also questions history. One of the central ideas the novel pointed is unreliability of history. “History is that certainty produced at the point where the imperfections of memory meet the inadequacies of documentation.” It clearly says that what we believe history as truth is unreliable. If human memory is partial than one cannot rely history or documentation done by man with his partial memory. With history classes of Old Joe Hunt, novel tries to develop this idea. The discussion about causes of world war, history is questioned. Adrian with example of Robson, very beautifully describes history as unreliable and not truth. Many ways novel tries to deconstruct given history. It has some very good lines about history. The novel also focuses on objectiveness of historian. Because, one cannot be objective, as he cannot come out from his personal assumptions and cast of mind though he want to be. Even he cannot know what he doesn’t know. So, what the historian describes is according to his partial memory, imperfect knowledge and personal perceptions.

Eros and Thanatos

       Eros and Thanatos means “Sex and Death”. Freued identifies two drives that arte Eros and Thanatos. That both coincide and conflict within the individual and among individuals. Eros is the drive of the life, love, creativity and sexuality, self satisfaction and species preservation. Thanatos is Greek word,  it means death. It is the drives of aggression, sadism, destruction, violence and death. From the very beginning of the novel, the idea is established through the English class of Phil Dixon. Even suicide of the student-Robson is put appropriately. Because of having sexual relationship with girl, he has to commit suicide.  “Thanatos weans again” Adrian spoke about Robson’s case. But how it will turn in reality in Adrian’s life also. Adrian who is more intelligent, mature, serious, philosopher became victim of the same thing and in his case also Thanatos weans. His sexual relation with a woman who is almost as old as his mother becomes reason of his suicide. So this theme ran simultaneously in the case of Robson and Adrian.  

Existentialism:

 

       With Adrian’s philosophical ideas, the novel represents existentialist ideas. The well- known ideas of Albert Camus are shown in the novel. As Camus says, suicide was the only true philosophical question… Adrian, as existentialist, commits suicide in very young age. Even his way of killing himself is very significant in philosophical sense. He did not kill himself with out of mind but at very conscious mental state, he planned and performed. Some existentialist ideas, the novel presents are as following…

“He had explained his reasoning: that life is a gift bestowed without anyone asking for it; that the thinking person has a philosophical duty to examine both the nature of life and the conditions it comes with; and that if this person decides to renounce the gift no one asks for, it is a moral and human duty to act on the consequences of that decision.”

Suicide

              Man, who is an intellectual person thinks of suicide due to his own philosophical thinking. We find many famous people all over the world end their life in suicide. In this novel a young boy called Robson commits suicide in the school. After few years Adrian kills himself. The reason of Adrian’s death is not known. Adrian’s death lead the narrator to mine his past. But Tony’s memory, the way it is revealed doesn’t solve the mystery. There are many clues that helps us to conclude but doesn’t lead to on conclusion. Many questions are unanswered behind the second suicide whereas the first suicide was committed after making a girl pregnant. Adrian Was an intellectual genius who went to one of the best universities. He dated his friends ex-girl friend Veronica but his diary was with her mother and the documents sent by Sarah to Tony said that he was very happy in his last days. Also Jr. Adrian, a mentally retarded person, who resembled Adrian’s appearance was taken care by Veronica. Jr. Adrian was her brother. Thus, the clues lead us to think about Adrian-Sarah relationship which might be one of the reason’s of Adrian’s suicide.

Class conflict

               Class conflict was another important theme in this novel. This theme come in the novel through the character of Veronica and Tony Wester. Adrian was smarter than Tony. Veronica was an awkward girl. She was a misfit in her family. She was self-conscious to dance in public. She felt humiliated. Tony once spent a weekend at Veronica’s family home. At the time he had felt uncomfortable, Socially inferior, and he was hardly surprised when the enigmatic Veronica took up with more prestigious Adrian. She was class conscious. She choose the better option. This way class conflict is also one of the themes in The Sense of an Ending. 




Thank you...

Works Cited

Barnes, Julian. Julian Barnes. n.d. 06 March 2018. <http://www.julianbarnes.com/index.html>.

Bhammar, Bharat. The Sense of an Ending:Title. 7 March 2015. <http://bharatbhammar051314.blogspot.in/2015/03/the-sense-of-endingtitle.html>.

Blackman, Andrew. The Sense of an Ending, explained. o2 May 2012. 08 March 2018. <http://andrewblackman.net/2012/05/the-sense-of-an-ending-explained/>.

Jadeja, Kashmiraba. The Major Themes in 'The Sense of an Ending. 20 March 2014. 08 March 2018. <http://kashmirabajadeja152013.blogspot.in/2014/03/the-major-themes-in-sense-of-anending.html>.