Name : Niyatiben Anirudhbhai Pathak
Paper: - New Literature
Topic: Inadequacy of documentation...... In sense of an ending ....
Enrollment No:_2069108420180042
Email Id ... napathak02@gmail.com
Batch :-2017_2019
Submitted To: Department of English, MKBU
Synopsis ...
- Author’S Biography
- Introduction of the novel:
- Title of the novel:
- Weakness of memory:
- History
- Suicide
- Inadequencises of Documentation ..... How?
“History is that certainty produced at the point where the imperfections of memory meet the inadequacies of documentation.”
That is the quote from Lagrange which Adrian referred to in Old Joe Hunt’s class. As the story unfolds, I found this quote is an exact and precise description of history and everything happened in the past.
Biography ...
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.
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)
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)
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.
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.
Inadequencises of Documentation ..... How?
On one hand, the inadequacies of documentation have always troubled historians and people curious about the past. During the history class, Adrian used Robson’s suicide as an example, and tried to show how the lack of evidence makes historic events obscure or ambiguous. According to him, nothing can make up for the loss of direct evidence. In Robson’s case, it’s the boy’s testimony. However, according to Old Joe Hunt: “historians need to treat a participant’s own explanation of events with a certain skepticism.”, and “mentalstates may often be inferred from actions. “(Page 18) Adrian did not quite agree with him. He was right. Years later, after Adrian committed suicide himself, nobody knows for sure of his motivation, as he would never speak again. When friends saw him for the last time, he showed no clue of suicide: “(He was) Cheerful. Happy. Like himself, only more so. As we said goodbye, he told me he was in love.” (Page 54). If only he left a testimony or a message explaining his reason of suicide, his friends won’t have so much trouble wondering and trying to find out about his mental state at the last days of his life.
On the other hand, Adrian’s friends, especially the narrator, Tony Webster, were faced with “imperfections of memories” as they try to figure out what made Adrian to kill himself. Adrian, in their memories, was not a person who would ever try suicide. However, what they remember about Adrian doesn’t seem to be very accurate, and there was still much unknown of Adrian. For example, they did not know much about Adrian’s family: “We realized that though he had been to all our homes, none of us had been to his; and that we didn’t know – had we ever asked? – What his father did.” (Page 53) And they did not know for sure why Adrian’s mother left his father, which might have a huge influence on him. Also, Tony may be the only person who knows that Veronica was dating Adrian, and there wasn’t much he knows about their relationship, perhaps what he remembers now is far different from what he knew then. All he remembers is that they are together, but how did the bond actually developed? What did veronica do before and after Adrian’s death? Did veronica know about the reason? There might be some clue; something subtle he noticed before or after Adrian’s death, but he might forgot those little things quickly.
The book is titled “sense of an ending”, and from what I have read, I guess the ending is about uncovering the real reason of Adrian’s suicide. But how could Tony be sure that he would find out about the truth of his friend’s death? Would he be able to acquire some direct evidence like the correspondences between Ash and LaMotte in Possession? What other direct evidences could he find?
Work Sited ….
“A Quote from The Sense of an Ending.” Goodreads, Goodreads, www.goodreads.com/quotes/509875-what-is-history-any-thoughts-webster-history-is-the-lies.
Markowetz, Florian. “A Philosophical Suicide - Julian Barnes' The Sense of an Ending.” Sides, 12 June 2012, scientificbsides.wordpress.com/2012/06/08/the-sense-of-an-ending/.
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