Thinking Activity "The Sense of an Ending" by Julian Barnes

• This blog is part of my academic activity given by Prof.Dr.Dilip Barad.To know more about the task click here.

• Julian 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.

• 'The Sense of an Ending' as known as Memory novel and Psychological thriller which is written by  Julian Patrick Barnes. He deals with many philosophical  and psychological aspect in his novel.
• The Sense of an Ending is about the person’s memory of youthful days. The novella is divided into two divisions. The divisions are entitled as Part-1 and Part-2.First part deals  (1.) Imperfection of  Memory  and second part  (2.) Inadequacy of Documentation
• Various important points of the Novel:

Various definitions of history

Robson's Suicide

Break up between Tony Webster  and Veronica Ford

Relations of Veronica and Adrian Finn

Role of Ford's Family (Sarah Ford and his family)

Adrian's Suicide

Chain of Responsibility.

• How do you understand memory and history with reference to your reading of this novel ?
• Julian Barnes’ award-winning novel The Sense of an Ending explores the themes of history, memory.
• After reading the novel, we can say that memory and history are interrelated. I agree to the given definitions of history in the novel  that:
•  'History is that certainty produced at the point where the imperfections of memory meet the inadequacies of documentation'.
• ' History isn't the lies of the victors, as I once glibly assured Old Joe Hunt; I know that now. It's more the memories of the survivors, most of whom are neither victorious nor defeated'
• 'History is the lies of the victors'
• 'History is the self-delusion of the defeated'.
• The novel constructes aspects about the memory. We keep our memories but we can not rely on that. We constructes our memories through our perspective. Memory records about what happened, perhaps it is not recorded as it is. 
• We can say great history to personal memory. Inadequacies of documents can't makes the certain history. As in the novel Tony remembers imperfect memory in which he can not thinks of his deeds. History and memory both are very much connected because history is the part of our memories. Tony’s own tale of his student days is quite unreliable.

• How do you understand the concept of suicide with reference to your reading of literature ranging from Renaissance play Hamlet,  20th century Existentialist philosophy and this 21st century novel The Sense of an Ending ? 
• People have different concept about suicide, rational thinkers like literary writers look suicide as an art and religious people look as a sin. Suicide is very interesting element in literature, for other people like doctors and businessman suicide is like failure of life and escaping from terrible experiences. While for literary writers suicide is Philosophical answer of life. First novelistic suicide pattern merged in nineteenth century. Authors like Ernest Hemingway and Virginia Woolf include theme of suicide in their writing.In Shakespeare' s Hamlet Ophelia committed suicide by some particular reason. But Hamlet was mentally upset man though he doesn't think to like this.If we see suicide in 20th century Existentialist philosophy,then we can recall first Waiting for Godot. It is based on Existentialism and Vladimir and Estragon wants to committed suicide but they can't do it. the reading of The Sense of An Ending, there are two people commit  suicide,Robson and Adrian. Both have different reason but why Adrian committed suicide is not clearly visible. Robson escape from his responsibilities and choose to die.so we can say that Adrian's suicide is somehow seems philosophical but not reliable. However, psychologists say that it is all about Thanatos and Eros which are drive us into the life and death.

Thank you ..................