The Sense of An Ending by Julian Barnes

 The Sense of An Ending by  Julian Barnes

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.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.

Thus, The Sense of an Ending is not just person’s story; it is a story of a network of relationships between Tony Webster and Veronica but whose ending is this! That we cannot understand.

The title deals with the entire book as the book opens; Tony is spending a good deal of his time thinking about his relationship with his school friend Adrian Finn, who committed suicide as a young man. Tony is Pooterishly content with his life and mediocrity, which he contrasts with Finn's burning and forensic intelligence. Even as a schoolboy, Finn demonstrated a precocious understanding of philosophy and history. He said that "he hates the way the English have of not being serious about being serious" – words quoted twice in the novel. This is a Barnesian theme too, lying behind much of his work, fiction and nonfiction, even when it is at its most playful.

     Question .

Was the mentally retarded middle aged ‘Adrian’, Tony’s friend who did not commit suicide and was suffering from trauma and thus gone mad, and was living with hidden identity?

No, this statement is not true. Adrian is dead. Adrian was happy in his last few days but he was also suffering from trauma because he felt guilty for what he did. Because of him his girlfriend’s mother is pregnant and because of this reason he committed suicide. He saw one example of his own friend who also committed suicide because in his school life he made his girlfriend pregnant. So Adrin feels guilty, and because of this he commits suicide. Adrian also lives with hidden identity and that is he is the father of J.Adrian.

 Question.

Adrian’s diary is willed to Tony by Sarah Ford. How come Sarah Ford owned it? Why was it in the possession of Veronica? 

Adrian wrote his diary for Tony. This diary he gave to Sarah because he had affair with Veronica’s mother. And he admitted that he was happy in his last days. He gave his diary for Tony because he wrote a letter for Adrian and letter creates lots of mistake. And the diary is the answer of the letter.

 

Question.

In the light of new revelations, how do you read character of Veronica? Instinctive, manipulative, calculating, stubborn, haughty, sacrificial, trustworthy, good Samaritan.

For yes she is having all these qualities as from beginning to the end of the novel she is happen to reveal all this qualities. We can say that its First person Narrative’s point of view, according to Tony from beginning to the end she represents all these qualities. As Veronica constantly tries to make things clear in the mind of tony and she tells “You still don’t get it, you never did, and you never will, So stop even trying

Question

What is the meaning of phrase ‘Blood Money’ in Veronica’s reply email.?

The right definition of 'Blood Money' is the money paid by the murderer to victims family as a act of penance.Veronica who sees her mom responsible for Adrian suicide refers the money Sarah left to Tony,Adrian's friend and most likely to be  the last surviving kin  of Adrian as blood money.

Question :

 Do you see any possible reason in the suicide of Adrian Finn?

There are two reasons behind the Adrian's suicide of . First, he is suicide because of the suffering from trauma. Second is he affair with her girlfriend mother and he had burden of There baby and that is why he had also fear from society so that is why he committed suicide .