"The Sense of an Ending" - Julian Barnes

 Introduction

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 is about the person’s memory of youthful days. The novella is divided into two divisions. The divisions are entitled as Part1 and Part2. The first part begins in the 1960s.It begins with four intellectually arrogant school friends.

"You still don’t get it. You never did, and you never will. So stop even trying”.

Imperfection of Memory:

                          

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

This phrase can be interpreted in various ways like Tony is self-centric narrator and he think Veronica’s mother sent 500 dollar because she damages him is silly thing.

 Ans: For Sarah it means because of Tony she got handsome young boy who in love with her and that’s why she sent money to him which is blood money for Veronica. She may felt guilty of Adrian’s suicide and she wants to blame Tony or wants to regret for that and so she sent him.  Veronica thinks that because of Tony Adrian would have relation with her mother. If Tony had not sent letter to Adrian or informed him that if you are not believe in me than ask her own mother who will inform you. And Adrian may go to ask her and since there their relation would have started and she became pregnant and that’s why intellectual Adrian had suicide. It means Tony played feelings of people and which lead to the destruction of some character’s life like Veronica, Sarah, baby, Adrian so it is blood money. 

 2: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?

Ans: Possibilities not lie there because there is the clarification of suicide note. Adrian did very intellectual philosophical suicide. He believes that there is nothing wrong in suicide. There are different reasons of suicide but there are not possibilities of Adrian living with hidden identity.

5.Do you see any missing block – some dot which is not getting connected with the whole or dot missing to get full sense of the novel - in the plot of this psychological thriller?

The whole novel is dependent on possibilities, there so many things that are not clear for instance we are not told that how and where Veronica and Adrian met? What Sara told to Adrian that he immediately ends his relation with Veronica? What were the reasons that Sarah did not pay much attention to his husband? Why she kept herself busy in search of other man? Why she felt jealousy from Veronica? The novel is just like “The Birthday Party “where we are not told much about all character’s history and we are left with so many possibilities.


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

In the light of new revelations I read her as sacrificial and trustworthy. With one reading we may find her calculative when she ends her relation with Toney  due to Adrian, as she finds Adrian more suitable for her. But In second Part Tony do not understand what Veronica tried to convey by showing him that group of mentally retired people at that time Veronica says that you still don’t get it, you never did and you will never will. It shows that even in past when they were in relation whenever Veronica tried to convey something to him, he never get it. And when she met Adrian, she feels that Adrian can understand her. Tony was not able to understand Veronica’s perspective and both had their own different nature and way of thinking and communication and because of that they failed to understand each-other.