On the Motif of Death in Julian Barnes’ The Sense of an Ending

Wenquan WU

Abstract


This paper sets out to elaborate the theme of death in Julian Barnes’ Man Booker Prize awarded novel The Sense of an Ending. The author is convinced that the two suicides respectively of Robson and Adrian, as well as the death of Mrs. Ford, manage to lay bare the profound impacts of the drastic social changes on people of various social classes. The decline of religion and the rise of various schools of thought, the dismantling of the traditional family and the rising self-confidence of the woman, and the serious class clashes all complicate interpersonal communications and result in various tragic endings. 


Keywords


Death; Suicide; Camus; Class; Damage

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References


Barnes, J. (2011). The sense of an ending. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.

Barnes, J. (2008). Nothing to be frightened of. London: Vintage.

Barnes, J. (2012). Through the window. London: Vintage.

Christopher, D. (1999). British culture. London: Routledge.

Childs, P. (2011). Julian Barnes. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

Camus, A. (1983). The myth of sisyphus and other essays. New York: Vintage International.

Du, X. Z. (1987). Albert camus. In G. P. Zhou (Ed.), Philosophers as poets. Shanghai: Shanghai People’s Publishing House.

Foley, J. (2008). Albert camus: From the absurd to revolt. Stocksfield: Acumen Publishing.

Gray, J. G. (1951). The idea of death in existentialism. The Journal of Philosophy, 48(5), 113-127.

Wood, M. (1994). The contemporary novel. In J. Richetti (Ed.), The Columbia history of the British novel. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/%25x

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