Preview

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1030 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
Of course the overwhelming reason as to why I read this novel was due to it痴 length. I have never liked long books; I often times find the monotonous and wordy. Before beginning the novel I assume you would need to know somewhat about the culture of the sixties and also social customs and terms originating from the United Kingdom seeing as that痴 where the majority of the novel takes place. This setting is only imperative to the novel because lends reference. The novel opens on four schoolmates who are all seemingly very intelligent and philosophical and we can sense that before this opening scene, they have all been sent to a boarding school by their parents and they all seem to very much enjoy it. The story is told from the perspective of Anthony (Tony) Webster, who is also one of the four schoolmates. As the novel progresses we see the main character痴 attempt to not be out-shone by his friend Adrian who will later on begin dating his ex girlfriend and ultimately commit suicide. Tony struggles with his over processing mind and also the perilous struggles that every young adult faces such as messy relationships, school and work. Though the novel can tend to rant on about philosophical self-evidence and theories that can at times be above me, the author captures my attention excellently through his fast pace and extensive vocabulary.

We live in time ?it holds us and moulds us?but I致e never felt I understood it very well. And I知 not referring to theories about how it blends and doubles back, or may exist elsewhere in parallel versions. No, I mean ordinary, everyday time, which clocks and watches assure us passes regularly.Then Sense of an Ending (p. 10) This quote here summarizes the views that Tony Webster has on time. The everyday time that passes. It represents the rapid pace at which the novel moves and shows the lack of representation that this everyday time actually has; the simple passing of life.

At this point in the novel, we see the main

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the end, Alex Bumberg asks Russ Feingold why no one is pushing for a change in the system. His response, though it could be described as disheartening, is something that I can understand. “It’s the system, and it’s the water in which we swim…[they] were elected under the system...It’s hard to get people to change something after they win that way.” It is crushing to think that Congress could be so corrupt. But any system can be difficult to challenge, especially when it benefits so many people with so much influence. Bumberg points out how many of the politicians and lobbyists they spoke to hate the mess that is political fundraising. I honestly don’t think I understand the system well enough to fully appreciate that these individuals who…

    • 163 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the book A Separate Piece by John Knowles, A group of teenage boys attend a selective boarding school in New Hampshire called Devon. Throughout the novel, the characters experience the prominent effects of World War II. From rotten apples to the disappearance of maids, the lives of boys at Devon were changing rapidly. Also, because most of the characters were on their way to turning 18, they are faced with the decision of whether to enlist or wait to be drafted.…

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    On paragraph 8, Thoreau says, “Time is but the stream I go afishing in.” With this metaphor, he expresses that time is shallow and mysterious. The stream he mentions is eternal and questionable, but yet so ideal. “I have always been regretting that I was not as wise as the day I was born.” This other metaphor is used to explain that as babies we were actually living ideally and truly, because we would not stain our lives with things like wondering why something happened. We would just live along with the ways in which life affected us. We would not worry about what life…

    • 498 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the book, it talks about people going into World War 2. In Chapter 13 Gene says “The Jeeps, The Troops, The Sewing Machines, were drawn up next to…” (Knowles 197). This shows the environment they were in, it was all war necessities, and machines to help the soldiers in the war. This showed that this fear that characters were in and shows how this helps them learn more and eventually reach the point where they have came of age. On Page 73 it says “Five of the younger teachers were missing, gone into war” (Knowles 73). This Quote shows just how serious the situation was at Devon. This meant that the kids will also have to act serious, because there was no time for foolishness, they were in a tense and scary situation.. Now that there is less time to be foolish, they have been learning about the real world more, and that has led to their coming of age. In the book the students were being enlisted into the Army, and everyone had to follow rules. Even people who usually break rules, wanted to join the army. Finny says on page 190 ”Ill hate it everywhere if I’m not in this war!” (Knowles 190) This shows just how the setting of the story changed the actions of the…

    • 736 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Kenneth Slessor Speech

    • 1133 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The poem ‘Out of time’ vividly initiates the essence of life and humanity as being primarily dominated and controlled by Time. Many critical analysis of Slessor’s work convey that his perception of time is that of a mystery, something that cannot be clearly defined and comprehended. His personal connection with time is deluded with the fact that it can be both a destructive force and a pleasure found in a moment. The adamant and unstoppable nature of time; causes it to solely control and thus highlight the vulnerability of the human existence. As observed in the first sonnet the destructive nature of time is…

    • 1133 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The poem 'As I Walked Out One Evening' consists of three separate speakers: the lovers, the clocks and the narrator. Each speaker represents a different measure and attitude towards time. The lover’s song paints time to be conquerable and ignorable – no more than a passing annoyance that they are outside of. The soliloquy of the clocks demonstrates time as a product of society, there to keep its subjects in line, and ultimately a ruling force. Finally, the narrator speaks of love as being outside of both of these things. Time is a constant flow than brings change and opportunity, and any claim to deny or control it is an illusion.…

    • 920 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    This paragraph is the introduction to the whole novel. Usually an author would use some background information about the main character, or maybe even the time period, but not this one. This author chose to introduce her book with a long metaphor about dreams, men’s in specific. This metaphor talks of how the dreams of man are like ships on the horizon, always in sight but never in reach. She implies that no man has control over his dreams, and that no matter what they do; it is only by chance that they will achieve these dreams. Another important part of this paragraph is that “Time” is capitalized, as if it were a person mocking the Watcher by showing them what they can never achieve, and aging them so that they will never even have a chance.[…

    • 1616 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    I believe the Poem, The Last Word, by Peter Davidson is about the slaughtering of an innocent animal by a novice butcher. The reluctance of the action expressed in the poem makes it obvious that the killer is inexperienced with killing animals because they still have a hard time committing the action. And we are going off of the idea that no man is innocent, the one executed would have to be some kind of animal.…

    • 411 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Have you ever felt like time was running past you? That the world kept spinning while you just stood still? Time is a central theme in many of Kenneth Slessor’s poems, however it is primarily explored through ‘Out of time’ and ‘Five Bells’. Slessor has made it obvious that he is aware that time continues whether we want it to or not and this is what allows us to put into perspective the notion of humanity’s dominance.…

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are many memories that may come to mind when the word adolescence is spoken. Some people recall times of enjoyable, innocent adventures, but for others the phrase “teenage years” holds horrific memories. For a section of the populace their “teen experiences” may be the most appalling time period, as they begin to undergo many changes. This concept of dark adolescence is present, not only in the real world, but in the literary world as well. For example, in the novel A Separate Peace where a friendship turned in the wrong direction and a deadly war, mark the moments of growing up. While some readers believe that Phineas (Finny) and Gene’s separate peace shows the innocence of youthful occurrences; a closer inquiry demonstrates that through mental illness and death , adolescence is a time of terror, thus showing a theme of the realization of reality.…

    • 1022 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The humans live in time but our Enemy destines them to eternity. He therefore, I believe, wants them to attend chiefly to tow things, to eternity itself, and to that point of time which they call the Present. For the Present is the point at which time touches eternity. Of the present moment, and of it only, humans have an experience analogous to the experience which our Enemy has of reality as a whole; in it alone freedom and actuality are offered them. – Screwtape, Chapter 15, Page 75, Lines 9 – 17.…

    • 782 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    whom she called John and Mary. The story itself is very different from most of other…

    • 973 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The sense of the control in time within the poem is set by the final lines “White time ran ahead, along glistening tracks of steel’ and is also contrasted with “Time waited anxiously with us” helps represents that…

    • 804 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Out of time” portrays memorable ideas to the audience through its theme. Slessor points out that time is an unstoppable element and it has an effect on everything, regardless of it being living or dead. ‘I saw time flowing like a hundred yachts’. This quote illustrates that time is unstoppable. Slessor shows the dominancy of time in relation with the number of yachts (a hundred). Therefore the quote has a simile in it to show the value of time. ‘Eager to quench and ripen, kiss or kill’. The following quote shows the inevitability of time and that it has major effects on everything in the world. The quote suggests a major impact on everything with the words ‘quench’, ‘ripen’ and ‘kill’. These words are very strong and intense, showing the authority that time has. The poetic technique has time personified as an unstoppable person that performs their duties, thus portraying the concept of memorable ideas to the audience.…

    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Breakfast Club

    • 1134 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Trapped in a day-long Saturday detention, Five high school students, all from different cliques, are summoned to the school library, they are assigned an essay on “Who you think you are?” from the assistant principal Mr. Vernon , when they question who they really are they begin to bond. As the hours pass they dance, harass each other, tell stories, fight, and smoke marijuana. They continue to open up an learn each other secrets for example, Allison is a compulsive liar, Brian and Claire are ashamed of their virginity, and Andy got in trouble because of his overbearing father.…

    • 1134 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays