Topic :- Tony Webster and his Memory
Name :- Divya Vaghela
Batch :- 2018-20
Roll no :- 07
Paper no:- 13 ( The New literature)
Enrollment no :- 2069108420190044
Gmail ID :- vaghela.divya230@gmail.com
Submitted to:- Department of English
• About the Novel :-
- " The sense of Ending" novel was written by Julian Barnes in 2011. Where he potrayed all different kind of character,all are have some different things. Here ,Tony Webster was the protagonist and the Narrator of the novel.When he is telling story he is 60, retired person . He is talking about his history and memory.So, the play swings between History and memory throughout the novel.The novel was divided into two parts. The Title borrowed from Frank Kermode's book of the same name.In this novel we can find change in communicative mediums through E-mail. This novel has enigmatic tone and also find as philosophical novel.Here plot is not the soul of the novel,but characters and their life are the soul of the novel. Julian Barnes's Narrative technique was different because he is hiding the story from his own leading character in novel, In last when story unfolds at that time Narrator also opens as a strange character.
• Some background information about major characters:-
•• The protagonist of the novel was Tony Webster and mainly he deals with his memory and history , how his youthful days are in school. Which kind of friend he has. One thing was clear which we can find that whenever the one is speaking or reflecting story he becomes the centre,in a sense that we can't see the negative side of particular one. If I am saying anything then I will portray my character as good. This hint we also find at some extent in Tony's narration. So,Tony has a friend's named Colin ,Alex, Robson. Afterwards Adrian also joins his group,which was totally differ from Tony. Tony try to recall his lecture, activities, some major events with his memory.He bulits relationship with Veronica,then broke it and then get married,and then divorced and have one daughter and the children of the daughter also. Adrian was a philosophical character,much interested in history,and brilliant in study,Rational rather than emotional,cultivated confidence . He considered as self conscious and serious. In further he has attractive personality,he had no herd mentality; kind of uniqueness. This all perspective we can come to know from Tony. The Tony who described Adrian like this. Next let's meet Veronica ford,woman character in the novel which is sophisticated, Independent and modern girl.She find as mysterious,self centred ,we can kind idea of class conscious and elitist from her character. She is known as calculative and Manipulative according to Throughout the novel we find two suicide case ; one is Robson and second is Adrian which is quite shockable matter.When Adrian died Tony said that;
" Adrian would have want be first; He was right . First class degree, First class suicide"
.
•• Tony Webster :-
- Tony Webster was a kind of complex character,that we need to think to understand his character, because his character is changing. So, when he tells story he is at 60, almost going to end his life. He was retired person. Infact he was happy men. He was very satisfied with his life, He got married,have divorced,have daughter and the children of the daughter. He is doing charity work. He belongs to middle class family and specially he believes that he is as good to people than people are good to him. In a way he believes himself as a good person,in initial part we also believed him as he said.The ending seems to be that of the 'old man' ( The old man and the sea by Ernest Hemingway) , Anthony Webster who is near the 'end' of his journey of life. He ponders - feels nostalgic about the 'past'. As humans near their end,they crave more for their youthful days.
•• Unreliable Narration:-
In novel we can find Unreliable Narration from Tony because at soem point we aren't agree with him.whenever he is telling any event he first framed the matter and then he itself deconstruct that. Sometimes he said with surity of time and place and sometimes he at the end of matter says that he wasn't sure,that what happened exactly. In beginning as the way tells story we are very curious or Interested in talk ,but when we find that it is unreliable then we find shock that how can this is possible? He has an issue of understanding that he is not understanding proper at right time. From very days in school to end of the novel we find that he presented as unknowable,or not trying to get it, from everybody he use to listen that you are not understanding and you will never,yet he feels himself good and knowable person. At the end when story folds at that time also he don't get it. In real sense he got Unrest in his life.This are the last words of the novel;
" There is accumulation. There is responsibility.And beyond these,there is unrest. There is great unrest."
In meaning,when he is getting end of life, his history comes infront of him and in real he get sense of ending of life,at 60 he realizes that he has done gravely wrong to somebody. That time we can come to know about the real character of Tony.When Tony deal with History and memory,then we can easily find that Memory is the particular one's matter,we can design as we want to present,but the History was not the particular one's. It is major event of the past time. We should recall it as it was there. Many people's lives are attached with History. So, Tony also got betrayal from his own history and memory.
•• Now to make my arguments strong for Tony here I am using three articles which are followed by and cited at below:-
1] Title :- Deconstruction of the complex Human relationships in Julian Barnes's The sense of Ending by Dr. Arpit Kothari
• This paper mainly talks about complex Human relationships. Dr. Arpit says that Tony Webster does not have much confidence on his memory. Tony recalls past events after receiving a letter written forty years ago by someone who was very close to him. Moroever the writer says that he colours events and relationships to his needs in the grab of his fading memory during his old age. Moroever,says that Tony reminds us, comprises of the lies of the victors,yet in addition of the self fancies of the defeated.Then he talks about the relationship of Veronica and Tony in college.I am agree with this paper at some extent,further I want to say we can know about the history confidence of Tony ,that where he was,and his relation with Veronica. He says that 'History is the lies of the victors and self delusion of the defeated'. He also says Adrian's definition of History that" History is that certainly produced at the point where the imperfections of memory meet,the inadequacies of documentation".
2] Litcharts :-
In this cite,it says that Tony is eager to tell a certain story of his life,one in which he might appear in as positive a light as posdtand isn't understand the other character. I his life he doesn't retain certain qualities like : he is wry and ironic,pleasant in company and as he dubs himself,' peaceable'- quick to avoid confrontation.Here is one quote by Tony ;
" But school is where it all began, so I need to return briefly to a few incidents that have grown into anecdotes, to some approximate memories which time has deformed into certainly".
So, this mainly talks about the character of Tony and his school days that how the discussion is going on in the class of the history. We can know the many perception of students regarding history and how it plays role in their past as well as I'm future.
3] Memory Revisited in Julian Barnes's the sense of an Ending.
• Here the article states that the main protagonist of the novel is a retired man quite comfortable and contented with his present life,and at the end of the novel he receives an unexpected inheritance from the mother of a girlfriend from his education time in university. He related on the quality and function of memory. At the second hand,the act of revisiting and revising that specific episode,brings with it feelings of guilt and remorse as the Tony realises that his past acts were not as noble as he remembered them to be.
So, These articles talks about the Tony and his history. There is one accumulation in novel was ;
A2 + V+ a1× s= b
Here we can find that this accumulation starts with Tony and his relation with Veronica and then Veronica's relation with Adrian and his multipal with Sarah( Veronica's mother) and at the end the baby comes from Adrain and Sarah Ford, Tony is not understanding this. He believes that this boy was of Veronica and Adrain. He doesn't know that because of his words of letter,all are suffering alot. The letter which he written in past but he didn't remember his history. We can see that because of his 5 lives are destroyed,but still he is not getting. But at the end of the novel in real sense he gets sense of the sense of an Ending.So, like this Tony and his memory plays a vital role in the novel.
•• Works Cited
•• Baena, Victoria. The Sense of an Ending characters: Anthony ( Tony ) Webster. 15 June 2018. 8 March 2020 <https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-sense-of-an-ending/characters/anthony-tony-webster>.
••• kothari, Dr.Arpit. Deconstruction of theComplex Human relationships in julian barnes's The sense of Ending. saturday February 2019. Sunday March 2020 <http://languageinindia.com/feb2019/arpitsenseofanendingjulianbarnes.pdf>.
•• oro-Piqueras, Maricel. Memory revisited in Julian Barnes's The Sense of an Ending. 1 February 2014. 8 March 2020 <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/307851151_Memory_Revisited_in_Julian_Barnes's_The_Sense_of_an_Ending>.
Name :- Divya Vaghela
Batch :- 2018-20
Roll no :- 07
Paper no:- 13 ( The New literature)
Enrollment no :- 2069108420190044
Gmail ID :- vaghela.divya230@gmail.com
Submitted to:- Department of English
• About the Novel :-
- " The sense of Ending" novel was written by Julian Barnes in 2011. Where he potrayed all different kind of character,all are have some different things. Here ,Tony Webster was the protagonist and the Narrator of the novel.When he is telling story he is 60, retired person . He is talking about his history and memory.So, the play swings between History and memory throughout the novel.The novel was divided into two parts. The Title borrowed from Frank Kermode's book of the same name.In this novel we can find change in communicative mediums through E-mail. This novel has enigmatic tone and also find as philosophical novel.Here plot is not the soul of the novel,but characters and their life are the soul of the novel. Julian Barnes's Narrative technique was different because he is hiding the story from his own leading character in novel, In last when story unfolds at that time Narrator also opens as a strange character.
• Some background information about major characters:-
•• The protagonist of the novel was Tony Webster and mainly he deals with his memory and history , how his youthful days are in school. Which kind of friend he has. One thing was clear which we can find that whenever the one is speaking or reflecting story he becomes the centre,in a sense that we can't see the negative side of particular one. If I am saying anything then I will portray my character as good. This hint we also find at some extent in Tony's narration. So,Tony has a friend's named Colin ,Alex, Robson. Afterwards Adrian also joins his group,which was totally differ from Tony. Tony try to recall his lecture, activities, some major events with his memory.He bulits relationship with Veronica,then broke it and then get married,and then divorced and have one daughter and the children of the daughter also. Adrian was a philosophical character,much interested in history,and brilliant in study,Rational rather than emotional,cultivated confidence . He considered as self conscious and serious. In further he has attractive personality,he had no herd mentality; kind of uniqueness. This all perspective we can come to know from Tony. The Tony who described Adrian like this. Next let's meet Veronica ford,woman character in the novel which is sophisticated, Independent and modern girl.She find as mysterious,self centred ,we can kind idea of class conscious and elitist from her character. She is known as calculative and Manipulative according to Throughout the novel we find two suicide case ; one is Robson and second is Adrian which is quite shockable matter.When Adrian died Tony said that;
" Adrian would have want be first; He was right . First class degree, First class suicide"
.
•• Tony Webster :-
- Tony Webster was a kind of complex character,that we need to think to understand his character, because his character is changing. So, when he tells story he is at 60, almost going to end his life. He was retired person. Infact he was happy men. He was very satisfied with his life, He got married,have divorced,have daughter and the children of the daughter. He is doing charity work. He belongs to middle class family and specially he believes that he is as good to people than people are good to him. In a way he believes himself as a good person,in initial part we also believed him as he said.The ending seems to be that of the 'old man' ( The old man and the sea by Ernest Hemingway) , Anthony Webster who is near the 'end' of his journey of life. He ponders - feels nostalgic about the 'past'. As humans near their end,they crave more for their youthful days.
•• Unreliable Narration:-
In novel we can find Unreliable Narration from Tony because at soem point we aren't agree with him.whenever he is telling any event he first framed the matter and then he itself deconstruct that. Sometimes he said with surity of time and place and sometimes he at the end of matter says that he wasn't sure,that what happened exactly. In beginning as the way tells story we are very curious or Interested in talk ,but when we find that it is unreliable then we find shock that how can this is possible? He has an issue of understanding that he is not understanding proper at right time. From very days in school to end of the novel we find that he presented as unknowable,or not trying to get it, from everybody he use to listen that you are not understanding and you will never,yet he feels himself good and knowable person. At the end when story folds at that time also he don't get it. In real sense he got Unrest in his life.This are the last words of the novel;
" There is accumulation. There is responsibility.And beyond these,there is unrest. There is great unrest."
In meaning,when he is getting end of life, his history comes infront of him and in real he get sense of ending of life,at 60 he realizes that he has done gravely wrong to somebody. That time we can come to know about the real character of Tony.When Tony deal with History and memory,then we can easily find that Memory is the particular one's matter,we can design as we want to present,but the History was not the particular one's. It is major event of the past time. We should recall it as it was there. Many people's lives are attached with History. So, Tony also got betrayal from his own history and memory.
•• Now to make my arguments strong for Tony here I am using three articles which are followed by and cited at below:-
1] Title :- Deconstruction of the complex Human relationships in Julian Barnes's The sense of Ending by Dr. Arpit Kothari
• This paper mainly talks about complex Human relationships. Dr. Arpit says that Tony Webster does not have much confidence on his memory. Tony recalls past events after receiving a letter written forty years ago by someone who was very close to him. Moroever the writer says that he colours events and relationships to his needs in the grab of his fading memory during his old age. Moroever,says that Tony reminds us, comprises of the lies of the victors,yet in addition of the self fancies of the defeated.Then he talks about the relationship of Veronica and Tony in college.I am agree with this paper at some extent,further I want to say we can know about the history confidence of Tony ,that where he was,and his relation with Veronica. He says that 'History is the lies of the victors and self delusion of the defeated'. He also says Adrian's definition of History that" History is that certainly produced at the point where the imperfections of memory meet,the inadequacies of documentation".
2] Litcharts :-
In this cite,it says that Tony is eager to tell a certain story of his life,one in which he might appear in as positive a light as posdtand isn't understand the other character. I his life he doesn't retain certain qualities like : he is wry and ironic,pleasant in company and as he dubs himself,' peaceable'- quick to avoid confrontation.Here is one quote by Tony ;
" But school is where it all began, so I need to return briefly to a few incidents that have grown into anecdotes, to some approximate memories which time has deformed into certainly".
So, this mainly talks about the character of Tony and his school days that how the discussion is going on in the class of the history. We can know the many perception of students regarding history and how it plays role in their past as well as I'm future.
3] Memory Revisited in Julian Barnes's the sense of an Ending.
• Here the article states that the main protagonist of the novel is a retired man quite comfortable and contented with his present life,and at the end of the novel he receives an unexpected inheritance from the mother of a girlfriend from his education time in university. He related on the quality and function of memory. At the second hand,the act of revisiting and revising that specific episode,brings with it feelings of guilt and remorse as the Tony realises that his past acts were not as noble as he remembered them to be.
So, These articles talks about the Tony and his history. There is one accumulation in novel was ;
A2 + V+ a1× s= b
Here we can find that this accumulation starts with Tony and his relation with Veronica and then Veronica's relation with Adrian and his multipal with Sarah( Veronica's mother) and at the end the baby comes from Adrain and Sarah Ford, Tony is not understanding this. He believes that this boy was of Veronica and Adrain. He doesn't know that because of his words of letter,all are suffering alot. The letter which he written in past but he didn't remember his history. We can see that because of his 5 lives are destroyed,but still he is not getting. But at the end of the novel in real sense he gets sense of the sense of an Ending.So, like this Tony and his memory plays a vital role in the novel.
•• Works Cited
•• Baena, Victoria. The Sense of an Ending characters: Anthony ( Tony ) Webster. 15 June 2018. 8 March 2020 <https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-sense-of-an-ending/characters/anthony-tony-webster>.
••• kothari, Dr.Arpit. Deconstruction of theComplex Human relationships in julian barnes's The sense of Ending. saturday February 2019. Sunday March 2020 <http://languageinindia.com/feb2019/arpitsenseofanendingjulianbarnes.pdf>.
•• oro-Piqueras, Maricel. Memory revisited in Julian Barnes's The Sense of an Ending. 1 February 2014. 8 March 2020 <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/307851151_Memory_Revisited_in_Julian_Barnes's_The_Sense_of_an_Ending>.
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