An Existentialist Analysis Of The Sense Of An Ending

Julian Barnes is a famous contemporary writer in Britain.His works present the characteristics of postmodernism and reflect unique historical views and humanistic concern.Barnes won the Man Booker Prize in 2011 for the novel The Sense of an Ending.In the same year,he received the British Literature Lifetime Achievement Award.As soon as the novel was published,it was highly praised by the news media and literary circles.This thesis tries to analyze The Sense of an Ending from the perspective of Sartre’s existentialism,focusing on its three basic concepts,namely “absurdity”,“alienation” and “free choice”.It’s divided into four chapters:The first chapter introduces the writer and the novel.It summarizes Sartre’s existentialism theory,the research of The Sense of an Ending at home and abroad and the research significance and purpose of this thesis.The second chapter mainly discusses the absurdity of the world.By analyzing the turbulent societies,absurd moral values,and the uncertainty and contingency of life,the absurdity of the world is revealed.This absurd living environment is an important cause of human alienation.The third chapter discusses the alienation of people in modern society.It’s mainly reflected in the character’s self-alienation,alienation among characters and alienation from society.In the novel,the protagonist becomes self-alienated through self-deception.By deliberately changing his memory and distorting the facts,Tony considers himself as an innocent victim to avoid injury.The alienation among people is mainly reflected in family members,and the alienation between people and society is mainly reflected in the fact that it is very difficult for people to integrate into society and thus become more and more alienated from society.The fourth chapter discusses the importance of free choice.To get out of the absurd and alienated world,one must first make a right choice.In the novel,Adrian escapes the moral and ethical dilemma through suicide;Tony regains his true self through constant reflection and repentance;Veronica chooses to forgive and assume responsibilities in order to gain inner freedom.Escaping is not advisable.Only by recognizing the reality and taking responsibilities can we achieve true freedom.The conclusion part summarizes the novel and the existentialism embodied in the novel.Existentialism believes that the world is absurd and people are alienated from each other.However,human beings are absolutely free.People can choose their own freedom to find the value of life.Through this novel,Barnes shows readers the severe class distinctions,indifference of human nature and the decline of British social morality in the 1950 s and 1960 s.He concerns for the living conditions of human beings.This thesis tries to explore ways to get out of absurdity and alienation and encourages people to face difficulties bravely,take responsibilities,and make positive choices.