The Sense of an Ending

    The purpose of the book, to my mind, is to present how people’s interpretation of the world, of each other and of ourselves is subjective and is affected by our own feelings and state of mind. Some people might find this unsettling, as it calls into question some of the certainties of life, and the lack of happy ending in the book could reflect this.

For me, the message of the book is to encourage its readers to evaluate their lives and to work to achieve their ambitions and consider others, lest they should find themselves in a similar situation to Tony when they get old.

The first part of the book concentrates on issues in adolescence, for example learning the difference between real life and the way life is presented in literature. Although this could be viewed as a paradox as in “The Sense of an Ending” Barnes strives to present an example of an ordinary, unremarkable life. Barnes also challenges this lifestyle, arguing that “we imagined we were being responsible but were only being cowardly. What we called realism turned out to be a way of avoiding things rather than facing them” (p93). Although it could be argued that it is not always possible for everyone to achieve all of their ambitions due to issues such as money and time constraints.

Barnes’s argument could link in with the way that Tony finds out about Adrian’s death. Barnes provides very little build up to the announcement., thus ensuring that the news is as much of a shock to the audience as it is to the character of Tony, so that the audience have no opportunity to avoid or skip over the details.

The causes of Adrian’s suicide occupy the final chapters of the book. Although Barnes doesn’t make his reasons clear, he does provide the information necessary to make deductions about the events leading up to it. This strategy encourages the reader to reflect back over the events described in the book, reflecting on Tony’s life the same way that he does, perhaps making the reader identify more with the protagonist.

The issues surrounding growing up and growing old that are exposed in the book is something most readers would be able to identify with, helping them to empathise with the main character. Although the audience may also find themselves able to sympathise with Adrian and his reasons for committing suicide. This may be disturbing for the reader, as they may not want to identify with something that they would normally avoid. However it also helps them to understand the possible motivation for such an action.

“The Sense of an Ending” covers issues such as the issues surrounding suicide, growing up and growing up. This helps its readers to empathise with the main characters and to perhaps appreciate another point of view.