TRAGEDY, SELFHOOD, AND NARRATIVE ETHICS: REVISITING JULIAN BARNES’ 'THE SENSE OF AN ENDING' VIA JAGANNATHAN’S REFLECTIONS

Abstract

This paper will look at the philosophical and literary aspects of Julian Barnes' novel 'The Sense of an Ending' by using the critical aspects of the essay 'On Making Sense of Oneself' by Dhananjay Jagannathan. The study concentrates on the complex interanimation of memory and identity, narrative ethics as well as rewriting classical tragedy in a postmodern setting. Relying on a variety of theoretical approaches, such as the philosophy of memory presented by Paul Ricoeur, the response to ethical criticism of certain points as explained by Martha Nussbaum and the virtue ethics propagated by Alasdair MacIntyre, the paper traces how the retrospection of the main character Tony Webster illustrates the shifting nature of self-narration and the problematic clarity of morals in the context of scattered memories.

The study through qualitative analysis and interpretive inquiry focuses on the pivotal role that non-reliable narration and post-hoc sense-making play in developing personal identity. This novel has been presented as a contemporary tragedy and not one with any great falling though with a lingering and unchecked sense of moral ambivalence and lost remembrance. As the findings suggest, the novel by Barnes overturns the hierarchical understanding of guilt, responsibility, and resolution bringing about a more fluid and unstable self, which is endlessly required to negotiate its past. Finally, the paper has shown that 'The Sense of an Ending' makes major contributions in terms of philosophical literature in regard to issues of self-understanding and morality of recollection in modern literature.