Law, History, and Literature as Narrative in The Sense of an Ending

Douglass, Thomas E.Kulvete, Samuel C.2014-06-152014-06-152014http://hdl.handle.net/10342/4403This thesis explores how Tony Webster constructs personal narrative in The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes. Using the work of Hayden White, J. Christopher Rideout, and Frank Kermode as a critical foundation, the paper discusses the intersection of legal, literary, and historical lenses for viewing narration. Of particular interest is "the fantasy space of the trial," a term introduced in this paper that applies to situations in which literary characters imagine themselves in hypothetical courtroom spaces. Barnes' novel also uses correspondence (letters, notes, and e-mails) to create a convergence point for legal, historical, and literary narrative. Law, history, and literature are all constructs receiving social support that provide a method for ordering the difficulties and uncertainties of the human experience. 58 p.dissertations, academicLiteratureAgingLawHistoriographyMemoryWebster, Tony (Fictitious character)Sense of an ending, The (Barnes)Fiction of narrative, TheStorytelling, narrative rationality, and legal persuasionSense of an ending, The (Kermode)Narrative rationalityLegal persuasionBarnes, Julian. Sense of an endingWhite, Hayden V., 1928- . Fiction of narrativeRideout, J. Christopher. Storytelling, narrative rationality, and legal persuasionKermode, Frank, 1919-2010. Sense of an endingInterpersonal relations--FictionLaw, History, and Literature as Narrative in The Sense of an EndingMaster's Thesis