文摘
This 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.