Friday Post

The one aspect that intrigued me the most about this chapter was when Webster was talking  about how he and a couple friends experienced the Severn Bore. I have seen many many videos of tidal bores across the world and it is a dream of mine to one day surf such a long and endless wave. As he talked about it I felt so annoyed that he missed the opportunity to surf it. Ofcourse I know he's not a surfer but he went the te to see it at night and just let it pass by? Even his firmss, they only tried running after it pointlessly. If they had actually surfed it that would have made my day.

Moving onto to Webster relationship with Veronica, as I predicted, it didn't last long. What I found interesting though is that they went to bed only after they were broken up. That tells me that Veronica either didn't want to miss the opportunity to go to he's with Webster or just wanted to do it and be able to move on to someone else, to Adrian, wherei wants surpassed to find out. It was clear and a dead giveaway that she has interests fornAdrian since she met him as her boyfriends friend. As Webster continues to explain his past, I wonder when he will reach the end and talk about his present life.

Friday Post

Albert Camus' famous line, "There is but one truly philosophical problem and that is suicide" was referenced in part one. The group of intellectually curious teenage boys viewed Robson's suicide as a grand let-down. Several times, Tony mentioned that they all feared life would not live up to the complexities of Literature. Therefore, they regarded Robson's suicide as a lame, utterly anti-climactic example of literary drama.
When Adrian decides to take his own life, the dynamics are different. Tony admires Adrian greatly, and seeks meaning in his last letter. He cannot bear to think that Adrian's suicide was a meaningless waste; Adrian was always sure and logical with every decision he made. Why then, would Adrian kill himself? Was it a way for him to escape the dreadful existence of being a 'piano key'? Was he doing it to realize his 'absolute advantage' and simply because he could?
Tony's mother states that it was most likely because he was too intelligent. She, like Dostoyevsky, recognizes that "consciousness is a disease".
Adrian wrote in his letter that life is a gift nobody asks for, and therefore anyone has the choice to refuse it. Was his suicide an attempt to convey a message to others, or was it a means of proving something to himself?

Friday Post

So far I've been able to connect this book to Notes from the Underground, The Stranger, and the lecture about how people that are way too smart can't function in society. Adrian represented the conscious man man that Dostoevsky was talking about. He showed more philosophical thinking than anyone however encountered and is could tell from early on he could see both sides of the arguments. Like when he was talking about history and he was saying that it can never be fully reliable because history can be subjective and adjectives and the only we to know the objective ration of history, you must know the history of the historian to see what subjective factors he brings to the table. This was also noticed by Tonys mom when she asked if Adrian committed suicide because he was"too clever". Adrian understood that life was a gift that comes with conditions because it is not really a gift we ask for, so it may take us a little shoe to truly determine if we want to carry on with this gift or not. Adrian saw the good in both sides of the argument on life,and so he was taken to a point of philosophical madness, in which he saw no better way out than death. I don't really like the fact that Adrian was so confused about life because I think life is the only gift we need to be completely grateful for, and I think Tony is the perfect example of how to want to live life, it reminded me a little bit of my term book On the Road, where the main character just travels around looking for meaning, like Tony traveled to the United States because he was bored of England.

Viernes

Wendell Pfeffer

2/28/14

            It looks like there still seems to be many problems with Veronica and Tony. After they slept together Tony wanted to find out why she would ever slept with him in such a random state. I use to think that she slept with him in order to get him back, but now I actually know why and that is because of Adrian. I think she wanted to make Tony seem like the culprit in their past relationship by telling him that she slept with him and then he broke up with her in order to win Adrian’s acceptance. Later in the story Tony finds out that one of his best friends has began to date his ex. When they broke up Tony was left in a disturbed state and now it has only gotten worse. Adrian broke the bro code and chooses Veronica over Tony, which turns out to be a fatal mistake. Tony felt like any other guy would – betrayed. He now knew that there was absolutely no chance for him to get her back. I knew that something like this would happen, especially because when Veronica visited Tony all she was paying attention to was his friends.

            As time continues to pass by rather quickly in this book Alex decides to move on and he does so quite successfully. He works at multiple jobs, moves to the United States and even finds himself an American girl called Margaret. They later fall in love and have kids later on in the future. He then returns to England from the United States and finds out from his friend Alex that Adrian has committed suicide by cutting his wrists. This to me was random, strange and quite sad because even though Adrian screwed his friend over he was a good addition towards the story because he was smart and always seemed happy. I think that he committed suicide solely because of Veronica. She probably broke his heart like she did with Tony, but Adrian was probably unable to take the pain.

First Section Post

As Tony begins to grow his friendship with the three boys begin to change and then to fade. He gets a girl in his life, and he sees things in a different light. He appreciates things about women that he never seemed to appreciate before. I thinks it funny how people life change and different things become important to them as they get older. He gets a daughter, his life is harmless and different then what he ever expected, but I do not think that makes him unsatisfied or unhappy in the least bit. He just a different person then he expected to be, a little less epic or novel like. He was a little more simple and maybe it bother him a little but not enough for him to change anything about himself in his ending days.

            As I finish the first section, I think I really like the book so far. They mentioned a lot about history and I have a good feeling that that is going to come into to play for the second part of the novel. Perhaps the novel will talk about a different perceptive on the same subject, which is going to show us that no source is completely reliable. History, like Adrian said, the lack of documentation and the miscommunication between the people who were actually there. I mean, in life I mean see myself in one life, but others may see me in a completely different light. I mean perceive an event to be one way, and another person can perceive an event to be another way, meaning that  when I’m describing an event it can sound extremely different when another person is describing event, almost like we were not even in the same people.

Friday Post

In the details

As I have probably mentioned before and as everyone can tell by now, this book is A LOT easier to read than Notes From the Underground. Not only that, but also, it does not seem to be as dense as Dostoyevsky's work. Nevertheless, there are certain details that give this book quality, as some other details that make it a little strange.
While discussing how the group of friends sends letters to each other, Barnes chooses to include the fact that the "original three" write less to each other than they do to Adrian. Even so, when they write to Adrian they only mention the best of their stories that make them look better than they are. I think almost anyone can tell you that this is not specific to the characters of the book, almost everyone seems to do this. I think this is one of the pathetic aspects of human nature. I do not understand why you would have to show off to your friends, they are supposed to like you, even if you aren't having the best of times. Really, what satisfaction is there in making them, and yourself, believe a lie that you're having fun? Why not just tell the wholehearted truth and include both the fun and bad times. I think I mentioned it in one of my previous posts, but we live in a way that represses our instincts, which in turn, causes us to do petty things like this. I am not trying to criticize this behavior in a way that makes it seem as if I don't participate in it myself, I fully recognize that I do. I just resent the fact that it is natural for us to do so.

Friday Post

                I am not sure whether it is the dark British humor described in class or the fact that Tony has absolutely no emotions towards anything or anyone. Even when he speaks about nostalgia, he seems to state facts separated from any true feeling and when he does seem to put some interest into something, it is the one thing that he should not be focusing emotionally on. For example, Tony spends pages and pages describing his relationship with Veronica, but only a paragraph or so about Margaret. Even though he speaks of Margaret more recently now, Veronica still seems to be the center of his world, his future and his past. The worst of it all is that he shows no deep interest or love for the relationship he has with his daughter. When he was describing how Susie might feel about him, saying all those nasty and terrible things, it did not faze him; he did not change emotionally at all; in fact, he seemed to shrug off and deny that it could even be possible.

                Also, the fact that Veronica’s mother left Tony 500 dollars in her will as well as Adrian’s diary is very surprising and suspicious. When Veronica responded Tony’s email with “blood money” I immediately thought that Tony in some indirect way could have caused Adrian’s death. However, as I read on, it made more sense that Veronica’s mother paid Tony because he felt sorry for him; he was paying him for all the pain Veronica caused him. As pathetic and stupid as it sounds, Tony does seem like a frail person and that could be the real reason. Not to mention, I do not understand why Veronica is hiding the diary with so much effort. I doubt that it has anything to do with her not being able to let go. I am pretty sure there are some intricate secrets, experiences or thoughts in that Diary that could change Tony’s life once he reads them. I think Veronica is just jealous that the diary was meant to be given to Tony instead of her and is once again trying to control him. I cannot wait to see what’s inside the diary and how he retrieves it.

Friday Reaction

            Julian Barnes develops the second part of the book based off the first part. Without learning about Tony’s childhood, adulthood and life as a retiree, then this part would have no meaning to the readers. The two parts even reflect some of the points that Tony reiterates in his narration, the youth can’t wait for their lives to get started while the elder look back on their lives and try to make sense of the nostalgia. Teenagers can’t wait for the next best thing to happen to them, whether it is middle school, high school, college, a career, marriage, and children. Elders look back at all of these stages and see it fixated in a moment of time that they aren’t able to get back. Most of the perceived memories are lost in space, while the others that were most significant remain to be analyzed. The transition from the first part of the book to the second part of the book symbolizes the readers’ transition from seeing Tony’s life through the perspective of a youth to seeing it through the perspective of an elder. We start to look back at Tony’s life and his interactions with women, philosophers, and everyday life through the context of him trying to obtain Adrian’s diary. I think that I will see Tony’s life a lot differently than when I read it in the first part. After the first few pages in the second part, I love contemplating the outcomes of living one’s life already having experienced it. What would I do differently and what would I remain the same. I think the closest way to perceive that mindset and control over your life is by considering how you would see yourself in the future looking back at the current situation from that future point.

Suffering

            As the story progresses, Webster’s character starts to develop more. Webster starts out as a confident schoolboy who gradually becomes insecure about himself as he goes through university.  His relationship with his girlfriend crumbles and he starts to detach himself from his “closest” friends back from high school. The idea of time appears once again. Time is what causes the group to become distant and causes them to relive certain memories of each other in their minds. At times Webster seems to contradict himself and his theories, which reminded me of NFTU.

            The idea that everyone suffers throughout his or her lifetime becomes present in the first section of the novel. Webster’s now ex-girlfriend, Veronica, is described as being “damaged”. She acts a certain way due to experiences she has had throughout her life between her father and her brother. With the idea of suffering, The Sense of An Ending can be related back to Crime and Punishment. Almost every character in Dostoevsky’s classic had to deal with some sort of suffering throughout his or her life and learned from it. Webster makes the statement that those who avoid getting hurt or becoming “damaged” once again are those we would steer clear from. I agree with this statement a hundred percent because those are the types of people who will do anything they possibly can to not get hurt and do not care if someone else gets hurt in the process. There will always be people who try to better themselves due to their sufferings and try to help others and there will be those who try to bring others down with them. This goes back to our class discussion about not wanting to be alone when we feel hurt or we are suffering.

            Adrian’s suicide was described in great detail and by the amount of pages it took to conclude the underlying meaning of his suicide; I could tell that this was an important event in Webster’s life. I found it interesting how Webster tied Adrian’s suicide back to Robson’ suicide. Both boys did not feel the need to stay in the world. Adrian, in my opinion, committed suicide to prove his point that we can refuse the “gift of life” because it was a gift we did not ask for.

Friday

So this book managed to depress me slightly in as little as two pages. I view life as an emotional journey and I know it sounds corny but when you look back on your own life and memories I'd hope that you'd be happy about what you've accomplished or excited about what you've lived. Anthony literally describes the remainder of his life in two pages and doesn't seem either happy nor sad about it. He has no emotion. The life he presents is all factual and scientifically shown; it's like his life was merely an experiment.  "By now I'd left home, and started work as a trainee in arts administration. Then I met Margaret; we married, and three years later Susie was born." I would think that at least when he mentioned his own child, he'd be more descriptive about it, maybe talk about how beautiful of a baby she was or how blessed he was, but no, everything is just cold hard facts. "We bought a small house with a large mortgage; I commuted up go London every day. My traineeship turned into a long career. Life went by." (Page 59) He continues describing his dull seeming life for the next page and a half and no trace of emotion is shown what so ever. It depresses me because I would hope everyone would look back on their life as a happy memory. He acts as though it's a burden and he's quickly trying to get through the basic facts in order to get along with the story.  

February 27

The quote “we imagined ourselves as being kept in some kind of holding pen, waiting to be released into our lives” (page 10) reminds me of the of the Kafka lecture. People are always waiting and preparing for whatever happens next , because we think that freedom is on the oner side of that fence. Our sense of freedom is completely distorted because we give up some of our rights in order to be apart of society as a whole. For example, most people will give up their right to kill others in order to be accepted by others. In the end the kids realize that the ‘release into their lives’  is really just a “larger holding pen”. Turning 18 doesn't really give you freedom, it gives you more responsibilities and a greater punishment. It’s all for the society to maintain control of the individual lives. 

Adults often say that “they too had once been young, so they could speak with authority” (page 11). This reminded me of The Stranger lecture because even though adults have been through more stages of life and have more experience than  adolescents, they have the most saturated filter. The filter distorts their sense of reality, and adults are the ones that are consumed with the importance of their kids college ranking, SAT scores, all because they want their kids to have an easier life when they reach that stage. We find that our society starts putting extreme importance on things that matter in that material society world, but don’t really matter in people’s enjoyment of life. Sometimes we should step back and think, because really we are doing things we don’t like, in order to do more “important” things we don’t like later on in life. For example, most kids don’t necessarily like waking up every day to go to school, but we do it so we can go to a good college, but we may not enjoy studying for another 4+ years, but we do it so we can get a job, then live our life in a  monotonous  routine. I’m not saying people don't have happiness or fun, but the things we consume ourselves with may not really be worth  it in the end once we reach that last stage of life.  

That idea kind of leaks into the group of friends looking for some sort of excitement or alteration in their regular daily life, and why the kids want their lives to be like a novel, when really its not.  

Hueves

Wendell Pfeffer

1/27/14

            The book in my opinion keeps getting better and better for the sole reason that Tony, I and many people I know share the same problem and that is with women.  Tony has now been going out with Veronica for about two years now and they have barely touched each other. The problem is Veronica; she doesn’t let him get sexual towards her. I really can’t find the reason for this maybe she is insecure about herself or who knows. This makes me feel sorry for all those out there that are currently  struggling with that one particular girl they really like. Thank god this isn’t happening to me, but as for everyone else I’m afraid that they must wait until the girl is ready. I believe that Tony’s relationship with Veronica really isn’t going anywhere other than separation. Its true! In my opinion they do not get alone at all. When they are with each other it is mostly quiet, awkward and dull. Usually successful relationships are full of laughter, fun and amusement. I know many of you might disagree with me, but take a look at when she invited Tony to see her family. They slept in different rooms and Veronica didn’t even pay attention to him. The mother of Veronica was the only one out of the family that took interest and developed a relationship with him. Also when Tony invited Veronica to see him she gave most of her attention to his friends. I felt sorry for him when he was in this particular situation because when you invite a girl that you like the one thing you want is her to be with you at all times so that you can show her off and somewhat prove your dominance. Unfortunately, that did not happen with Tony. This makes me think that Veronica has been cheating on him with other guys.

            After reading a few more pages I found out that I was right, they did break off their relationship. The strange thing about this is that Tony ran into Veronica again and she slept with him randomly when they were separated. Why? I think this proves that she really is a tramp after all.

thursday post

The book began to head in a completely different direction than what I expected it to. I thought it was going to focus more on the adolescent life of the group, and ultimately explain what they went through on a day to day basis. It went on to their lives after university and school. He explains that the group wrote more to Adrian than they did to each other. As the story moves on, it seems that their dependence on Adrian is going to define the central theme of the book. He then goes into the part of his life with his girlfriend. I really enjoy some of the sarcasm in this British humor, and the story of him going to see his girlfriend's parents especially. His perception of the encounter with her parents seems to a cynical one. A perception that everyone around him is judging him wrongly or in a certain manner that would make him look bad. That sort of made me think a little. His encounter with her family went fine, but it was his thoughts of possibly screwing up his possibility of staying with his girlfriend that ultimately skewed his perceptions of the family's thoughts on him. They obviously liked him, but he felt as if he were screwing the encounter up, because he was afraid of doing that exact thing. Sometimes, our perceptions of an event or of an encounter with someone is affected by our wants/fears, and are not always true. It's better to focus on what you know for a matter of fact, rather than worry about what you think he/she is thinking of you.

Thursday Post

The more I read into this novel, the more I like it. I can really relate to the characters and the situations that are occurring. I really hope that my group of friends does not separate and dissolve as they have after high school. Though I see why it is highly likely and I understand that it is a part of life. I fond the main character a bit weird now more than yesterday. It definitely has something to do with the way he talks about and acts with women. He is a very scientific minded person, he tries to calculate his approach to women and he tries to make it something that has to be planned out. What he doesn't realize is that talking to a woman cannot be planned out, it has to be played by ear because the situation changes drastically minute by minute. I do not really like his girlfriend, I feel like she is a bit of a control freak and she has him completely whipped. I feel like she uses sex to manipulate him. Yes, all women do this but she makes it exceptionally obvious. The way he talks about her and the sex that they don’t have shows that he is completely hungry for her. It is unbelievable yet completely true what men will go through to get into a woman’s pants. He is the perfect example, he puts up with her shit just to maybe get the opportunity of someday scoring a goal. Sadly, he still has had no luck, no open shot.