Living in a Copy: Fake Images and Real Feelings in Julian Barnes’ The Sense of an Ending

Abstract

The article is an exploration of Julian Barnes' The Sense of an Ending through Jean Baudrillard's concepts of simulacra and simulation as misleading image. Tony Webster reflects on his history, making it clear that his memory is not entirely correct, as he misses certain facts and changes others. It creates a made-up past for him that he accepts as genuine, even if it is not the real story. Through qualitative method of research, the study demonstrates how individuals may exist in these fictional realms and how these fabricated narratives might, at times, seem more realistic than what actually occurred. The conclusion explores how tales that mirror reality affect our sense of the feeling of an unreliable identity and significance. Barnes's book, analyzed through Baudrillard's concepts reflects how one's life becomes a simulation, and sometimes, looking for meaning in a postmodern world leads to additional outcomes and knowledge masked by ignorance.