The Concept of Memory in Selected Works by Julian Barnes

Bc. Radek Nikl

Master's thesis

Abstract:

Abstrakt Tato magisterská práce analyzuje koncept paměti v románech Historie světa v 10 ½ kapitolách (1989), Arthur a George (2005) a Vědomí konce (2011) britského spisovatele Juliana Barnese. Práce zkoumá, jestli se autor v úvahách o paměti časem neposunul k větší subjektivitě, od psaní o pravdivostní povaze historie, k myšlenkám o (ne)spolehlivosti paměti jednotlivce. Jednotlivé kapitoly poskytují rozbor z pohledu literárního kriticismu, filozofie, kognitivní psychologie a v malé míře také korpusové lingvistiky.

Abstract:

Résumé This master’s diploma thesis analyses the concept of memory in three novels by the British novelist Julian Barnes: A History of the Worlds in 10 ½ Chapters (1989), Arthur & George (2005) and The Sense of an Ending (2011). The thesis explores the hypothesis that Julian Barnes’ writing about memory has over time shifted from objectivity to subjectivity, from reflections on memory in the form of history and its truthfulness to his later focus on the individual memory and its (un)reliability. The chapters analyse the novels from the perspective of literary criticism, philosophy, cognitive psychology, and, in small part, corpora linguistics.

Keywords

Julian Barnes, memory, unreliable narrator, Paul Ricoeur, Daniel Schacter, multifocalization, objectivity, truth, subjectivity, distortion, manipulation, history, lexical field, Sebastian Groes, Peter Childs, Vanessa Guignery, Merritt Moseley

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 18. 5. 2015

Thesis defence

• Date of defence: 17. 6. 2015
• Supervisor: Ph.D. Stephen Paul Hardy
• Reader: Mgr. Tomáš Kačer, Ph.D.

Masaryk University

Faculty of Arts

Master programme / field:
Teacher Training for Secondary Schools / Upper Secondary School Teacher Training in English Language and Literature