Comments On Fictional Endings example essay topic

Life is much like a story in the way that both fiction and life has a beginning, a middle, and an end. If one were to look at the bare, uncovered facts, being that we as humans live and die, reality seems to be nothing more then words on a page; we are indistinguishable from the literary characters who have a pre-determined beginning and end. Margaret Atwood's short story "Happy Endings" introduces six situations, A through F, all six of which a reader could relate to as 'real,' but Atwood presents them as fiction. Atwood's short story follows a circular path and shows that no matter how simple or intricate a scenario may be, the ending is always the same as that in A, the characters die.

She indirectly poses questions regarding the relationship between fiction and reality. Atwood goes on to unveil any ideas or scenarios that fiction has and still uses to cover up the harsh truth that there is only one real ending no matter the course taken. In essence pre-birth and after death are the same state: a state of non-existence, so in a similar way to Atwood's story, life follows the path of a circle. Atwood generalizes the "bourgeois" (Atwood, 22) Canadian lifestyle: the seemingly monotonous way of life, suggesting we have a lack of reason behind the substance that makes up our lives. It is suggested that we as Canadian's need consider the "How and Why". (22) Atwood directly examines the similarities between fiction and reality through the use of her short story "Happy Endings" as she presents it in a way that while explaining in a purely fictional sense her view of how endings are always the same, she also indirectly stresses the fact that the endings in reality are no different from those of fiction.

She forms her story using content that while creating enjoyable fiction, it also has direct relevance to real life by expressing the lack of substance in an ending and the need to pay more attention to the middle, the time between birth and death, or in a fictional sense, the Williams - 2 plot as she says, "So much for endings. Beginnings are more fun. True connoisseurs, however, are known to favor the stretch in between, since it's the hardest to do anything with" (22). In situation F, Atwood provokes the reader to come up with their own ending further proving her point that there is only one possible ending.

She does this by letting the reader prove her point to themselves by trying to create an ending other then death which Atwood says to be the only ending, which is A, "The only authentic ending is the one provided here: John and Mary die. John and Mary die. John and Mary die" (22). In the end of "Happy Endings", Atwood directly comments on fictional endings saying they are "deliberately fake" (22) and "motivated by excessive optimism" (22). She tells us not to "be deluded" (22) and to do something with the middle, that being the majority of our lives in reality. She expresses that though we are destined to complete the circle of life with death, we do not necessarily have to follow its path step for step or the "what and the what and the what" (22) of fiction, if we think about the "How and Why" (22) and grasp some meaning to life other then to die, the circle doesn't appear to be so obvious and we seem to be more then fictional characters.

Atwood takes an almost pessimistic approach to endings, relating those of fiction, being anything from a happy ending to a sad one and everything in between, directly with those of reality, those being death, our inevitable cessation. She uses very blunt phrases like, "he shoots the two of them and himself", (22) and "Eventually they die. This is the end of the story" (22), to illustrate the point that there is no substance to a fictional ending, nothing to say about them, ultimately the only viable ending is that the characters die just as in reality; inherently there are no happy endings. She eliminates the fabricated Williams - 3 substance that fiction and language have created in the stories most of us like to think about or hear with regards to life, the: "fairy tale" and the "happy ending". A "Happy Ending", no matter what language one speaks, where they live or what their faith is, is as ending that is pleasant, memorable and a reader is often left to imagine what will happen to the characters.

For example, "and they lived happily ever after", though this would be considered an ending, how could it be, there is obviously more to the story that we have not heard, it is not the end. This is exactly what Atwood suggests to be a, "malicious intent to deceive" (22), where as in "Happy Endings" Atwood discards this notion of a "happy ending" suggesting there is in fact no such thing. Atwood's story forms a circular path guiding the reader from beginning to end; she proves that while a single character could take many routes through a story that may have tremendous differentiation in the short term, in the long term they will end up in the same place, the point of death. In situation A, Mary and John live a very simple life, they love each other and then they die.

In situation B, John meets Mary but never loves her; she ends up committing suicide and dies. In situation C, John who marries Madge has an affair with a younger girl Mary who is in love with James. John kills Mary and James, then he kills himself, they all die. In situation D, Fred and Madge survive a tidal wave but thousands die, eventually we see in situation E that Fred and Madge also die. Every situation is considerably different, but the outcome is the same, everyone dies.

In reality we are faced with an infinite number of decisions that may take us in different directions, but in the end we are faced with death. The end is the same whichever way you look at it, you can not make it sound pleasant. All you can do is deal with it, take advantage of life before you die, this is part of what Williams - 4 Atwood is trying to explain to her readers. Atwood directs her short story toward Canadian readers and suggests our lives follow somewhat of a "what and a what and a what" (22) pattern and that they lack the "How and Why" (22), "Remember, this is Canada. You " ll still end up with A, though in between you may get a lustful brawling saga of passionate involvement, a chronicle of our times, sort of" (22). Atwood introduces the idea of a "saga" (22) and a "chronicle of our time" (22) implying that Canadians nationwide maintain a similar state of mind and aim to live comfortably and then are content with that.

Though "passionate involvement" (22) entails a deep meaning or connection between two people, people and objects or people and events but that is not the case. She is implying that it is nothing more then "a what and a what and a what" (22) and this creates what she is suggesting to be the "Canadian chronicle" because there is no meaning in much of it. This is seen in "Happy Endings" where though in every situation there is a "lustful brawling sage" (22) there is no deeper meaning to the actions. In Situation C, John shoots James, Mary and himself, and then life goes on almost as if nothing had happened as Madge goes from mourning to getting married to Fred all in one line. The lack of meaning or the "How and Why" (22) is perfectly clear and Atwood's point of the need to attain it becomes obvious.

She suggests in the end that in specific, Canadians, but the message also extends to everyone regardless of nationality, that we need to pay more attention to the "How and Why" (22) because just as a story is nothing without it, neither are our lives. Atwood makes a huge generalization here by saying "Canada" (22), when in fact not all Canadians lack the "How and why" (22). It is important to understand that even though she specifically says Williams - 5 "Canada" (22), she is not referring to all Canadians. She is simply exaggerating to make the reader think about their life because everyone can always try harder, everyone can find ways to enhance the meaning in our life. She is urging us to never be content, to always try harder to make the best of our lives. Atwood suggests there is no story in an ending as they are all the same, even the plot is simply "a what and a what and a what".

(22) So where is the story? It is in the "How and Why", (22) it is the only thing that has any substance to it. It is filled with emotion, happiness, tragedy and sorrow, it is what makes a person laugh or cry and what makes a person love or kill as Atwood shows in situations A through E. In life, it gives us purpose, it makes us feel as though we are a part of something and that we belong; it is the "How and Why" (22) that gives meaning to our lives. As reader's, Atwood is urging us to make a distinction between fiction and reality, and to respond by asking ourselves questions about our purpose or point in life and ultimately if our lives are more meaningful than the lives of simple fictional characters.

She suggests we need to overlook endings and search for other purposes for living and to think about the "How and Why" of our actions, "You " ll have to face it, the endings are the same however you slice it. Don't be deluded by any other endings, they " re all fake, either deliberately fake with malicious intent to deceive, or just motivated by excessive optimism if not by downright sentimentality" (22). Atwood speaks about Canadians and suggests we lack the "How and Why" (22) in our lives but that is personal not national, some Canadian's may, some may not but nevertheless it is a facet of life we cannot live without, especially if there are no happy endings. Everyone's lives are full of substance Williams - 6 but meaning is a necessity, without it we are like fictional characters, actors on a stage with pre-determined rolls, told what to do. It is the "How and Why" (22) that is left to us that distinctively separates reality from fiction and lets us believe we have more meaning in life's circle then to just live and die. While Atwood wrote a fictional short story with an obvious underlying message being that there is no substance to the ending of a story and the middle is where the story is, she relates her ideas directly with reality and expresses that we ourselves should do the same in real life, "Now try How and Why" (22).

Bibliography

Atwood, Margaret. "Happy Endings". The Norton Introduction To Literature. Eighth Edition. Jerome Beaty. New York & London: 2002 W.W. Norton &Company. (Page 20).