In summary, the short story is about two characters — John and Mary — who fall in love with each other. ‘Happy Endings’ is one of Margaret Atwood’s most frequently-anthologized stories because it is so unusual. The various plot iterations throughout the story illustrates the ways in which the elements of a story, when broken down into discrete units, are often so interchangeable with one another as to be virtually meaningless. The husband and wife hold professional jobs, earn good money, and make sound investments that afford them some of life’s luxuries, such as nice vacations and a relaxing retirement. And Atwood wants us to pay attention to how we overcome these obstacles, because if we succeed, the end does not matter — we know what comes already because Atwood spoiled the surprise for us. She doesn't love him, but she sleeps with him because she "feels sorry for him because he's worried about his hair falling out." We may die in the heat of battle; we may die in our sleep. It all ends up with John and Mary dying at the end of the story. Despite the middle-class values that permeate the piece, only in version F does Atwood frankly address them. All of us are a version of John, a blank canvas of a human being, unique only because of our life experiences. A. John과 Mary는 사랑에 빠져서 결혼을 합니다. They both have worthwhile and remunerative jobs which they find stimulating and challenging. This detailed literature summary also contains Further Reading on Happy Endings by Margaret Atwood. And so I conclude that the conflict lies not within the text but in our own lives. 아이들은 잘 자랐습니다. In version C, John’s marital crisis is brought on by the fact that he feels his life is settled and dull. What is ingenious about Atwood’s writing is perhaps how her craft hides in plain sight. (Plot A reminds me of a quotation from Leo Tolstoy: “All families resemble one another, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”) Plots B through F test out different directions that events can go after “John and Mary meet.” Each of these plots are remarkably predictable, mainly since they are based on cliched, stock characters. In A, he is in love with Mary and is happily married to her. Plot D is the well recognizable disaster story, like last year’s film “The Impossible”. The various plot iterations throughout the story illustrates the ways in which the elements of a story, when broken down into discrete units, are often so interchangeable with one another as to be virtually meaningless. And in yet another version, Madge achieves this happy ending with Fred. #endings, We all die. In B, he doesn’t feel the same way Mary does for him as he only uses her for her body. This other John will emerge like a butterfly from a cocoon, a Jack from a box, a pit from a prune, if the first John is only squeezed enough.”. Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/happy-endings-by-margaret-atwood-essay, This is just a sample. John and Mary meet. By using ThoughtCo, you accept our, Biography of Margaret Atwood, Canadian Poet and Writer. The names of characters recur throughout the stories, and the stories reference each other (for example, "everything continues as in 'A'"), challenging narrative conventions. “So much for endings. I disagree... Rate this post The two headed ancient Roman idol Janus was considered to be the god of doorways and portals. In C, John is "an older man" who falls in love with Mary, 22. But even the middle of the story is only part of a greater whole, without the beginning of the story no one can tell why certain events happened and what lead to person “A” to doing “action z”. Despite a seemingly morbid conclusion, Atwood has a point. There's something great about a paperback book: They're perfect book club choices, you can throw them in your bag and go, and they've been out in... Atwood's short story includes six different stories, labeled A to F, which each quickly summarize the lives of its characters, eventually culminating in death. Here the couple does not face any conflict, crisis, or tension. He doesn’t appear anywhere else. Type: The primal story is A. The interaction between the second and third person narrative perspectives is what creates the self-aware type satire that is present throughout the text. Thought provoking and powerful worded paragraphs. The first is utilizing a third person narrative point of view to create a sense of detachment from the characters, resulting in an emotionless narrative which in turn draws attention to plot structure more than the characters. All of us will encounter a Mary at some point in our lives, our love interest. Atwood uses this very effect to draw attention to the writing process of a story, conditioning the readers to think about aspects such as genre conventions and clichés of a romance story, which are later introduced. Every story, carried to its ultimate logical conclusion, has the same ending, because all lives have the same ending. In each of her scenarios, she creates two main characters, John and Mary appropriately boring names for characters that are so underdeveloped and stereotyped as to be almost comedic. I am also currently reading The Handmaid's Tale and I wanted to know how Atwood deals with short stories (Answer:not bad). It includes six stories in one, each ending with death. We don’t care about John and Mary because we don’t have the chance to get to know them. They retire. 둘은 지루하지도 않고 늘 새로운 자극을 주는데다 보람도 있고 수입도 좋은 직업을 가지고 있습니다. The step from story to literature is a gray line and is based on personal taste, as Justice Stewart said “I know it when I see it” although he was referring to obscenity it is just as applicable here. In B, Mary is in love with John but is saddened with the fact that he doesn’t love her. It was first published in a 1983 Canadian collection, Murder in the Dark. (For example, in plot C, the voice of the author mentions, “…this is the thin part of the plot, but it can be dealt with later” [767].) The story is broken up into six possible life scenarios plus some concluding remarks. At the end of “Happy Endings,” Atwood meditates on the nature of plot and story, arguing that plot is ultimately less interesting than other aspects of storytelling. Change style powered by CSL. Another effect the second person narration has is it forces the reader to engage with the text, almost like a choose-your-own-adventure style story, where conventionally the audience is given the illusion that they are in control, but in fact, the story is obviously pre-written and have pre-planned endings. The main theme in most literature that divides it from the rest of the stories is that literature tries to make a specific point, and in doing so forces the reader to think about the point that the author is trying to make. One day, he and Mary have sex. John and Mary die. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of. Version A is the one Atwood refers to as the "happy ending." Mary – She is the main character of the short story. This short story will leave you in deep thought upon finishing. She is taken to a restaurant and eventually, they get married. 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. Get an answer for 'What point does Margaret Atwood seem to be trying to make about plots in "Happy Endings"?' But in F, she finally explains directly that even if we went through the whole alphabet and beyond, we'd still end up with A. Why tell us the story? She is shot by John. They buy a charming house. lt was not quite a condensation, a commentary, a questionnaire, and it missed being a parable, a proverb, a paradox. All of this is in stark contrast to traditional romance stories, which makes the message that Atwood tries to convey even more powerful and obvious when all six of these short story variations build up to “so much for endings.