Happy Endings Essay Example

to find her and save her from overdoing, but he never does. Mary dies. The last line of the paragraph says, "John marries Image and everything continues as in A". In scenario C, John is married to a woman, Image, but is in love with Mary, another Oman. Mary is much younger than John.

Even though she does not love John, she sleeps with him. Mary is in love with a man named James. James has a motorcycle and is not ready to settle down yet. One day, John walks into Marry apartment to find her and James stoned and entwined. John buys a gun. He shoots them both and then himself. After mourning her husband's death, Image finds another husband, Fred. Everything continues as in A. Scenario D is a run-on of Fred and Image. They get along exceptionally well and have no problems. Fred and Image buy a house near the sea, but a tidal wave estrous it.

They find high ground and their love is enhanced. Everything continues as in A. In scenario E, Fred has a bad heart and dies. Image devotes herself to charity until the end of A. In scenario F, Atwood challenges the reader to create his or her own story. She says, "See where that will get you. " Atwood goes on to explain no matter what the plot is, each story will end the same. The ending of each scenario is the same for a specific reason. It is to reveal the story important message. Atwood wants the reader to have fun with life.

She wants people to have the most enjoyable and lour lives as

they can because eventually life expires. Atwood makes a point to say, "The only authentic ending is the one provided here: John and Mary die. John and Mary die. John and Mary die". It is stated quite bluntly, but eventually, everyone will die. She goes on to say, "... Favor the stretch in between". This meaner to favor the stretch of life before death. Life should be filled with laughter, Joy, sorrow, love, and passion. This lesson is important to the story because it makes the reader think about his or her life and if they are living it to its fullest.

The only part of Happy Endings that did not seem clear was Tattoo's tone of voice. At some points in the story Tattoo's tone seems dark, but in other parts, the tone comes across as energetic. For example, towards the end of the story, it says, " 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". This sends out a cynical and somewhat irritated tone. However, in the next paragraph Atwood seems energetic. She says, "So much for endings. Beginnings are always more fun". I struggled with the inconsistency in

Tattoo's tone. There may have been an underlying message in this two-dimensional tone that I was not familiar with. Most passages I read have one consistent view throughout the story. Therefore, I was unfamiliar with Tattoo's voice in this writing. A part of the story that was clear was the unique structure. Happy Endings was structured more like an outline than a story. There was no particular setting

established and the plot was weak. This surface-telling love story is meant to have a weak plot; furthermore, the undeveloped plot is the reason for Tattoo's writing.

In he last paragraph of the story, Atwood explains that no one wants to read, "They lived happily ever after. Eventually they die. The story ends". The reader wants to know the flesh of the story. Atwood says that plots "are Just one thing after another, a what, a what, and a what. " Then she encourages the reader to "Now try how and why. " This is revealing the fact that specific events are not the most important factors in the story. How a character goes from point A to point B and why a character acts a certain way are more important.

Atwood only revealed the "what" in the story to show owe important the "how' and the "why' are. The unique structure in Happy Endings shows Tattoo's true meaning of writing. It completes the story by explaining the odd In conclusion, Happy Endings was an excellent passage. The powerful structure. Message and the unique story structure make the writing unlike other writings. By reading the story numerous times, the message became obvious and the meaning behind the structure was revealed. The tone of voice was unfamiliar to me; however, it did not change my overall view of the story. Happy Endings is a must read.