![]() Life is full of surprises and Margaret Atwood reminds us that there’s no one right way to live. Happy Endings is about carving out your own unique story, whether it follows a conventional arc or not. Nevertheless, “the endings are what count.” While some may find contentment and stability in a traditional path, others blaze their own trail. In Atwood’s narrative “Beginnings are always more exciting.” ![]() As the author Margaret Atwood demonstrates in her story “Happy Endings”, the journey is what matters, not the destination.Įvery parent wants their baby to grow up happy, healthy, and educated before attending school, college, finding a good job, starting a family, and living happily ever after. No matter what path you choose in life, you will always end up in one of two places: a happy ending or a not-so-happy one. Even though the end is already given, Atwood still tries to show us that it’s the journey that matters, not the destination. In her story “Happy Endings”, Margaret Atwood gives us six different scenarios of couple’s lives, but all of them have the same ending, which is either death or living happily ever after. No matter what you do in between the beginning and the end, you will always end up in one of those two places. The author tries to show us that there are only two possible outcomes in life, a happy ending or a not so happy one. In her tale, Atwood also claims that by early adolescence and middle age, you can anticipate how it will finish: “John marries Marge and everything continues as it did in A.” (Atwood Happy Endings 22). What the author is attempting to convey in this narrative is that all events begin and end similarly, with the exception of what transpires during life and how death comes about. The fourth character dies in a car accident with his partner. The third character kills herself after she realizes that she is content with her life and doesn’t want to change it. The second character dies of cancer after leaving her husband and starting a new life. The first character dies of a heart attack while having an affair with another woman. But how they get there is what makes their lives unique. While the four characters have different backstories, they all end up in the same place: death. He is happy with his partner and has no desire to change his situation. The fourth character, and final character, is a man who is gay and in a relationship. She is content with her life and has no desire to change it. The third character is a single woman who has never been married. She is thinking about leaving him and starting a new life. The second character is a woman who is also married, but she is not happy with her husband. He is currently in a loveless marriage and is considering having an affair. The first character is a man who has been married for 30 years and has two children. The characters in “Happy Endings” are all nameless, but they each have unique backstories that led to their current situation. As Atwood wrote, “You’ll have to face it, the endings are the same however you slice it.” Though our beginnings and endings may be similar, it’s what happens in the middle that makes us unique. But our lives can be very different in terms of how we live and die. The only thing that all of us have in common is death, as the theme in “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood illustrates. She eventually does leave him, but they remain friends. Liz is unhappy and wants to leave Tom, but she doesn’t want to hurt him or their children. However, their marriage is not as happy as it appears to be. The third couple, Tom and Liz, are also married with two children. Barb eventually leaves him because she can’t take it anymore. ![]() However, Bill is an alcoholic and his drinking causes problems in the marriage. They have two children and a comfortable life. ![]() The second couple, Bill and Barb, have been married for years. When Mary finds out about the affair, she ends the relationship. However, John is cheating on Mary with another woman. They are both successful, well-educated, and good-looking. The first couple, John and Mary, seem to have the perfect relationship. The story is about six different couples and how their relationships end, either happily or not. It was first published in 1985 and has been reprinted several times since. Happy Endings is a short story by Margaret Atwood. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |