Margaret Atwood Happy Endings
“Happy Endings” suggests that what matters in writing is not the end, but the middle, where all the content is formed. This theme represents life, showing that the part of life that really matters is what one does in between birth and death. This theme is carried through each of the scenarios the author gives. Every true ending to a story is that the character dies. It is the same in life. The portion that separates the scenarios is what happens in the middle. No matter what a person does in their lifetime, they will die. The author’s point in this is that what matters is not the ending, but what takes place in the middle. In part A of “Happy Endings” the characters, John and Mary lead what seems to be a simple and healthy life (Atwood, pp.
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The characters’ lives are not perfect, and they have many flaws. By introducing other characters and issues, the author makes the story entertaining (Atwood, pp. 449). The conflict in the story added to the middle portion, making it seem much more interesting. In this part of the story, unlike part A, the author includes issues in John and Mary’s relationship. These issues lead to the death of Mary, but a happy ending for John and Madge, the woman he now loves. When conflict or new ideas are added to the middle of the story, it grabs the reader’s attention and makes the story more interesting. In this same way, when new things are added to a person’s life, it affects how they live. This section is much different from the first and seemed much less of a favorable option. Unlike the first, it had detail in the content of the story before leading to the death of a character. Like part B, Part C of “Happy Endings,” deals with quite a bit of conflict (Atwood, pp. 450). The addition of detail to the characters’ lives in these parts shows Atwood’s point of making the body of the story the main focus. The conflict is what drives the middle section of the story and makes it interesting. In both parts B and C, the conflict takes up the middle portion of the story and drives the plot until the characters’
The characters’ lives are not perfect, and they have many flaws. By introducing other characters and issues, the author makes the story entertaining (Atwood, pp. 449). The conflict in the story added to the middle portion, making it seem much more interesting. In this part of the story, unlike part A, the author includes issues in John and Mary’s relationship. These issues lead to the death of Mary, but a happy ending for John and Madge, the woman he now loves. When conflict or new ideas are added to the middle of the story, it grabs the reader’s attention and makes the story more interesting. In this same way, when new things are added to a person’s life, it affects how they live. This section is much different from the first and seemed much less of a favorable option. Unlike the first, it had detail in the content of the story before leading to the death of a character. Like part B, Part C of “Happy Endings,” deals with quite a bit of conflict (Atwood, pp. 450). The addition of detail to the characters’ lives in these parts shows Atwood’s point of making the body of the story the main focus. The conflict is what drives the middle section of the story and makes it interesting. In both parts B and C, the conflict takes up the middle portion of the story and drives the plot until the characters’