#Happy endings margaret atwood person how to#

Margaret Atwood’s “Happy Endings” is seemingly simpler to read just as actual text. Happy Endings” diction in a literary sense is remedial.

Debateably, the best part of Margaret Atwood’s humor is her transparency she does nothing to hide her true ridicule of the lacking of individuality. Infact Atwood remarks on her deficiency of contextual matter:“That’s about all that can be said for plots, which anyway are just one thing after another, a what and a what and a what” (3). Using the characters’ demise as a reoccurring theme is not to be taken in an overly exaggerated morbid sense but instead to reinforce the point that Atwood is trying to mock the uniformity of these classic “love stories”. The consistency of the lifeless characters placed in different situations highlights Atwood’s reoccurring theme: “John and Mary die”. There is no depth to the line Atwood just simply states that Mary’s hope failed and she died. For example, the line “She hope he’ll discover and get her to the hospital in time and repent and they can get married, but this fails and she dies” lacks a plot line and more simply information (2). The little information given about characters is not done so to enliven plot lines but merely have the reader infer what she actually means. ” scenarios highlight the fact that the characters lack in depth because their actions are so dreadfully stereotypical. Atwood’s mockery of these “Happily Ever after. In the subplots of John and Mary, and then Fred and Madge, the characters are so underdeveloped where they become humorous. The conclusion of A is the most simplistic or blunt as it lacks details and emotion. In scenario A, John and Mary die after living a perfectly satisfying and devoted live to each other. Atwood begins with ”If you want a happy ending, try A,” alluding that the ones to follow have more ominous conclusions (1). The story within a story makes “Happy Endings” interactive by allowing the reader to choose.

The story breaks down the walls of author/audience by presenting a “general” story which can be read more liberally by the reader because it forces the reader to get involved. It is through Atwood’s unusual structure, minimalistic diction and use of dramatic irony that the idea of inexplicable happiness is challenged.Īt first glance, “Happy Endings” does not even look like a story rather it appears to be a set of notes or jumbled rough draft of a story. “Happy Endings” is satirical because it mocks the common misconception that love and life conclude perfectly with “Happily ever after”. Margaret Atwood challenges this conception in her short story “Happy Endings”. ” and with the conception that you will meet a partner, fall in love, and live happily ever after. GradeSaver, Web.Children universally grow-up with stories of “Once upon a time.

#Happy endings margaret atwood person how to#

Next Section Metaphors and Similes Previous Section Sections D – E Summary and Analysis Buy Study Guide How To Cite in MLA Format GradeSaver 'Happy Endings Symbols, Allegory and Motifs'. As such, the story dismantles the idea that happy endings are necessary or even interesting, instead rendering them a symbol of lackluster fiction. 'Happy endings' presents the notion of a happy ending as something that is desirable in theory but lacking intrigue in practice. Happy Endings (Symbol)įor Atwood, happy endings are both a real (albeit mundane) element of a story and a symbol of how writers and readers interact with the storytelling process. While Mary thinks about the future, James perceives his relationship with Mary as casual and unserious, his motorcycle representing his lack of societal pressure to settle down. James's motorcycle symbolizes the freedom associated with both youth and masculinity. In scenario C, Mary loves James, but James is noncommittal and spends most of his time riding his motorcycle. Buying a house ensures that the couple lives happily despite the anticipated hard economic times. In another scenario, Madge and her husband John buy a house before real estate prices go up. One of the central components of happiness in their life is a house. For instance, in scenario A, Mary and Jon fall in love and they get married.

Atwood uses the houses to symbolize one element of a happy ending.