Margaret Atwood's Happy Endings

Viewers and readers tend to be attracted to a particular genre of film or text. The root cause for having an admiration towards one genre but not the other is because we like works that remind us of the things that we like about ourselves. Essentially, we relate to a certain character in movies and literature hence why people write specific kinds of works. The beauty of short stories is that we do not pay attention to the plot because we cherish the feelings we get and the lessons learned from the story. In most fiction, narratives of short stories with the writer’s voice and opinion are not on the page. Margaret Atwood’s Happy Endings contains a glaring element of authorial presence and an essay-type structure that causes the text to resemble an essay rather than a short story. The …show more content…
Essays use voice to attempt to argue a certain statement or topic by taking a stand and giving reasons as to why the presented argument is valid. Atwood uses this short story to argue about the clichéd stereotypical aesthetics of writing. “John and Mary die. John and Mary die. John and Mary die.” She argues that love stories end with an ironic happy ending of death. More specifically, she has criticized romance narratives because society demands and thrives for this type of writing. Atwood critiques that we are brainwashed to desiring love stories that are sugar coated and eloquently decorated like sections B through F. Whether authors choose to write with a thousand words or a small paragraph, the storylines are all predictable and unoriginal. “You’ll have to face it, the endings are the same however you slice it.” Atwood’s authorial presence is present throughout the short story and it resonates when she uses her ironic tone in her conclusion. We see that she has criticized authors and audiences for demanding this type of