Happy Endings is one of Margaret Atwood's most frequently-anthologized stories because it is so unusual. In each of her endings, Margret creates two main characters, John and Mary. Mary being one of the main characters, shows Margret’s way of thought with the stereotypical belief that women are not as important to men. Her point addresses the gender prejudice characterization toward women. Making John and Mary boring characters caused me to make no connection to the characters. I did however, focus on the plots and their essential meaning of the story. No matter what you do in life death is always the end. She wrote a very powerful observation on life. The story is broken up into six possible storylines. Storyline A introduces the first two
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Mary’s emotional sensitivity stopped her from leaving the older man, John, with the young character of James, who has a “fabulous record collection” (par 8). ). James and Mary “get higher than you can believe” together and “climb into bed,” (par 10) Mary is confronted by John who shot Mary and James, then shot himself, leaving Madge to mourn. Marge married a man named Fred and “everything continues as in A, but under different names” (par 12). Like storyline B, the reference to storyline A completes the ideal ending and life for all middle-class. In Story line D, Fred and Madge have no interpersonal problems at all, Storyline D echoes the flat characters in storyline A, but with Fred and Madge. Their “charming house” is by the seashore and they endure a near-death experience as a “giant tidal wave approaches,” and “though thousands drown, but Fred and Madge are virtuous and lucky” (par 13). Unfortunately, “real-estate values go down,” but Fred and Madge manage to live on happy and content and “continue as in A” (par …show more content…
Each character of any class will all end in death. Atwood is making a statement as to the often idealized, but misguided pursuits of the bourgeois middle class. Margret wrote. “Don’t be deluded by any other endings, they’re all fake, either deliberately fake, with malicious intent to deceive, or just motivated by excessive optimism if not downright sentimentality. The only authentic ending is the one provided here: John and Mary die. John and Mary die. John and Mary die.” (par
Mary’s emotional sensitivity stopped her from leaving the older man, John, with the young character of James, who has a “fabulous record collection” (par 8). ). James and Mary “get higher than you can believe” together and “climb into bed,” (par 10) Mary is confronted by John who shot Mary and James, then shot himself, leaving Madge to mourn. Marge married a man named Fred and “everything continues as in A, but under different names” (par 12). Like storyline B, the reference to storyline A completes the ideal ending and life for all middle-class. In Story line D, Fred and Madge have no interpersonal problems at all, Storyline D echoes the flat characters in storyline A, but with Fred and Madge. Their “charming house” is by the seashore and they endure a near-death experience as a “giant tidal wave approaches,” and “though thousands drown, but Fred and Madge are virtuous and lucky” (par 13). Unfortunately, “real-estate values go down,” but Fred and Madge manage to live on happy and content and “continue as in A” (par …show more content…
Each character of any class will all end in death. Atwood is making a statement as to the often idealized, but misguided pursuits of the bourgeois middle class. Margret wrote. “Don’t be deluded by any other endings, they’re all fake, either deliberately fake, with malicious intent to deceive, or just motivated by excessive optimism if not downright sentimentality. The only authentic ending is the one provided here: John and Mary die. John and Mary die. John and Mary die.” (par