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Analysis of Margaret Atwood's "Happy Endings"

Six Versions Provide Unique Perspectives

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"Happy Endings" by Canadian author Margaret Atwood is an example of metafiction . That is, it's a story that comments on the conventions of storytelling and draws attention to itself as a story. At approximately 1,300 words, it's also an example of flash fiction . "Happy Endings" was first published in 1983, two years before Atwood's iconic " The Handmaid's Tale ."

The story is actually six stories in one. Atwood begins by introducing the two main characters , John and Mary, and then offers six different versions—labeled A through F—of who they are and what might happen to them.

Version A is the one Atwood refers to as the "happy ending." In this version, everything goes well, the characters have wonderful lives, and nothing unexpected happens.

Atwood manages to make version A boring to the point of comedy. For example, she uses the phrase "stimulating and challenging" three times—once to describe John and Mary's jobs, once to describe their sex life, and once to describe the hobbies they take up in retirement.

The phrase "stimulating and challenging," of course, neither stimulates nor challenges readers, who remain uninvested. John and Mary are entirely undeveloped as characters. They're like stick figures that move methodically through the milestones of an ordinary, happy life, but we know nothing about them. Indeed, they may be happy, but their happiness seems to have nothing to do with the reader, who is alienated by lukewarm, uninformative observations, like that John and Mary go on "fun vacations" and have children who "turn out well."

Version B is considerably messier than A. Though Mary loves John, John "merely uses her body for selfish pleasure and ego gratification of a tepid kind."

The character development in B—while a bit painful to witness—is much deeper than in A. After John eats the dinner Mary cooked, has sex with her and falls asleep, she stays awake to wash the dishes and put on fresh lipstick so that he'll think well of her. There is nothing inherently interesting about washing dishes—it's Mary's reason for washing them, at that particular time and under those circumstances, that is interesting.

In B, unlike in A, we are also told what one of the characters (Mary) is thinking, so we learn what motivates her and what she wants . Atwood writes:

"Inside John, she thinks, is another John, who is much nicer. This other John will emerge like a butterfly from a cocoon, a Jack from a box, a pit from a prune, if the first John is only squeezed enough."

You can also see from this passage that the language in version B is more interesting than in A. Atwood's use of the string of cliches emphasizes the depth of both Mary's hope and her delusion.

In B, Atwood also starts using second person to draw the reader's attention toward certain details. For instance, she mentions that "you'll notice that he doesn't even consider her worth the price of a dinner out." And when Mary stages a suicide attempt with sleeping pills and sherry to get John's attention, Atwood writes:

"You can see what kind of a woman she is by the fact that it's not even whiskey."

The use of second person is particularly interesting because it draws the reader into the act of interpreting a story. That is, second person is used to point out how the details of a story add up to help us understand the characters.

In C, John is "an older man" who falls in love with Mary, 22. She doesn't love him, but she sleeps with him because she "feels sorry for him because he's worried about his hair falling out." Mary really loves James, also 22, who has "a motorcycle and a fabulous record collection."

It soon becomes clear that John is having an affair with Mary precisely to escape the "stimulating and challenging" life of Version A, which he is living with a wife named Madge. In short, Mary is his mid-life crisis.

It turns out that the barebones outline of the "happy ending" of version A has left a lot unsaid. There's no end to the complications that can be intertwined with the milestones of getting married, buying a house, having children, and everything else in A. In fact, after John, Mary, and James are all dead, Madge marries Fred and continues as in A.

In this version, Fred and Madge get along well and have a lovely life. But their house is destroyed by a tidal wave and thousands are killed. Fred and Madge survive and live as the characters in A.

Version E is fraught with complications—if not a tidal wave, then a "bad heart." Fred dies, and Madge dedicates herself to charity work. As Atwood writes:

"If you like, it can be 'Madge,' 'cancer,' 'guilty and confused,' and 'bird watching.'"

It doesn't matter whether it's Fred's bad heart or Madge's cancer, or whether the spouses are "kind and understanding" or "guilty and confused." Something always interrupts the smooth trajectory of A.

Every version of the story loops back, at some point, to version A—the "happy ending." As Atwood explains, no matter what the details are, "[y]ou'll still end up with A." Here, her use of second person reaches its peak. She's led the reader through a series of attempts to try to imagine a variety of stories, and she's made it seem within reach—as if a reader really could choose B or C and get something different from A. But in F, she finally explains directly that even if we went through the whole alphabet and beyond, we'd still end up with A.

On a metaphorical level, version A doesn't necessarily have to entail marriage, kids, and real estate. It really could stand in for any trajectory that a character might be trying to follow. But they all end the same way: "John and Mary die . " Real stories lie in what Atwood calls the "How and Why"—the motivations, the thoughts, the desires, and the way the characters respond to the inevitable interruptions to A.

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“Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood: A Critical Analysis

“Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood was first published in the literary magazine “Canadian Forum” in 1983.

Introduction: “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood

Table of Contents

“Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood was first published in the literary magazine “Canadian Forum” in 1983. The story gained popularity and was later included in Atwood’s short story collection “Murder in the Dark.” Atwood’s unique approach to storytelling and her focus on metafiction drew readers’ attention to “Happy Endings.” The story presents multiple scenarios that explore the possibilities of human lives, and the different paths that individuals can take. It challenges the traditional notion of a happy ending and the idea that life can be reduced to a simple, linear narrative. Atwood’s use of a detached and ironic tone, as well as her commentary on the writing process, adds to the story’s popularity and relevance.

Main Events in “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood

Story A: The Idealized Ending (ll. 10-20): This path offers a seemingly perfect scenario. John and Mary find love, marry, and achieve professional success. They raise well-adjusted children, enjoy stimulating hobbies, and eventually die peacefully (ll. 13-19). This ending serves as a benchmark against which the narrator dissects the artificiality of happily-ever-after narratives.
Story B: The Unhappy Reality (ll. 21-54): This path presents a stark contrast. John exploits Mary for his own gratification, treating her with disregard (ll. 22-27). Mary withers under his emotional neglect, leading to depression and suicide (ll. 48-50). John remains unaffected and continues his life with another woman, Madge (ll. 52-54). This path highlights the potential for manipulation and heartbreak within relationships.
Story C: The Loveless Triangle and Violence (ll. 55-97): This path explores the complexities of love and desire. John, an insecure older man, seeks solace with Mary, who is young and unattached (ll. 56-58). Mary uses John for comfort while pining for James, her true love (ll. 59-63). John, burdened by his failing marriage, feels trapped (ll. 64-66). The discovery of Mary’s infidelity triggers a violent outburst. John kills Mary, James, and himself in a desperate act (ll. 88-92). John’s wife, Madge, remains oblivious and finds happiness with a new partner (ll. 95-97). This path emphasizes the destructive potential of unfulfilled desires and societal pressures.
Story D: Nature’s Intervention (ll. 98-110): This path introduces an external force that disrupts a seemingly idyllic life. Fred and Madge live contentedly until a devastating tidal wave destroys their home (ll. 99-101). The narrative shifts to focus on the cause of the wave and their escape (ll. 102-110). This path injects a sense of powerlessness in the face of nature’s unpredictable forces.
Story E: Facing Mortality (ll. 111-122): This path explores the inevitability of death. Fred, seemingly healthy, suffers from a heart condition (l. 112). Despite this, they cherish their time together until his death (ll. 113-114). Madge dedicates herself to charity work, finding solace in helping others (ll. 116-117). This path offers a more realistic portrayal of a happy life eventually ending, but with a sense of purpose and acceptance.

Literary Devices in “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood

Allusion – a reference to a person, place, or event in history, literature, or culture. Example: “Mary and John met at the beach, just like Romeo and Juliet.”
Anaphora – repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences. Example: “And so on. And so on. And so on.”
Irony – a contrast between what is said and what is meant or what is expected and what actually happens. Example: “John had always dreamed of being a millionaire, but in the end, he won the lottery and lost all his money.”
Juxtaposition – placing two or more ideas, characters, or objects side by side for the purpose of comparison and contrast. Example: “In the story, John is presented as the perfect husband, while Mary is depicted as flawed and insecure.”
Metaphor – a comparison of two unlike things without using the words “like” or “as”. Example: “Life is a journey, and we are all just travelers on this road.”
Paradox – a statement that seems contradictory or absurd but is actually true. Example: “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”
Personification – giving human qualities to non-human objects or animals. Example: “The sun smiled down on us, and the wind whispered through the trees.”
Repetition – the use of the same word or phrase multiple times for emphasis. Example: “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed.”
Satire – the use of humor, irony, or exaggeration to expose and criticize foolishness or corruption in society. Example: “The story mocks the unrealistic expectations of traditional romance novels.”
Simile – a comparison of two unlike things using the words “like” or “as”. Example: “The stars shone like diamonds in the sky.”
Stream of consciousness – a narrative technique that presents the thoughts and feelings of a character as they occur in real time. Example: “The story shifts abruptly from one character’s point of view to another, mimicking the flow of thoughts and emotions.”
Symbolism – the use of objects, characters, or actions to represent abstract ideas or concepts. Example: “The apple symbolizes temptation and sin in the story.”
Tone – the author’s attitude toward the subject or characters in the story. Example: “The tone of the story is ironic and detached, highlighting the artificiality of traditional happy endings.”
Understatement – a statement that intentionally downplays the significance or magnitude of something. Example: “After winning the Nobel Prize, the author remarked, ‘It’s a nice honor, I guess.'”
Unreliable narrator – a narrator whose credibility is compromised, often because they are mentally unstable, dishonest, or biased. Example: “The narrator in the story is unreliable, as evidenced by their contradictory and inconsistent descriptions of the characters and events.”

Characterization in “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood

While the story focuses on plot variations, Atwood provides glimpses into the characters, revealing their motivations and flaws:

John : Across the stories, John appears self-centered and emotionally unavailable.
In Story A, she blends seamlessly into the idealized narrative (ll. 10-20).
In Story B, she embodies the vulnerability of being emotionally neglected, ultimately succumbing to despair (ll. 48-50).
In Story C, she appears caught between affection for John and love for James, highlighting the complexities of desire (ll. 59-63).
Madge : John’s wife in Story C, Madge remains largely unseen. She represents the “happily ever after” John fails to achieve, existing primarily as a contrast to Mary (ll. 95-97). In Stories D and E, she embodies resilience, rebuilding her life after loss (ll. 99-122).
In Story A (Happy Ending), he fulfills the stereotypical role of the charming husband, but his true nature remains unexplored (ll. 10-20).
In Story B, he exploits Mary for his physical desires without reciprocating her affection (ll. 22-27).
In Story C, his insecurity and neediness drive him into a loveless affair with Mary (ll. 55-58). His inability to cope with his failing marriage and Mary’s betrayal leads to a violent act (ll. 88-92).
Even in Stories D and E (where he’s not the central character), he remains somewhat of an enigma, existing primarily in relation to Mary or Madge.

Overall Character Portrayal:

Archetypes: Atwood utilizes archetypes like the charming prince (John in Story A) and the femme fatale (Mary in Story B) to subvert traditional expectations.
Limited Development: The characters are not fully fleshed out, serving as tools to explore the narrative variations and the artificiality of happily-ever-after tropes.
Focus on Relationships: The story prioritizes how characters interact and manipulate each other, rather than their individual personalities.

Major Themes in “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood

Writing style in “happy endings” by margaret atwood.

Margaret Atwood’s writing style in “Happy Endings” is characterized by its concise and straightforward prose, which effectively conveys the author’s ironic and satirical tone. Atwood uses active voice verbs to draw the reader in and maintain their engagement throughout the story. The narrative style is fragmented, with abrupt shifts in tone and perspective that challenge the reader’s expectations and highlight the artificiality of conventional storytelling. Atwood’s use of metafiction further reinforces this theme, as she breaks down the fourth wall and comments on the process of storytelling itself. The result is a provocative and thought-provoking work that challenges the reader to question their assumptions about the nature of storytelling and the meaning of “happy endings.”

Literary Theories and Interpretation of “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood

Metafiction : Atwood’s story can be viewed through the lens of metafiction, a genre that self-consciously reflects on the act of storytelling itself ([Hutcheon, 1980]). Her use of a narrator who directly addresses the reader (“Now try How and Why,” l. 121) and the exploration of various plot possibilities highlight the constructed nature of fiction and challenge readers’ expectations of a singular, definitive narrative.
Feminist Theory : A feminist critique of “Happy Endings” reveals how Atwood portrays the limitations placed on women within societal structures. Characters like Mary (Stories B & C) endure emotional manipulation and societal pressure to conform to idealized roles, highlighting the challenges women face in relationships ([Showalter, 2011]). The story deconstructs the stereotypical “happily ever after” that often objectifies women and undermines their agency.
Postmodernism : The fragmented structure and multiple endings in “Happy Endings” resonate with postmodern themes. Atwood subverts traditional narrative expectations, rejecting a linear plot with a clear resolution ([Jameson, 1991]). The story reflects a postmodern view of the fragmented nature of experience and the instability of meaning-making in a world without absolute truths.
Reader-Response Theory : Atwood’s use of second-person narration (“you can see what kind of a woman she is…” l. 45) and direct addresses to the reader (“So much for endings,” l. 118) embody reader-response theory ([Iser, 1978]). She invites active participation in the story, encouraging readers to consider their own experiences and expectations of love, relationships, and happy endings. The multiple endings emphasize the importance of the reader’s interpretation in shaping the meaning of the text.
Existentialism : An existentialist reading of “Happy Endings” recognizes the characters’ grappling with meaninglessness and mortality. John’s despair at his aging and failed relationships (Story C) and the characters’ ultimate deaths reflect the existentialist concern with human struggles to find purpose in an indifferent universe ([Sartre, 1943]). The various unhappy endings suggest the characters’ inability to control their destinies and the inevitability of death.

Questions and Thesis Statements about “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood

How does Atwood’s use of metafiction contribute to her exploration of the concept of “happy endings” in literature?
Thesis statement: Through the use of metafiction, Atwood challenges traditional notions of happy endings in literature and forces the reader to confront the harsh realities of human relationships and the unpredictability of life.
In what ways does Atwood use irony and satire to critique societal expectations of relationships and gender roles in “Happy Endings”?
Thesis statement: Through the use of irony and satire, Atwood exposes the limitations and unrealistic expectations placed on individuals in romantic relationships, highlighting the gendered power dynamics that underlie these societal expectations.
How does Atwood use repetition and variation of the story’s structure to convey her message about the nature of storytelling and human existence?
Thesis statement: By utilizing repetition and variation in the structure of the story, Atwood comments on the nature of storytelling and the unpredictable nature of human existence, challenging readers to question their own expectations of narrative form and the stories they consume.
In what ways does Atwood use the character Mary to subvert traditional gender roles and expectations in “Happy Endings”?
Thesis statement: Through the character of Mary, Atwood challenges traditional gender roles and expectations, highlighting the constraints placed on women in romantic relationships and the societal pressure to conform to traditional norms.
How does the absence of traditional narrative structure in “Happy Endings” contribute to the story’s message about the unpredictable nature of life and relationships?
Thesis statement: The absence of traditional narrative structure in “Happy Endings” highlights the unpredictable nature of life and relationships, challenging readers to question their own expectations of story structure and the inevitability of certain endings.

Short Question/Answer Topics for “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood

Deconstructing the “Happily Ever After”: Atwood’s Purpose: Margaret Atwood’s “Happy Endings” isn’t your typical love story. Her purpose lies in satirizing and deconstructing the conventional idea of a “happily ever after” (l. 118) often found in traditional narratives. By presenting six variations of the same story’s beginning (“John and Mary meet,” l. 10), each leading to vastly different outcomes, Atwood reveals the limitations and predictability of these narratives. The story becomes less about the characters themselves and more about exposing the artificiality of the “happily ever after” trope and the lack of universality in happy endings (ll. 10-122).
Active Participation: The Impact of Second-Person Narration: Atwood’s use of second-person narration is a significant tool in “Happy Endings.” By directly addressing the reader with phrases like “Now try How and Why” (l. 121), she dismantles the traditional roles of reader and writer. The reader is thrust into the story, becoming an active participant who questions their own expectations of a happy ending. Witnessing the different choices characters make in each variation (“you can see what kind of a woman she is…” l. 45) and the resulting consequences adds to the story’s complexity and depth. The reader is forced to confront the lack of a singular, satisfying conclusion, mirroring the messy realities of life.
Unveiling the Craft: Metafiction and its Contribution: “Happy Endings” is a prime example of metafiction, a genre that self-consciously reflects on the act of storytelling itself. Atwood’s use of metafiction allows her to explore themes of power, control, and the limitations of storytelling. The narrator directly addresses the reader, questioning the purpose of plot and happy endings (“So much for endings,” l. 118). By exposing the conventions and limitations of traditional narratives through the multiple endings, Atwood challenges the power dynamics between author and reader, and between characters and their pre-determined narratives. She questions the way stories are often used to exert control and manipulate the reader’s perception of reality.
“And Then”: A Repetition with Meaning: The repeated phrase “and then” throughout “Happy Endings” is far from insignificant. It serves to emphasize the predictability and repetitiveness often found in traditional narratives. Each variation begins with “and then,” highlighting the formulaic nature of storytelling and its reliance on clichés (ll. 21, 55, 98, 111). This repetition underscores the limitations of storytelling and how narratives can be used to reinforce idealized and often unrealistic social norms and expectations. By highlighting this repetitiveness, Atwood critiques how stories can oversimplify real-life complexities and shy away from the messy realities of human relationships.

Literary Works Similar to “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood

Cat’s Cradle (1963) by Kurt Vonnegut: This satirical science fiction novel employs a dark and playful tone akin to Atwood’s. It dissects themes of war, religion, and technology, exposing societal flaws akin to the deconstruction of happy endings.
“Her Body and Other Stories” (2017) by Carmen Maria Machado: This collection of short stories, much like “Happy Endings,” challenges expectations around love and relationships. Machado’s unsettling narratives explore themes of gender, sexuality, and the body in innovative ways, mirroring Atwood’s exploration of unconventional love stories.
If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler (1979) by Italo Calvino: This work, similar to “Happy Endings,” blurs the lines between fiction and reality. A metafictional exploration of reading and the reader-author relationship, Calvino’s novel playfully dismantles traditional storytelling tropes, echoing Atwood’s use of metafiction.
Pale Fire (1962) by Vladimir Nabokov: Nabokov’s complex novel, like “Happy Endings,” challenges readers’ assumptions. Through an unreliable narrator and a blurring of truth and fiction, “Pale Fire” compels readers to question their understanding of the narrative, mirroring Atwood’s deconstruction of happy endings.
The Vegetarian (2015) by Han Kang: This disturbing and thought-provoking novel, similar to “Happy Endings,” delves into the darker aspects of human relationships. Kang explores themes of alienation, violence, and the female experience, challenging traditional narratives of domesticity, much like Atwood’s subversion of conventional love stories.

Online Resources:

GradeSaver: Happy Endings: https://www.gradesaver.com/happy-endings (Offers students a summary, analysis, and helpful resources to understand the story.)
LitCharts: Happy Endings by Margaret Atwood: https://www.litcharts.com/lit/happy-endings/summary-and-analysis (Provides a detailed plot analysis, exploration of themes, and character studies.)

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Happy Endings

Margaret atwood, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Atwood begins the story with a simple setup: “John and Mary meet. What happens next?” The story then proceeds through various plot iterations, describing different ways in which the tale might end. In scenario A, John and Mary marry, buy a house , have children, and generally achieve a “happy ending.”

In scenario B, Mary falls in love and attempts to pursue a romantic relationship with John, who is noncommittal and uninterested. While Mary attempts to woo him with carefully prepared meals, her impeccable appearance, and sex, John remains unsatisfied and treats her poorly. When Mary finds out that John is seeing another woman, Madge , she commits suicide. John marries Madge and everything continues as in A.

In scenario C, Mary is in love with James , an independent and adventurous young man with a motorcycle and record collection. Since James is often away, Mary also engages in a relationship with John, who in this scenario is much older and already married to Madge. When John walks in on Mary and James having sex, he kills them and commits suicide. At the conclusion of the story, Madge remarries to a man named Fred and everything continues as in A.

In scenario D, Fred and Madge brave a tidal wave, while in scenario E, Fred and Madge deal with illnesses such as heart disease and cancer. In scenario F, the narrator attempts to complicate things further by imagining John and Mary as spies and counterrevolutionaries, but concludes that the endings of all of the stories are all ultimately the same.

At the end of “Happy Endings,” Atwood meditates on the nature of plot and story, arguing that plot is ultimately less interesting than other aspects of storytelling. The various plot iterations throughout the story illustrates the ways in which the elements of a story, when broken down into discrete units, are often so interchangeable with one another as to be virtually meaningless. Ultimately, the story concludes that the “what” is not nearly as important as the “How and Why.”

A Summary and Analysis of Margaret Atwood’s ‘Happy Endings’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘Happy Endings’ is a short story (or, perhaps more accurately, a piece of metafiction) which was first published in Margaret Atwood’s 1983 collection, Murder in the Dark . The story offers six alternative storylines which feature a relationship between a man and a woman.

Because of its postmodern and metafictional elements, ‘Happy Endings’ requires a few words of analysis to be fully understood. Before we begin, it might be worth summarising the plot (or plots) of the various storylines which Atwood presents to us.

‘Happy Endings’: plot summary

The story is divided into eight sections, the first six of which posit six different storylines. In the first one, labelled ‘A’, John and Mary meet and fall in love and get married. They both have good jobs and buy a nice house, and in time, they have children. When the time comes, they retire, enjoy their hobbies, and die.

In the second storyline, labelled ‘B’, Mary falls in love with John but John doesn’t love Mary back. He uses her for sex and she hopes that he will come to love (or at least need) her, in time. He never takes her out to a restaurant and instead comes round to hers and she cooks for him.

When her friends tell her he is cheating on her with another woman named Madge, she takes an overdose, hoping that John will discover her and feel so guilty that he’ll marry her. However, this doesn’t happen and she dies, and John marries Madge.

In the third storyline, ‘C’, John is an older married man who is having an affair with Mary, who is twenty-two. She really likes James, who is the same age as her, but he is too young and free to be tied down to a relationship. She takes a shine to John because he is older and worried about losing his hair, and this evokes pity in her.

John, meanwhile, is married to Madge. When Mary ends up having sex with James, John discovers them both and buys a handgun and shoots them dead, before killing himself. Madge, his widow, subsequently marries a man named Fred.

In ‘D’, Fred and Madge are happy together until a tidal wave approaches their coastal home and they narrowly escape. However, they remain together.

In ‘E’, Fred has a bad heart, and eventually dies; afterwards, Madge devotes herself to charity work. However, the narrator acknowledges that these details can be changed: Madge could be the one who is unwell, and Fred might take up bird-watching (rather than charity work) when she dies.

In the final scenario, ‘F’, the narrator suggests that the story can be made less middle-class by making John a revolutionary and Mary a secret agent who starts a relationship with him in order to spy on him. However, the story will still ultimately come to resemble ‘A’.

‘Happy Endings’ concludes with two brief sections in which the narrator (author? Atwood herself?) observes that the endings of all of these stories are the same, ultimately: John dies and Mary dies. After all, death is the ending that comes to all of us, and therefore to all characters. This is the only true authentic ending.

Having treated endings, the narrator remarks that beginnings are more fun, but mostly people are interested in the middle bits. Plot is, fundamentally, just one thing happening after another. The questions of ‘how’ something happens and ‘why’ it does are more interesting, and require attention.

‘Happy Endings’: analysis

‘Happy Endings’ is an example of metafiction : self-conscious fiction that is itself about fiction. It is, in other words, a story about stories and storytelling. Rather than work at creating a realist picture of John and Mary, the two protagonists of ‘Happy Endings’, so that we immerse ourselves in the story and view them as ‘real’ people, Atwood deliberately distances us from them, keeping them at arm’s length by reminding us that they are nothing more than authorial constructs.

Much of Atwood’s story is about delineating the six different scenarios, each of which involves a relationship between a man and a woman.

But as the story develops, the author breaks in on her characters more and more, ‘breaking the fourth wall’ to remind us that they are mere ciphers and that the things being described do not exist outside of the author’s own head (and the reader’s: Atwood’s fiction, and especially the short pieces contained in Murder in the Dark , are about how we as readers imagine those words on the page and make them come alive, too).

Why does Atwood do this? Partly, one suspects, because she wishes to interrogate both the nature of romantic plots in fiction and readers’ attitudes towards them. It’s a commonplace that happy endings in romantic novels ‘sell’: it gives readers what they want. Boy meets girl, girl falls in love with boy, and after various rocky patches they end up living, in the immortal words, ‘happily ever after’.

Atwood wants to put such plot lines under the microscope, as it were, and subject them to closer scrutiny. By the time we get to the fifth plot, ‘E’, the narrator is happily encouraging us to view the plot details as interchangeable between Fred and Madge, as if they don’t really matter. After all, do they? Perhaps the more important details are, as the closing paragraphs of ‘Happy Endings’ have it, not What but How and Why. Character motivation is more important than what they do or what is done to them.

Of course, as so often in Margaret Atwood’s fiction, there’s a feminist angle to all this. Relationships are not equal in a society where men have things easier than women, and the third of Atwood’s six scenarios, in which Mary is the key player, makes this point plainly.

Freedom, Atwood tells us, isn’t the same for girls as it is for boys, and while James is off on his motorcycle, she is forced by societal expectations to do other things. (It is not that she isn’t free herself – she is, after all, carrying on an affair with a married, older man even though society wouldn’t exactly view that kindly – but her freedoms are of a different kind. A woman motorcycling across America on her own would not feel as safe, for one, as a man doing so.)

In the last analysis, ‘Happy Endings’ is a kind of postmodern story about stories: postmodern because it freely and self-consciously announces itself as metafiction, as being more interested in how stories work than in telling a story itself.

But within the narratives Atwood presents to us, she also addresses some of the inequalities between men and women, and exposes how relationships are rarely a level playing field for the two sexes.

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Literary Theory and Criticism

Home › Literature › Analysis of Margaret Atwood’s Happy Endings

Analysis of Margaret Atwood’s Happy Endings

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on May 25, 2021

An innovative and oft-anthologized story that demonstrates the arbitrariness of any author’s choice of an ending, “Happy Endings” offers six different endings from which the reader may choose. “Happy Endings” was first published in the Canadian collection Murder in the Dark (1983) and then became available in the United States in Good Bones and Simple Murders (1994). Intentionally written in only 1,500 words, the story contains little plot, little character development, and little motivation. Readers, however, should not be deceived: Margaret Atwood is, according to the critic Reingard M. Nischik, “a chronicler of our times, exposing and warning, disturbing and comforting, opening up chasms of meaning as soon as she closes them, and challenging us to question conventions and face up to hitherto unarticulated truths” (159). “Happy Endings” is a story about writing a story, with thoughtful advice to both readers and would-be writers. In this unusual tale she demonstrates why “who and what” are insuff cient; the reader must ask (and the writer must supply) “how and why.” In addition to analyzing the appropriateness of the six endings, the reader might profit from comparing “Happy Endings” to Robert Coover’ s “The Babysitter,” in which the author offers several possibilities of what happens to the babysitter, leaving the decision to the reader’s imagination; and Akira Kurosawa’s 1951 film Roshomon , which depicts the rape of a bride and the murder of her husband through various eyewitness accounts; it demonstrates the near-impossibility of arriving at the actual “truth” of the events.

Atwood’s technique differs from that of Coover and Kurosawa, however, in that she fl eshes out nothing: Indeed, the six possible endings to the story of John and Mary are written as a skeletal outline. She opens with the words, “John and Mary meet. What happens next? If you want a happy ending, try A.” (1).

In A, John and Mary live a richly fulfilling life in terms of careers, sex life, children, vacations, and retirement, until they die. In Ending B, however, Mary loves John but he does not return her love, instead using and abusing her in classical doormat fashion. When Mary learns of John’s affair with Madge, she commits suicide, John marries Madge, and we are told to move to Ending A. In Ending C, John is an older man married to Madge and the father of two children. He falls for the 22-year-old Mary, but when he finds her in the arms of James, he shoots all three of them. Madge marries a man named Fred and proceeds to Ending A. In Ending D, Fred and Madge are the sole survivors of a tidal wave, and, despite the loss of their home, they are grateful to have survived the calamity that killed thousands and continue to Ending A.

Ending E follows Fred to his death of a “bad heart.” Madge soldiers on with charity and volunteer work in Ending A, until she dies of cancer—or, if the reader prefers, becomes guilt-ridden or begins bird-watching. Finally, for those who find Endings A through E “too bourgeois,” Atwood suggests making John and Mary spies and revolutionaries. Still, though, they will end up at Ending A because, after all, “this is Canada” (3). The only authentic ending, says Atwood, is this one: “ John and Mary die. John and Mary die. John and Mary die. ” As the critic Nathalie Cooke points out, “For Atwood, writing is a fascinating but dark art—one where shadows lurk, not only in the subject matter . . . but also in the author’s role as a double being, and in the writing process itself, in which the writer must not only face the darkness, but learn to see in and through it” (19). As Atwood suggests to the readers at the conclusion of “Happy Endings,” that process is achieved by understanding motivation through asking “how” and “why.”

BIBLIOGRAPHY Cooke, Nathalie. Margaret Atwood: A Critical Companion. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2004. Nischik, Reingard M. “Margaret Atwood’s Short Stories and Shorter Fictions.” In The Cambridge Companion to Margaret Atwood, edited by Coral Ann Howells, 145– 160. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006.

Happy Endings

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Analysis: "Happy Endings"

Atwood employs a broad range of postmodernist techniques in crafting “Happy Endings,” and, in doing so, explodes the notion of the traditional narrative , while at the same time providing commentary on what such narratives are composed of.

Like nearly all of the stories comprising the collection Murder in the Dark, in which this story first appeared, Atwood plays with the form story takes. “Happy Endings” is decidedly metafictional, meaning that it’s writing that is in some way about the process or craft of writing. To this end, Atwood’s division of her narrative into organized sections may be seen as the story’s form fitting its function: just as the content of the narrative is, ultimately, about how the notion of story works, the almost clinically-labeled sections can be seen as specimens, examples of the ways in which narrative follows an arc, from beginning to end. This is especially true in the story’s two longest sections: B and C. Here, we see Atwood employ traditional modes of storytelling, and craft genuine narrative arcs, with rising and falling action and clear moments of crisis, climax, and resolution.

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“Happy Endings” by M. Atwood Essay (Critical Writing)

Introduction, works cited.

M. Atwood, being called a classical writer of today, is a truly outstanding novelist, poet, short story writer. The matter is not included how much one writes, but rather how applicable and deep it is. The works by Margaret Atwood are found to contain deep context, enclosed within the novels, poems and even the shortest stories of hers. Besides, she is the writer, who puts her soul within the works. So, she is really concerned with the issues she writes about and with the matters she brings up within her writings. The short story called “Happy Endings” is not an exclusion from a general rule as Margaret Atwood managed both to put a deep context within a two-page-story and to reveal her own viewpoint to the reader of the story. The plot of the story, presenting some options of one and the same volume of people is able to still be the deepest thought within itself, being interpreted in a right way.

Firstly, after the reading of the story it occurs that it is a psychological story. This approach is being used frequently by Atwood, as it has been revealed by Rose Wilson in her study “Intertext in Atwood’s psychological text reverberates with mythic significance, giving us courage to face themes of sexual politics–in literature, society, and our lives.” (Wilson, xv). Atwood’s story evokes some non-material symbols and feelings in one’s sub-consciousness. The same characters are playing different roles each and every time, wandering from A part of the story to E part. And reading the same names within it one is forced to think “why?”. Why the same people appear to be in different life situations for five times. Probably, there is something missed by the reader or the author is eager to say something important by that. The same characters, used are piercing through the story, being a red line of it are used with a purpose, the author is to reveal only at the end of the story. Though all the stories are really different, they all have one and the same uniting factor, which is the same ending of them. Not only it a uniting factor for the stories, it also plays as a main symbol and a message of the story.

Then, the symbolism of the story can not be lost on the reader. As the characters have their place and functions, words are meaningful and the message itself is symbolic. In the short story like “Happy Endings” it is an impermissible way to put meaningless or spare words within. M. Atwood, being aware of it, puts much of the context in such a few content, that it makes one respect the author. The feeling of the deeper thought, enclosed in the plain content is evoked by miscellaneous devices, used by the author. For example, the repetition of some phrases like “Fall in love”, “get married”, “stimulating and challenging”, “real estate values”, the repetition of these words or phrases aims at emphasizing that no matter what the script of life is, people come across the same things during their lives. Whether it be John or Mary or James and Madge or whoever more, the obstacles, met by a person within his or her life denotes that the person is alive and moreover, is able to overcome them. Then, Margaret Atwood enlarges on the topic and proposes the different scripts with quite different endings to show, that a person has a right to choose. For example, it the section B, where Mary commits suicide it is well depicted. Actually, she thought that John would save her, take her to the hospital, repent and they would get married finally. But the brutal reality is that John is to decide for himself what he is to do in the life. And no matter how much Mary wants to see other decision, he is the only person to do this, and he made his choice. So is Mary to decide what to do. Having picked up the way with the medicine, she nothing but showed that she is a weak creature, who decided to follow the flow, not to resist the circumstances of her life. In this situation John was not the one, determined for Mary and being a great and tidy woman, very concerned about her man, she would have managed to find a better fortune for herself. But there was John, near, twice a week and she did not try to change the situation somehow, fully subordinating her own desires to John’s ones. Or in the C section, the topic of jealousy is being explored by the author. Being blinded with his jealousy, John kills Mary and her young lover James and himself. The choice he made, influenced the end of two lives and one more, the life of his wife Madge. The complicated interrelations of human beings are really hard to depict. But the short story by Atwood shows them in a best of her skills how they work.

It is really necessary to mark that the repeated word-combination “real estate” plays an important role as the other phrases used with it are also symbolic in the story. So, in the A section, the real estate values go up, then in B section John with his wife managed to buy their house before it happened, while in D section one finds to come across the tidal wave and the real estate values go down. This is an interesting psychology as it nothing but shows that no matter what might happen in our life, no matter what values are to go up or to go down, the most important thing to maintain is human relations, which are the eternal value in this world. By this the human are driven. Because of the relations one might live happily or die silly. A human relation is a treasure to keep. The relationships is a topic M. Atwood dwells on broad-mindedly, as it has been investigated “Like her fiction, poetry, and essays, many of Atwood’s visual works, sometimes untitled or undated, present Gothic images of female-male relationships in fairy tales, myth, legend, the Bible, literature, popular culture, and history” (Wilson, 36).

Besides of the above mentioned symbols, there are different gender images found within the text of the story. Margaret Atwood is among all, a famous feminist writer. Being a woman writer is marked by her writing style and also causes some translation difficulties. Rose Wilson’s work devoted to the study of M. Atwood’s contextual implications states that “Atwood is a woman author, and she uses fairy tales dramatizing cannibalism and dismemberment of females. Thus, one of Atwood’s major themes is sexual politics; recent feminist theory” (Wilson, xii). The evidences of the gender belonging are found in the general feminine and masculine images found in the story. The feminine image, which arises at the end of the story is a loving, caring and sacrificing one, like in the sections A, B, then compassionate, like in the C section, dedicated as in F. While men are not always presented as worthy and dignified creatures, as for example B section, or C section, which make the reader reflect what pigs are they, how come that such a worthy woman may come across such a contemptible man and destroy all her life to only satisfy him. Moreover, it is characteristic of the author to depict patriarchy way of relations “ … power structured in so that one group–males–controls another–females” (Wilson, XIII).

Still, among all these rich devices one appears to be unseen. The author, being a good psychologist presents at the end of the story a sentence, not repeated until the end of the story. It is “eventually they die.” At the end of each section the reader comes across the phrase, mentioning that and the rest of the story goes like in section A, meaning that “they lived happily ever after… and… eventually died” Margaret Atwood suggests this thought to the reader at the very end of the story, at the F section, saying that the end is one – Mary and John die. What should this mean? Is the author a pessimist, who does not believe in happy ends and made fun of this phrase, having entitled her story like that? – No, she is rather a realist, who understands, that everyone’s life eventually finishes with death. And the part that the reader fails to remember this phrase while reading the story suggests that it is not the end which is important in the life of a being, but it is rather his or her life, that really matters and sticks in one’s memory. The story message boils down to a simple axiom that one is to value life today, now, but not look for happy endings.

Inferring, it might be said that Margaret Atwood is a truly remarkable writer of today, who is presented as a classic writer. She manages to combine the deep thought enclosed within the shortest text, which make her stand out. At the example of a given story, she shows her psychological aptitude, giving the reader rich images and issues for reflection within a two-page-story. Using miscellaneous devices the author presents her viewpoint on the matters brought up in the book and finally, she resorts to the psychological device of using the phrase, which is not repeated in the text though implied in each sub-story. This device detects and reveals the message of the story, which is to value life.

Donald R. Gallo. Sixteen: Short Stories by Outstanding Writers for Young Adults, Laurel Leaf, 1985.

Jean A. McConochie. 20th Century American Short Stories, Volume 1 (Student Book), Heinle ELT; 2 edition, 1995.

Thomas E. Barden and Ira Mark Milne. Short Stories for Students: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Short Stories, Gale Cengage: Detroit. 2001.

Wilson, Sharon Rose. Margaret Atwood”s Fairy-Tale Sexual Politics. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 1993.

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IvyPanda. (2021, October 23). “Happy Endings” by M. Atwood. https://ivypanda.com/essays/happy-endings-by-m-atwood/

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IvyPanda . 2021. "“Happy Endings” by M. Atwood." October 23, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/happy-endings-by-m-atwood/.

1. IvyPanda . "“Happy Endings” by M. Atwood." October 23, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/happy-endings-by-m-atwood/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "“Happy Endings” by M. Atwood." October 23, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/happy-endings-by-m-atwood/.

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Happy Endings

By margaret atwood, happy endings summary and analysis of sections a – c.

The narrator announces that John and Mary meet, and asks the reader what will happen next.

She directs them toward version A, which she labels as a happy ending. In version A, John and Mary fall in love, work fulfilling jobs, and buy a house. They have two children, take enjoyable vacations, and retire, each with their own interesting hobbies. Eventually, John and Mary die.

In version B, Mary loves John but John does not love Mary. Instead, he uses her for pleasures like sex, food, and company. Mary feels compelled to please John, and she cooks for him whenever he comes to her apartment. He is a selfish lover, but Mary cannot help wanting to be with him.

Everyone in Mary's life tells her that John is not good for her, but she believes deep down that she can change him and that he is a better person than he seems. Her friends tell her that they have seen John at a restaurant with another woman named Madge . Heartbroken, Mary attempts to overdose on sleeping pills. She secretly hopes John will appear at the last minute and save her, but he does not, and Mary dies.

John eventually marries Madge and lives the same life described in version A, with Madge instead of Mary.

In version C, John is married to Madge but is having an affair with the much younger Mary. Mary pities John because of his age, but does not love him. She loves James , a twenty-two-year-old man who is not ready to commit. James spends his time riding around on his motorcycle.

One day, James brings marijuana to Mary's and they get high and have sex. John finds them together, and is so overcome with despair that he purchases a handgun and kills James, Mary, and himself. Madge mourns John and eventually marries a man named Fred , and Madge and Fred continue to live out the life described in version A.

The beginning half of " Happy Endings " is characterized by three different versions of two characters' lives, with the characters themselves shifting in personality, age, and temperament among each of the stories.

Readers will immediately notice the uniqueness of such a structure for a short story: rather than simply relaying a single narrative about characters John and Mary, the author instead presents the characters' and their stories as changeable and arbitrary. In so doing, the author immediately draws readers' attention to the artifice of fiction-writing and the relationship between writers and readers.

The pick-your-own structure of the story ultimately dramatizes how writers create and alter characters to better communicate with readers, and how the concept of "character" in fiction writing is fundamentally unstable because characters are not real people. In this way, the story introduces itself not as a story with a singular narrative but as a commentary on the nature of storytelling more generally.

The author also presents a cynical interpretation of its titular "happy endings." Version A of John and Mary's lives is notably mundane, punctuated only by happiness, comfort, and fulfillment. This "happy ending," the story suggests, does not make for interesting reading or writing.

Instead, she presents alternatives like versions B and C, where John and Mary both experience unrequited love for one another. In both B and C, this unrequited love or emotional disparity between the characters fosters conflict and drama, two elements of fiction that many would argue are absolutely necessary for producing a story of quality. These versions are notably longer and more complex, thereby suggesting that "happy endings" like version A – two people who fall in love and grow old together – are not as compelling as stories fraught with sadness, anger, confusion, and hardship.

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Happy Endings Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Happy Endings is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Study Guide for Happy Endings

Happy Endings study guide contains a biography of Margaret Atwood, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

About Happy Endings
Happy Endings Summary
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How to Write a Believable Happy Ending

As author Ted Thompson learned from John Cheever, a redemptive resolution doesn't erase the darkness of a story, but instead finds the light within it.

By Heart is a series in which authors share and discuss their all-time favorite passages in literature. See entries from Claire Messud, Jonathan Franzen, Amy Tan, Khaled Hosseini, and more.

Happy endings are famously rare in literature. We turn to great books for emotional and ethical complexity, and broad-scale resolution cheats our sense of what real life is like. Because complex problems rarely resolve completely, the best books tend to haunt and unnerve readers even as they edify and entertain.

This is especially true in writing about the suburbs, perhaps because that setting has served as a symbolic happy ending to the broader American cultural narrative. It’s no accident that the best-known stories about the upper middle class—books like John Updike’s Rabbit, Run ; Richard Yates’s Revolutionary Road ; Rick Moody’s The Ice Storm , to name a few, and films like American Beauty —tend to have exceptionally brutal finales. These works, in their final moments, devastate and eviscerate their characters—and with them the notion that suburban living is the proper happy ending for the American life.

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When I spoke with Ted Thompson, author of The Land of Steady Habits , we discussed how John Cheever’s ecstatic and ultimately redemptive vision makes him singular among the suburbs’ sad bards; Cheever is rare among writers for his ability to consistently pull off believable happy endings. Thompson unpacked his favorite Cheever story, an overlooked gem called “The Housebreaker of Shady Hill,” and showed how the master makes a joyful moment complex, palpable, and real. He went on to explain how Cheever has challenged him to write about people—and the landscape he knows best—with greater generosity, and to always balance darkness with light.

The Land of Steady Habits , Thompson’s first book, takes its name from an informal state nickname for Connecticut. (The author grew up in Westport.) Anders Hill, a celebrated Wall Street financier quietly disturbed by the human and environmental costs of his profit-making, decides to amputate himself from the two dominant features of his life: his job and his wife. Unmoored, he begins to suspect his former responsibilities did much more than hem him in—they also gave him crucial shape.

Thompson is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop; his fiction has appeared in Tin House and Best New American Voices . He spoke to me by phone from his home in Brooklyn.

Ted Thompson: I first came across “The Housebreaker of Shady Hill” when I was still living in Iowa City, the year after I graduated from the Writers’ Workshop. In those days I’d keep two or three books on my writing desk, not to read seriously but to open and dip into while I worked—just to hear the rhythm of certain people’s sentences and let their music guide me. Around that time, Cheever’s sentences especially worked a kind of magic on me. I used to love to pick up that thick, red-orange Collected Stories and leaf through it when I got stuck. One day, in the middle of a draft of a doomed short story I was working on, I opened randomly to “The Housebreaker of Shady Hill” and began to read it for the first time. It was early in the morning, very quiet and still, and I remember being taken with the tone, and the sort of tossed-off mastery of those first sentences:

My name is Johnny Hake. I’m thirty-six years old, stand five feet eleven in my socks, weigh one hundred and forty-two pounds stripped, and am, so to speak, naked at the moment and talking into the dark.

I thought I’d read a paragraph or two, just the setup, to see how he slips into a story, but the next thing I knew I was halfway through the thing, way beyond what I had allowed myself, and reading it aloud to my computer screen.

I’m always surprised that it’s not one of his canonized stories, up there with “The Swimmer” and “Goodbye, My Brother” as what people first think of when they hear this writer’s name. It has the hallmarks of all the things that I love about Cheever: a kind of humorous premise, a character on the edge of emotional collapse, a world that is superficially stiff but always undercut by a kind of wildness. And more strikingly, his prose just soars through the whole thing (hence the urge to speak it aloud, which I have nearly every time I read it). Still, when I mention the story to others, they rarely know it. Or if they do, it hasn’t struck them. And it’s not one of the stories that often gets read at the Cheever celebrations, like the one I went to a few years ago at the 92nd Street Y. I’ve always wondered why.

It’s a pretty simple story on the surface. A man with a family in the suburbs loses his job at company that manufactures parablendeum, which seems to be kind of color-tinted Saran wrap. (I’m pretty sure Cheever invented this word because neither Google nor I seem to have heard of it.) He gets fired, decides to go into business on his own, and does a pretty pathetic job of it. Quickly, things get bleak. He runs out of money and can’t bring himself to tell his wife. And once that charade starts, he feels that his only hope is to break into his neighbors’ houses and steal their cash in the middle of the night.

He lives in a fictional neighborhood called Shady Hill, an opulent hamlet not unlike like the one in Ossining, New York, where Cheever really lived. One night after a late dinner party, he returns to house of his rich hosts and breaks into it. He tiptoes into their bedroom where they’re sleeping, sees a pair of pants hanging over a chair, and fishes out his friend’s wallet. There’s $900 cash inside. He flees with all of it into the night. This one act haunts the narrator for the rest of the story, and very nearly undoes him completely. He becomes totally convinced of his criminality. He starts seeing theft and sin everywhere he goes. He starts feeling as though everyone knows he’s done wrong. He starts to behave like person being eaten alive by guilt.

And still, his desperation is such that he has to break into a second neighbor’s house when he needs more money. He knows he won’t be caught: These friends are drunks, “booze fighters,” he calls them, and there’s no way they’ll wake up. As he’s walking to their house—this where Cheever becomes difficult to describe—the narrator’s shame and guilt have escalated to a place where he’s about to have a nervous breakdown. But rather than come apart at the seams, the natural world intervenes. The sky opens and it rains.

Now this is definitely dangerous territory for a writer. Precipitation has been tempting young writers as a dramatic climax for a long time: Write yourself into a corner and you always have the weather. To me, it’s the deus ex machina of everyday spiritual crises—guilt and sin cleansed by rain—and it just might be the most handy cop-out available. (When I get caught in the rain, I have yet to find God—I mostly get cold and wet and pissed.) But somehow, in the way the prose functions, Cheever, goddamn, he pulls it off. Despite all of my resistances, I believe the character really is relieved of his guilt. It’s a beautiful, redemptive passage, one I’ve probably read out loud a hundred times:

I was thinking sadly about my beginnings, about how I was made by a riggish couple in a midtown hotel after a six-course dinner with wines, and my mother had told me so many times that if she hadn’t drunk so many Old-Fashioneds before that famous dinner I would still be unborn on a star. And I thought about my old man and that night at the Plaza and the bruised thighs of the peasant women of Picardy and all the brown-gold angels that held the theatre together and my terrible destiny. While I was walking towards the Pewter’s, there was the harsh stirring and all the trees and gardens, like a draft on a bed of fire, and I wondered what it was until I felt the rain on my hand and face, and I began to laugh. I wish I could say that a kindly lion had set me straight, or an innocent child, or the strains of distant music from some church, but it was no more than the rain on my head—the smell of it flying up my nose—that showed me the extent of my freedom from the bones in Fontainebleau and the works of a thief. There were ways out of my trouble if I cared to make use of them. I was not trapped. I was here on earth because I chose to be. And it was no skin off my elbow how I had been given the gifts of life so long as I possessed them, and I possessed them then—the tie between the wet grass roots and the hair that grew out of my body, the thrill of my mortality that I had known on summer nights, loving the children, and looking in front of Christina’s dress.

I don’t completely know how Cheever lifts us straight off the page and into the skies here. The more that I look at it and try to pick it apart the less I can make sense of it. The only thing that I can say is that through the music of that language, and perhaps the repetition of certain images from earlier in the story, he’s able to conjure in me a convincing experience of something that is about as abstract and fuzzy as you can get: a man being set free of his conscience.

I also can’t imagine anyone else being able to write “the bruised thighs of the peasant women of Picardy,” or “the brown-gold angels that held the theatre together.” So strange, these images! And yet there’s something about the unexpectedness of them that disarms me, and opens me to whatever else the story wants to do.

And what that is, at least to me, comes in this line: “The tie between the wet grass roots and the hair that grew out of my body.” God, that just flays me. It comes out of nowhere—the narrator comes alive to beauty in that moment, and it enables him, ennobles him, to make a dignified choice about how to live his life. He can decide what kind of man he wants to be. And so he turns around and goes home, whistling in the dark.

After that, his life sort of comes back together—he’s rehired at the job and returns the money that he stole. Ultimately the story has a comedic structure: The world gets more and more disordered, but in the end it’s put back together anew.

This is one of the things that’s so apparent when you’re reading Cheever: his openness to redemptive beauty. His suburbs aren’t corrupt, awful places. They’re not places that have dark, ugly roots that he’s trying to expose—which is often the basic project in the subgenre of American suburban fiction (and film and TV). Cheever’s world is one that, no matter how buttoned-up it may be, is continuously ruptured by unexpected beauty. For me, finding this on the page was a revelation. You aren’t supposed to write about suburban neighborhoods like that—to acknowledge their beauty, and locate great meaning in it. It’s pretty clear why writers like Jim Harrison spend so much time describing the natural world, but we’ve become almost conditioned to believe that manicured suburban aesthetics are only an illusion to conceal some fundamental rottenness.

In Cheever, this isn’t really the case. No matter how cruel his characters are to each other, no matter how much they disappoint each other or what sins they commit, there’s still a sense that there’s light in his world. It comes through in the way he describes trees so well, and smells and breezes and the ocean. The landscape balances out the torment of the tortured characters within it—and sometimes, that beauty is even enough to save them.

Writing a happy ending that feels meaningful is probably one of the hardest tricks in literature. There’s a lot of comedy out there (particularly in movies and television) that follows that ancient structure of the world falling apart and then being put back together again, but so much of it feels like, okay, those problems were solved and now I can forget about them. You don’t want a literary story to have that effect—you want it to have a resonance with the reader beyond the last page, and I feel like it’s a lot easier to do with tragedy than comedy.

There’s an essay I think about a lot by Italo Calvino called “Lightness,” in which he talks about levity as a virtue in literature and storytelling: He argues for the necessity of lightness, and insists we need it if we’re going to be telling dark and hard truths. A guiding image of the piece is the way that Perseus cannot look at Medusa’s ugliness directly—only by watching her reflected in his shield can he see her without becoming petrified to stone. (As Calvino says, “Perseus’s strength always lies in a refusal to look directly, but not in a refusal of the reality in which he is fated to live.”) I suppose that this was a part of what I was hoping to do in my own book—to explore the wounded and lost, yes, and to render the deficiencies and strains of even the most conventional and responsible ways of life. But at the same time I was invariably thinking of Cheever’s wide-eyed wonder, and was inspired to look again at the memories of my own childhood in that way, to find reverence for the frozen marshlands of those Connecticut towns, and the stone archways of the Merritt Parkway, and for all those suited men riding the shoreline trains.

Darren Criss to Star in New Broadway Musical ‘Maybe Happy Ending' This Fall

Darren Criss will return to Broadway this fall in the new musical Maybe Happy Ending.

The musical features music by Will Aronson, lyrics by Hue Park, a book by Aronson and Park and direction by Michael Arden, who last directed Parad e on Broadway. Criss will star opposite Helen J. Shen ( The Lonely Few, Teeth ) and Dez Duron (NBC's The Voice), who will both be making their Broadway debuts.

Maybe Happy Ending will start previews at the Belasco Theatre on Sept. 18, ahead of an opening night on Oct. 17, 2024.

The musical follows two lonely robots in Seoul (Criss and Shen), who have a chance encounter that charts a path for friendship and maybe more.

Maybe Happy Ending was written in both Korean and English. The Korean-language version opened in December 2016 at DaeMyung Culture Factory in Seoul, while the English-language version had its U.S. premiere at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta during the 2019-2020 season with Arden directing.

Criss, known for his roles in Glee and The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, last appeared on Broadway in the 2022 revival of American Buffalo , opposite Sam Rockwell and Laurence Fishburne. He appeared in the off-Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors this winter and has also appeared on Broadway in Hedwig and the Angry Inch and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying.

In addition to Parade, for which he won a Tony Award for best direction of a musical, Arden has directed revivals of Once on This Island and Spring Awakening on Broadway.

"I am so very happy to be joining the enchanting world of Maybe Happy Ending ," Criss said. "It's already such a special piece, but all the more exciting for me to get to build it for Broadway with people I admire – namely my ol' pal Michael Arden, a visionary I've been wanting to work with for longer than I care to admit, as well as the very talented Will Aronson and Hue Park. Their inventive book and music, combined with Michael's direction, is exactly the kind of alchemy that gets me most excited about what musical theater can be."

Maybe Happy Ending is produced by Jeffrey Richards, Hunter Arnold and Criss.

The True Story Behind ‘The Vow’ Doesn’t Have a Happy Ending

What happened to Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams' characters in real life?

The Big Picture

The Vow was inspired by the true love story of Kim and Kricket Carpenter, who had to learn to love and live with each other again after Kricket lost her memory due to a car accident.
While The Vow took creative liberties with the story, it captured the emotional turmoil and essence of the real-life romance. The couple faced trials and turmoil during this unprecedented event.
Unlike the happy ending in the film, the real couple, Kim and Kricket, ended their marriage in 2018 due to Kim's infidelity. However, Kricket still believes in the possibility of love.

We've all wanted to turn back time and experience falling in love again with our favorite movie, book, and even person. Unfortunately, Kim and Kricket Carpenter managed to achieve that through a very harrowing and tragic journey. After a horrific car accident, the newlyweds' relationship took a dramatic turn as Kricket succumbed to severe brain damage and lost the past one and a half years of her life . Her memory placed her back to before she met Kim, leaving the two to learn how to love and live with each other again. This stressful and unusual period of their lives inspired a well-known 2012 rom-com, The Vow , featuring Channing Tatum as Leo (Kim) and Rachel McAdams as Paige (Kricket). However, although the film ended on a hopeful and optimistic note, the real couple's happy ending expired in 2018 when their divorce was finalized .

A car accident puts Paige in a coma, and when she wakes up with severe memory loss, her husband Leo works to win her heart again.

Who Do Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams Play in 'The Vow'?

The Vow opens with a cozy scene of the warmly-lit interior of a car with Paige and Leo sharing a wholesome moment, protected by the chilly snow outside but unprotected by the sudden headlights of a truck rear-ending them, sending an unbuckled Paige through the window. Although they both luckily survive the fatal crash, Paige's memory of her husband doesn't survive. With one half missing his lover and the other half getting to know a stranger, the couple navigate the post-crash confusion separately, with a healthy dose of family and ex-boyfriend drama thrown in the mix.

Kim and Kricket Carpenter's love story began in 1992 with a bizarre yet adorable meet-cute story that starts with a phone call. According to Reader's Digest Canada , Kim, the head coach of New Mexico Highland University's baseball team, was flicking through a sportswear catalog when Kricket's name caught his eye. He promptly called the sales associate number where Kricket was met with his incredulous question: "Is your name really Kricket?" It was love at first phone call .

After many strategically timed phone calls, a plane trip, and a year later, the couple's romance was cemented at the altar in September 1993. However, two months later, the honeymoon phase was cut short as an accident placed Kricket in a coma, then wiped out her memories of her newlywed life . Over the next couple of years, Kricket struggled with physical therapy and psychological and emotional confusion. Constantly wavering between improving and taking steps backwards, many arguments arose between the two lovers/strangers. Since Kricket had moved back in with her parents, Kim resolutely commuted between Phoenix and Las Vegas to both coach his team and support Kricket.

The couple had Christian beliefs ingrained into them and as such, despite the ever-increasing arguments, continued to commit to each other . In 1995, they finally decided to begin couples therapy, and then eventually, Kim began tentatively courting Kricket like he used to. After hard work, communication and conflict-free date nights, the couple renewed their vows in 1996, solidifying their new love for each other. In Reader's Digest Canada , Kricket described her experience as "growing into love," which she explained was "sort of like falling in love, only better."

How Accurate Is 'The Vow' to the True Story?

Naturally, The Vow did not strictly follow the events of the true story , and took heavy creative liberties with the couple's meet-cute, immediate divorce, Paige's relationship with her parents and her fictional ex-boyfriend. While the film did take creative license with the plot, the emotional turmoil and sanctity of the romance remained intact and, as such, it retained the essence of the real life story. Although it is a little disappointing that the filmmakers decided to make Paige and Leo's first encounter happen in the DMV rather than being a curious phone call to the sales associate of a catalog.

However, the immediate conflict and awkwardness following the amnesia is fairly accurate to what actually happened. While Kricket and Kim's fight did not escalate into a divorce like in the film, both real and fictional couples waded through trials and tumult during this essentially unprecedented event. On the other hand, Kricket's relationship with her parents was always close, and she did not have a meddling ex-flame interfering with her recovery. Paige, however, forgets the falling out with her parents and returns to them wide-eyed and confused. It is here that the filmmakers veer drastically away from the true story and the usual romantic comedy drama begins.

Remember When Chris Pratt, Aubrey Plaza, Channing Tatum & Oscar Isaac Did a Movie Together?

Essentially being transported to a different time period, Paige struggles to reconcile her unfamiliar present with her uncomfortable past. With Paige's overwhelming family intervening in her budding yet tense relationship with Leo by encouraging her romance with an ex-flame, the couple are unable to cover any meaningful ground to get their life back. Despite all the fictional drama, the film manages to capture Kim and Kricket's evolution from being on entirely separate wavelengths, to letting go of the past and starting over. Both couples have to resolve their internal turmoil in order to delicately work together for the future.

Real Life Does Not Get 'The Vow's Happy Ending

The end of the film comes full circle as Leo hesitantly asks Paige on a date while strolling in the snow, leaving us on a bright and heartfelt note. However, unlike Leo and Paige, the real couple, Kim and Kricket did not have a happy ending and ended their marriage in 2018 . Unfortunately, their 25 years of a happy marriage ended due to Kim's infidelity, an allegation he did not deny. Kricket revealed to Inside Edition that she had "just figured it out" and that "it was shocking and surprising to [her] because [they] were so committed to each other and to the vow.”

Kricket did not regret any of the 25 years of marriage which resulted in her two children and a lifetime of loving and cherished memories. "I'm thankful for the 25 years that I had," she said, "because I have two amazing children, and we had so many great times together.” Despite the more bittersweet ending in real life, the film may have foreshadowed the positive note that arose once the divorce was finalized. Much like The Vow's concluding uplifting hint of potential romance, Kricket came out of the tragic turn of events still believing in the possibility of love .

The Vow is available to watch on Netflix in the U.S.

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Darren Criss Returning To Broadway With Helen J Shen In New Musical ‘Maybe Happy Ending’

By Greg Evans

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Maybe Happy Ending will also feature Dez Duron (NBC’s The Voice ) who makes his Broadway debut along with Shen.

Final casting as well as ticketing and on-sale information will be announced at a later date.

The synopsis: “Inside a one-room apartment in the heart of Seoul, Oliver (Criss) lives a happily quiet life listening to jazz records and caring for his favorite plant. But what else is there to do when you’re a Helperbot 3, a robot that has long been retired and considered obsolete? When his fellow Helperbot neighbor Claire (Shen) asks to borrow his charger, what starts as an awkward encounter leads to a unique friendship, a surprising adventure, and maybe even…love? Maybe Happy Ending is the offbeat and captivating story of two outcasts near the end of their warranty who discover that even robots can be swept off their feet.”

“I am so very happy to be joining the enchanting world of Maybe Happy Ending ,” said Criss. “It’s already such a special piece, but all the more exciting for me to get to build it for Broadway with people I admire – namely my ol’ pal Michael Arden, a visionary I’ve been wanting to work with for longer than I care to admit, as well as the very talented Will Aronson and Hue Park.”

He continued, “Their inventive book and music, combined with Michael’s direction, is exactly the kind of alchemy that gets me most excited about what musical theater can be. I can’t wait for audiences to take part in this wonderfully original theatrical experience, and behold a story from a future that explores one of the most ancient questions of humanity – why love?”

Having led the visual development of the piece since 2018, Tony Award-nominee Dane Laffrey ( A Christmas Carol, Once on This Island ) will design the Set and Additional Video, while Costume Design is by Tony Award-winner Clint Ramos ( KPOP, Eclipsed ), Lighting Design is by Tony Award-nominee Ben Stanton ( A Christmas Carol, Fun Home ), Sound Design is by Tony Award-winner Peter Hylenski ( Moulin Rouge!: The Musical, Beetlejuice ), Video Design by George Reeve ( Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends, UK ), Deborah Abramson ( The Gardens of Anuncia ) is the Music Supervisor and John Yun will be the Music Director.

Maybe Happy Ending is produced on Broadway by Jeffrey Richards, Hunter Arnold, Darren Criss (making his Broadway producing debut), Rebecca Gold, Spencer Ross, Adam Zotovich, Kayla Greenspan, M/B/P Productions, Fahs Productions, Ken Greiner, Ruth Hendel, Willette and Manny Klausner, Cody Lassen Mix and Match Productions, The Nederlander Organization, Jacob Stuckelman & John Albert Harris. Allan Williams serves as Executive Producer.

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Tom Brady Roaster Says ‘They Told Us No Jokes About Happy Endings’ and Robert Kraft, Then Jeff Ross Didn’t Listen: Brady’s Anger Was ‘100% Real’

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Comedian Andrew Schulz revealed on the “Flagrant” interview series that he was instructed not to make jokes at Netflix ‘s Tom Brady roast related to Robert Kraft’s 2019 arrest for soliciting prostitution in a Florida massage parlor. Charges against Kraft were dropped the following year. When Kraft’s attendance was confirmed at the event, roasters were allegedly told not to make jokes about “happy endings” in relation to the Patriots owners.

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“This is the first comic that goes on!” Schulz said about Ross’ Kraft joke. “It’s a live roast and it’s your night. [Brady] was ready to shut the whole thing down. That’s an alpha ass move. For this guy, who basically let him go … Bob Kraft did not resign him and he still feels that kind of loyalty.”

“Most people who get caught up in that moment are like, ‘I don’t want to ruin [the event],'” Schulz added, noting that most people would not have disrupted the live taping. “But for him this shit don’t matter. He said to [Kraft] those jokes weren’t going to be made and he agreed to come and then you broke the rule.”

The day after the Brady roast, Ross appeared on “The Rich Eisen Show” and downplayed that the NFL icon was actually pissed off at him because of the Kraft joke.

“No way,” Ross said. “He was having fun. You know, it’s like that’s his dad. Robert Kraft is like a father figure to him. He was just showing his love for Robert Kraft. And Robert Kraft loved it. We had a great talk afterwards. He was so happy that I gave him a shoutout and a salute. It was beautiful.”

“Tom loves the roast. He’s a student of the roasts,” Ross stressed to Rich Eisen. “If you love the roast … everyone wants to be the center of attention, even when there is a target on their back. It’s all about him for three hours. After he won the last Super Bowl, I hit him up. I knew he was a roast fan. He was into it right away. We made a deal but then he un-retired … It was worth the wait. He was loose and fun. I feel like we won an election or something.”

Watch Schulz’s full interview on “Flagrance” in the video below.

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New musical inspired by ‘Thelma & Louise’ will give famous film duo their ‘queer happy ending’

The cast of Diversionary Theatre's "TL;DR: Thelma and Louise; Dyke Remix."

Diversionary and Moxie theatres are co-producing the world premiere musical ‘TL;DR: Thelma and Louise; Dyke Remix’

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When Thelma Dickinson and Louise Sawyer drive their T-Bird off the edge of the Grand Canyon at the end of that 1991 movie “Thelma & Louise,” they die. Right?

Not necessarily. In a show seven years in the making by EllaRose Chary and Brandon James Gwinn, “T” and “L” live on inside a queer punk-rock musical in which they, and a live band, are searching for identity and happiness.

Chary and Gwinn’s “TL;DR: Thelma Louise; Dyke Remix” is making its world premiere this week at Diversionary Theatre, under the direction of Sherri Eden Barber. It’s a co-production with Moxie Theatre.

“TL;DR:”, says Chary, explores the question “What is a queer happy ending?”

“The first song,” she said, “is ‘Why Do Strong Female Characters Always Have To Die?’ You have these strong women and the end for them is death. Can’t we have something different?”

The show’s creators say that this musical grew out of a prompt to turn “a definitive ending into a queer beginning.”

In Ridley Scott’s 1991 buddy film, Arkansas friends Thelma (played by Geena Davis) and Louise (Susan Sarandon) go on a road trip to escape their dreary lives. But a series of unexpected encounters with violent and domineering men, set the women off on a freewheeling crime spree until they’re eventually cornered by police near the edge of the Grand Canyon. They must decide whether to give up and go to jail or go out together, in the style of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

The musical’s lengthy development history includes a reading and workshop at The Tank NYC, a residency at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Connecticut and the National Alliance of Musical Theater’s (NAMT) Festival of New Musicals in New York in 2021. Then-Diversionary Artistic Director Matt Morrow was Chary and Gwinn’s advisor at NAMT, and he expressed his interest in bringing the new musical to San Diego.

Given the production restrictions of the early pandemic years, the timing was problematic.

“We wondered,” recalled Gwinn, “if this show was even going to be a show anymore.”

Yet here “TL;DR:” is three years later, at Diversionary, now led by Executive Director Jenny Case and Interim Artistic Director Stephen Brotebeck.

To over-explain this show would be to spoil the fun of it. Let’s just say that the dual protagonists, as well as the live Kickbass Band, are all part of a music-fueled odyssey.

“The main conflict is not whether T and L get together,” said Gwinn. “It’s what does the band want, how does the band exist in this world? They want a queer happy ending. The band is trying to figure out what that means. And T and L are trying to figure that out for themselves as well as trying to be a part of this queer community.”

Sara Porkalob in her solo musical "Dragon Mama" at Diversionary Theatre.

The cast includes Sara Porkalob, who has been with the show practically from the start of its development process, and who drew raves from Diversionary audiences with her one-person show, “Dragon Mama,” last fall.

“She’s just a genius and a great collaborator and so much fun to work with,” said Chary. “She really gets this material. She understands what we’re trying to do with this piece.”

Porkalob recalled her parents not letting her watch “Thelma & Louise” when she was young, and it wasn’t until her undergraduate years that she saw it for the first time. In re-watching the film for this production she reflected on “the lack of options that were available to women at that time — the option to have happy, independent, emotionally safe lives. I was like ‘Damn, they really HAVE to drive off a cliff.’”

Seeing the movie again with the kiss at the end “was like it totally made sense to me that they loved each other, and it was something more (than a friendship). I sort of assumed from a young age that everybody is a little bit gay.”

Porkalob echoes the feelings of Chary and Gwinn when considering what “TL;DR:” has to impart to audiences: “There’s no one right way to be queer. In fact, the power of the queer experience is being able to choose your reality in a way that is empowering, fulfilling and sexy.”

‘TL;DR: Thelma Louise; Dyke Remix’

When: Previews, today through Friday. Opens Saturday and runs through June 9. 7 p.m. Thursdays; 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays

Where: Diversionary Theatre, 4545 Park Blvd., University Heights

Tickets: $26.50-$71.50

Phone: (619) 220-0097

Online: diversionary.org

Coddon is a freelance writer.

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Yes, Apple's new iPad ad is ugly and crushing, but art can't be flattened

Linda Holmes

A screenshot from the new ad for "the thinnest Apple product ever." NPR hide caption

A screenshot from the new ad for "the thinnest Apple product ever."

There is something so ugly about crushing an acoustic guitar. Making it buckle, making the middle of it explode in splinters. That might be personal to me, as someone who grew up with a dad who was what you might call a campfire guitarist — not a performer, just a dad who used to entertain us with songs like "Dark as a Dungeon," a little folk tune about the lethal dangers of coal mining. Maybe to you, it's not the guitar. Maybe it's the cameras or the vinyl records.

A little more than halfway through the new ad for "the thinnest Apple product ever," an enormous hydraulic press bears down on an acoustic guitar — and cameras, and records, and other things that hold reservoirs of emotion for people who make art. Paint, pencils, a dressmaker's mannequin, books, a wooden model of a person, a not-yet-dry clay bust, a video game cabinet. Everything is flattened under its power. But the most spectacular crushings are of musical instruments — that guitar, a piano, a drum set, a trumpet standing on its end until it gives way.

The ad — which Apple has since apologized for — is meant to communicate, I suppose, that this tiny, thin iPad can contain what is important from all these things. It can replace them all. You can make your music with it. You can paint with it. You can play games on it. You can take your photos with it. And it suggests this means you can finally destroy all those things that have been so burdensome, like massive pianos and messy paint.

But these are not practical items to begin with. Nobody owns a piano because it's practical; it's about the least practical thing you can own. It can wreck your floor. It goes out of tune. And if you happen to get a new place, you don't just need movers for it; you may need special movers. You don't own a piano to get from point A to point B in the most direct way you can. You own a piano for the reason we had one in my house: a person plays it. Someone sits down, as my mother did, and plays the "Maple Leaf Rag," and you can hear the pedals lightly squeak, and you can watch hands skitter across keys, and of course you are listening to music — but also, those are your mother's hands .

Of course, to be fair, the ad is also meant to cause controversy, because you do not crush beautiful things and offend accidentally. The ad says almost nothing about the iPad itself except that it's very thin; the point is all the crushing, the point is the ugliness, so admittedly, to recognize that ugliness is to serve the ad's purpose.

But its ugliness is also what proves the folly of its concept. The reason people will react as emotionally as they do to the vulgarity of the ad is precisely why the thinnest iPad yet cannot do what they say it will do. It cannot replace the things that people have, over hundreds of years, learned to carry and live beside, and to incorporate into their creation of what they hope will be beauty. Art is intertwined with humanity, with all its flawed dimensions, and the two cannot be separated. In the making of art, there is family, there are friends and collaborators, there is both fragility and permanence, and there is the passage of time. And there is physicality.

This romcom lets you pick the ending — that doesn't make it good

In our current environment, the ad plays as an extension of, or maybe a companion to, the idea that artificial intelligence — or what travels under that name — can take over the production of art: of books, of illustrations, of music, of films. We are enduring an all-out assault on the need for anyone's idiosyncratic individuality to be involved in the creation of art. It is an attempt to reduce creative acts to devices with the right capabilities, to the point where machines can make it all entirely without us. We will, in this vision, order a book or a film as we do a mass-produced piece of fast fashion, and as such, it will be cheap and disposable and reliant on the exploitation of labor.

But the very fact that Apple knew this ad would make people so angry is how you know this reductive approach to art is doomed to fail. The people who made this ad specifically chose to crush things that are valuable not only because of their capabilities, but because they are things that creative people imbue with meaning, that they save up for and hand down to their kids. Those things will not be replaced by iPads.

You can make beautiful music with an iPad; you can make beautiful digital art. But that art will be made alongside other music, other art, not stacked on top of the corpses of old violins. If you think of new frontiers in art as an opportunity to destroy sculptures or explode bottles of paint, you never understood art at all, and you never will.

In certain kinds of stories, "I am not worried" is the last thing you say before the monster devours you. But while I am worried about the economics of art and its creation, I am not worried at all that art made by humans will ever vanish or be replaced by the thinnest iPad ever. The gasp that went up from so many people when they saw that guitar explode, that sound came from the part of a human being that makes art. And that part instinctively understands that beauty isn't fixated on tech-world dominance. It doesn't demand to crush what is loved in order to chase the fantasy that you can fit everything that matters into the pocket of a briefcase.

This piece also appeared in NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour newsletter. Sign up for the newsletter so you don't miss the next one, plus get weekly recommendations about what's making us happy.

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Happy Endings Summary & Analysis
Analysis. John and Mary meet. In scenario A, they fall in the love and marry, and end up with a "happy ending" consisting of a house with rising real estate value, children, a "stimulating and challenging" sex life, and "stimulating and challenging" occupations and hobbies.
Analysis of Margaret Atwood's 'Happy Endings'
Updated on September 14, 2019. "Happy Endings" by Canadian author Margaret Atwood is an example of metafiction. That is, it's a story that comments on the conventions of storytelling and draws attention to itself as a story. At approximately 1,300 words, it's also an example of flash fiction. "Happy Endings" was first published in 1983, two ...
"Happy Endings" by Margaret Atwood: A Critical Analysis
Table of Contents. "Happy Endings" by Margaret Atwood was first published in the literary magazine "Canadian Forum" in 1983. The story gained popularity and was later included in Atwood's short story collection "Murder in the Dark.". Atwood's unique approach to storytelling and her focus on metafiction drew readers' attention ...
Happy Endings Study Guide
Other short stories and prose poems throughout Atwood's collection Murder in the Dark contain similar themes to "Happy Endings," including explorations of storytelling, feminism, and death. Atwood's collection Good Bones is another work of experimental fiction dealing with similar themes that was later, along with Murder in the Dark, compiled into a volume titled Good Bones and Simple ...
Happy Endings by Margaret Atwood Plot Summary
Happy Endings Summary. Next. Happy Endings. Atwood begins the story with a simple setup: "John and Mary meet. What happens next?". The story then proceeds through various plot iterations, describing different ways in which the tale might end. In scenario A, John and Mary marry, buy a house, have children, and generally achieve a "happy ...
Happy Endings Summary
Essays and Criticism ... Version A is the ''happy ending'' story. In this version, John and Mary fall in love. They get married, enjoy their jobs, buy a nice home, and start a family. All ...
A Summary and Analysis of Margaret Atwood's 'Happy Endings'
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) 'Happy Endings' is a short story (or, perhaps more accurately, a piece of metafiction) which was first published in Margaret Atwood's 1983 collection, Murder in the Dark. The story offers six alternative storylines which feature a relationship between a man and a woman. Because of its postmodern and metafictional…
Analysis of Margaret Atwood's Happy Endings
An innovative and oft-anthologized story that demonstrates the arbitrariness of any author's choice of an ending, "Happy Endings" offers six different endings from which the reader may choose. "Happy Endings" was first published in the Canadian collection Murder in the Dark (1983) and then became available in the United States in Good Bones and Simple…
Happy Endings Summary and Study Guide
Essay Topics. Quiz. ... Summary: "Happy Endings" "Happy Endings" is a short story by Canadian writer Margaret Atwood. After the story's trio of opening lines, the narrative is divided into five sections, labeled A-F. The story's opening lines are: ... If you want a happy ending, try A" (43). The story then moves into Section A, ...
Happy Endings Story Analysis
Analysis: "Happy Endings". Atwood employs a broad range of postmodernist techniques in crafting "Happy Endings," and, in doing so, explodes the notion of the traditional narrative, while at the same time providing commentary on what such narratives are composed of. Like nearly all of the stories comprising the collection Murder in the Dark ...
Happy Endings Summary
Happy Endings study guide contains a biography of Margaret Atwood, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. ... She argues that no matter what, the endings of every story are the same: people die. The story ends with the narrator encouraging the reader to think beyond plot and consider the ...
Happy Endings Critical Essays
Critical Overview. ''Happy Endings'' first appears in Atwood's 1983 collection, Murder in the Dark: Short Fiction and Prose Poems. As Elspeth Cameron points out in the book Saturday ...
A Critical Analysis of Margaret Atwood's "Happy Endings"
However, Margaret Atwood's "Happy Endings" is a fictional short story which adopts an ingenious narrative structure to convey a different kind of message. Through utilizing a mixture of ...
Happy Endings Essays and Criticism
Source: Rena Korb, Critical Essay on ''Happy Endings,'' in Short Stories for Students, The Gale Group, 2001. Cite this page as follows: "Happy Endings - How Happy Endings Critiques Various ...
"Happy Endings" by M. Atwood Essay (Critical Writing)
In the short story like "Happy Endings" it is an impermissible way to put meaningless or spare words within. M. Atwood, being aware of it, puts much of the context in such a few content, that it makes one respect the author. The feeling of the deeper thought, enclosed in the plain content is evoked by miscellaneous devices, used by the author.
Happy Endings Sections A
Summary. The narrator announces that John and Mary meet, and asks the reader what will happen next. She directs them toward version A, which she labels as a happy ending. In version A, John and Mary fall in love, work fulfilling jobs, and buy a house. They have two children, take enjoyable vacations, and retire, each with their own interesting ...
How to Write a Believable Happy Ending
One night after a late dinner party, he returns to house of his rich hosts and breaks into it. He tiptoes into their bedroom where they're sleeping, sees a pair of pants hanging over a chair ...
FBI: Most Wanted Is Seemingly Setting Hana Up For A Happy Ending ...
Story by Laura Hurley • 11h. Spoilers ahead for Episode 12 of FBI: Most Wanted Season 5, called "Derby Day." ... This just isn't a show that has happy endings week in and week out, and Michael ...
Darren Criss to Star in New Broadway Musical 'Maybe Happy Ending' This Fall
Maybe Happy Ending will start previews at the Belasco Theatre on Sept. 18, ahead of an opening night on Oct. 17, 2024.. The musical follows two lonely robots in Seoul (Criss and Shen), who have a ...
The True Story Behind 'The Vow' Doesn't Have a Happy Ending
Unlike the happy ending in the film, the real couple, Kim and Kricket, ended their marriage in 2018 due to Kim's infidelity. ... Kim and Kricket Carpenter's love story began in 1992 with a bizarre ...
Darren Criss Returning To Broadway In Musical 'Maybe Happy Ending'
By Greg Evans. Greg Evans. NY & Broadway Editor @GregEvans5 More Stories By Greg Darren Criss Returning To Broadway With Helen J Shen In New Musical 'Maybe Happy Ending'
The Possible Collapse of the U.S. Home Insurance System
Across the United States, more frequent extreme weather is starting to cause the home insurance market to buckle, even for those who have paid their premiums dutifully year after year.
Happy Endings Teaching Guide
Write a short piece similar to ''Happy Endings'' that deals with the ''how'' and ''why'' of storytelling as opposed to the ''what.'' Research the literary concepts ...
Tom Brady Roaster Says 'They Told Us No Jokes About Happy Endings' and
Ross delivered the joke while remembering the famous story of Brady walking into Kraft's office and telling him, "I'm the best decision your organization has ever made."
New musical inspired by 'Thelma & Louise' will give famous film duo
The cast of Diversionary Theatre's "TL;DR: Thelma and Louise; Dyke Remix," from left, Faith Carrion, MG Green, Sara Porkalob, Sophia Araujo-Johnson, Steph Lehane, Lyric Boothe and Erika Gamez.
31-year-old former teacher now works at Costco—and boosted her ...
In 2022, 31-year-old Maggie Perkins quit her eight-year teaching job and got a job at Costco. She doesn't regret the decision, and she's never been happier. Here's a look at a day in the life ...
Apple's iPad ad: Why the ugliness is the point : NPR
The newest iPad ad depicts instruments, books and art supplies flattened into Apple's thinnest product ever. But anyone who owns and loves art in any form knows: The practicality isn't the point.

Analysis of Margaret Atwood's "Happy Endings"

“Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood: A Critical Analysis

Introduction: “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood

Main Events in “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood

Literary Devices in “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood

Characterization in “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood

Overall Character Portrayal:

Major Themes in “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood

Literary Theories and Interpretation of “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood

Questions and Thesis Statements about “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood

Short Question/Answer Topics for “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood

Literary Works Similar to “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood

Suggested Readings: “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood

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Happy Endings

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