She could be referring to writing beginnings, and thus beginnings being more fun for writers, or to partaking in beginnings, and thus beginnings being more fun for characters. This statement begs the question of whose beginnings are more fun. Beginnings are always more fun” (Atwood 3). She continues later, “So much for endings. She addresses the concern in the final moments of the last section though when she writes, “You’ll have to face it, the endings are the same however you slice it” (Atwood 3). In the end though, they all end the same way regardless of their plots.Ītwood’s constant repetition of death as a conclusion forces the reader to question why each section has the same ending. This knowledge allows the reader to ascertain Atwood’s disapproval of these boring stories and lives. The repetition of the phrase carries a condescending tone, as if every activity or event the couples partake in becomes the same, or extremely boring. Although this phrase may seem like a positive one, she repeats it three times in section A and once in section C when she discusses John and Madge’s uninteresting life together. Additionally, she repeats certain phrases, such as the phrase “stimulating and challenging,” multiple times throughout the sections whenever they become dreary. In the dull, shorter sections, Atwood rambles on for brief moments just to get through them. Although this does not directly relate to Atwood’s purpose, her high usage of conjunctions, or polysyndeton, demonstrates her negative opinion on boring unentertaining stories and lives, leading the reader to believe that she will advise the reader about such stories or lives. The percentage of “and” tends to be lower when the characters act and change, but higher when only the world around them changes. The percentage of E (where they die at different times and Madge changes, but very late) is about the middle. The percentages of both A and D (the sections in which the characters live normal lives, even continuing the same lives after a tidal wave in D) are almost double those of B, C, and F (where characters have disputes, take risks, and are exciting). When the reader accounts for the plot of each short section and combines that with the percentage of the word “and,” a correlation arises-the more mundane a section becomes, the more frequently “and” is used. Regardless of whether or not this high usage of “and” is common among other writers, this abnormality within her own sections informs the reader that something must be different at those points. The most obvious of these words is “and.” In each section, she alternates usage of this word: in A, 8 of 94 words are “and ” in B, 22 of 460 in C, 16 of 380 in D, 7 of 80 in E, 3 of 50 and in F, 8 of 176. She repeats not only deaths at the end of each short section, but also words and phrases throughout all sections. One of Atwood’s strongest literary techniques that assist the reader in understanding her purpose is her use of repetition. There remains one obvious connection among all six sections-they all conclude in death. In section F, John and Mary have exciting spy lives, but they too die in the end. In section E, Fred and Madge are good people, Fred has a “bad heart” (Atwood 3), he dies, Madge does charity work, and dies later. In section D, Fred and Madge live a normal life, get hit by a tidal wave, survive, and still ultimately die. His widow Madge marries Fred and they eventually die as well. He kills her, her lover James, and himself. In section C, John loves Mary, but she does not love him back. She kills herself, he marries Madge, and they eventually die. In section B, Mary loves John, but he does not love her back. In section A, John and Mary get married, live a happy life, and die. Understanding Atwood’s purpose necessitates that the rea der differentiate between the six sections of the story and thus clarify what each section discusses as well as which characters are contained in each. One such interpretation exists with abundant textual evidence, including literary devices such as repetition and metafictional comments namely, that Atwood attempts to inform the reader about not only writing a good story, but also living a worthwhile life. Margaret Atwood’s “Happy Endings” leaves room for a plethora of interpretations based on the reader’s perception and understanding. A written text contains only so many words, but its meaning can be extracted countless different ways.
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