Death and Plots Essay

Margaret A twoods Happy Endings is sly, sophisticated, and delightful. With a coy ease that feels so natural, she threads her story along, revealing her characters, drawing the audience into something that isnt at all what it appears. Slowly even so intensely, she reveals the principal of bandage development that she is trying to relieve to her audience. Atwood begins with just fifteen puzzling words. She breaks the rules of conventional writing by using entirely three sentences for the paragraph, and addresses the reader directly If you requirement a happy ending, try A. Atwoods A. comes off sounding like it should be so fulfilling and charming, yet there are persistent hints of boredom and dullness. Worthwhile and remunerative, stimulating and challenging, Atwoods choice for words is so descriptive, and yet they sound so dull. lavatory and Mary, the main characters, boil down in spang at first. there is no mention of them loving from each hotshot other ecstatically throu ghout their lives together, or of them loving each other with abandon, or even dying in each others loving arms. They fall in love, yet a challenging sex life is not something most people would assistant with being in love an exciting or satisfying sex life would be more than like it.There is very little character exposition or plot development in choice A. It feels as though a trap is being set, yet the purpose or when it leave spring closed remains unknown. The very first sentence of Atwoods B.smacks the audience in the typesetters case Mary falls in love with John but John doesnt fall in love with Mary. This sentence brings a grimace along with it. Uh oh, here it comes, all the ugliness associated with loving individual who doesnt love in return. John is selfish, lukewarm in manner, uses Mary for as much as he shag get out of her, with as little cost to himself as possible, and it certainly doesnt cost him very much. Meanwhile, Mary is putting forth as much effort as John will let her, yet all her efforts dont produce the relationship she desires. Choice B. is panoptic of exposition, revealing so much so fast about the reasons John and Mary do what they do makes the characters disgusting and disappointing. Atwood makes the implied predictability of humdrum choice A. seem so appealing in retrospect, that she returns the main characters to it. Only it isnt John and Mary that live happy ever after in B, it is John and Madge in this scenario. In C.Atwood writes that John is older and married to Madge. Mary is younger, and this time Mary is the one who isnt in love with John. Mary is in love with another man (James) who is her own age. John gets his heart broken this time, and purchases a weapon. Atwood informs her audience in a very matter-of-fact manner this is the thin part of the plot, but it can be dealt with later. John kills Mary, James, and himself. Again the plot winds up back at choice A. when Madge marries Fred and time bourne on. Atwood is s preading the trap open even wider now in choice D. She changes the operating names of the protagonists to Fred and Madge. The actors line is becoming very matter-of-fact, with simple sentences stating what happened, not why it happened, and what the end result is. Of course, the end result remains choice A. In an almost badgering manner, Atwood continues killing her characters. In choice E.Fred dies first, tragically, but not emotionally, and thusly Mary dies, after she completes the story line of choice A. of course. Atwood addresses the audience directly again, making some suggestions as to how else the story could end, if so chosen. Atwood springs her carefully built trap closed. She throws sentences and ideas directly to her audience with abandon. If you think this is all to worldly-minded condescendingly communicating that no matter where the audience wants the story to go, or how many stops it makes on the way, every authentic story ends the same way. Atwoods pace is fast, almost as if shes literally standing in front of an audience, ranting the words out ofher own mouth.Youll have to face it get int be deluded by any other endings, theyre all fake, deliberately fakethe only authentic ending is death. What a let down, what a disappointment, how anti-climatic is that? What is the point to the exercise Atwood just performed? But Atwood isnt finished yet. The last two sentences of Atwoods Happy Endings feel as though they were written oddly for aspiring writers studying the elements of fiction. She takes all of the lessons, all of the rules, all of the structure, and simplifies it all down to two sentences. I couldnt think of a better ending to an essay about plot if I tried. Atwoods last(a) two sentences to Happy Endings go like this Thats about all that can be tell for plots, which anyway are just one thing after another, a what and a what and a what. this instant try How and Why.Works CitedAtwood, Margaret. Happy endings. Literature An Introductio n to Fiction, Poetry, Drama and Writing (1983) 485-491.Morgan E. CollierProfessor Melinda HernandezENGL1302.20150120.428724January 30th, 2015 limn for Short Story EssayEssay Topic Margaret Atwoods application of the literary device plot I. IntroductionPossible ideas for the introductionDescribe the authors style of writingSet the set up for the reveal at the endThesis StatementAtwood reveals the principal of plot development that she is trying to deliver to her audience. II. BodyA. Main PointMargaret Atwoods Happy Endings is an excellent example of successful plot formation. B. Examples1. Atwoods sub-section titled A. is gives a foundation for the rest of thestory 2. Sub-sections B. and C. are full of character exposition, conflict, and rising action, leading to the climax at the end of C. 3. Sub-section D. and E. are falling action following the climax in C. 4. Sub-section F. contains Atwoods resolutionIII. ConclusionReworded ThesisShe takes all of the lessons, all of the rules, all of the structure, and simplifies it all down to two sentences Thats about all that can be said for plots, which anyway are just one thing after another, a what and a what and a what. Now try How and Why. Other Ideas to ConcludeNone. determinative IdeasQuote from Atwoods Happy Endings Now try How and Why.