Margaret Atwood's Perspective on Fiction

 Margaret Atwood's meta-story "Happy Endings " has an interesting take on how the endings of stories are created. Her 6 stories are very unique because each has the same ending, but different beginnings. This is a reference to the idea that all stories have a cliché happy ending. Sometimes a happy ending can be boring because most stories have them. Atwood says, "You'll have to face it, the endings are the same however you slice it" (23). She goes on to say that the reader should not be "deluded by any other endings" and that they're all fake. She reminds the reader that stories are fiction and should not be taken literally. The only realistic ending in her eyes is that John and Mary will die. The best part of a story is not it's "happy ending," nor it's introduction, but the middle of the story. The bulk of the story in between the introduction and the ending is the most interesting because it can be done so differently every time. She uses her 6 short stories to demonstrate this because each has a different plot throughout. Very different conflicts and resolutions for such short stories. 

Personally, I agree with Margaret Atwood because the beginning and ending of each story can sometimes feel ordinary. Especially a love story. It is always how Story A was, where the guy and the girl meet, fall in love and live happily ever after. I like when a story has a lot of conflicts. When two people have to fight for their love, or when one person is in love with someone who seems like the wrong person until they're not. It is easier to enjoy a story with a developed plot and a not so obvious ending. I believe that fiction is a way to escape reality and indulge in one's own imagination. That is why I am not a fan of the average "happy ending" because it no longer feels like imagination. Instead, it feels like some sort of repetition that is no longer fun.