Writing 102
Analytical Paper “Happy Endings”
“John and Mary Died”
Happy endings belong in fairy tales.
In reality there is no such thing as a happy
ending, the end for everyone is ultimately death. In the story “Happy Endings,” by
Margaret Atwood, she ends each section of the story with a variation of the quote “John
and Mary died.” Atwood claims the only authentic ending is death, and she is indeed
correct. Choosing to accept this reality is hard for many people because death is part of
the unknown. It is scary, people are afraid of leaving their loved ones without promise of
an afterlife. When people start to realize that the only ending is death, they stop caring
about what their life means and how it is lead.
“John and Mary died,” in the literal sense means that John and Mary have
physically died. It is the end of their saga. If one chooses to take the literal approach to
reading this story then John and Mary may represent any average couple who leads a
relatively average life and eventually die without leaving much of a legacy behind except
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to those they held dearly. Atwood presents many different situations within this short

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- Spring '08
- Frost
- Writing, happy ending
-
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