Margaret Eleanor Atwood, (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist. She is among the most-honoured authors of fiction in recent history. She is a winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award and Prince of Asturias award for Literature, has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize five times, winning once, and has been a finalist for the Governor General's Award seven times, winning twice. She is also a founder of the Writers' Trust of Canada, a non-profit literary organization that seeks to encourage Canada's writing community. While she is best known for her work as a novelist, she is also a poet, having published fifteen books of poetry to date. Many of her poems have been inspired by myths and fairy tales, which have been interests of hers from an early age. Atwood has published short stories in Tamarack Review, Alphabet, Harper's, CBC Anthology, Ms., Saturday Night, and many other magazines. She has also published four collections of stories and three collections of unclassifiable short prose works. In the short story "Happy Endings", by Margaret Atwood, the narrator offers six different endings for a similar situation. The similar situation is when two people, John and Mary, meet each other. "What happens next?“
Version A is the "happy ending" story. The couple falls in love and gets married. They buy a "charming house", and have a remunerative jobs which they find stimulating and challenging .The children "turn out well", and they have an excellent sex life with "worthwhile friends". Ultimately, everything leads to a happily ever after where things continue to be "stimulating and challenging". Version B is a totally different take on them meeting. In Version B, Mary falls in love with John but he does not feel the same way. John only uses Mary for "pleasure and ego gratification of a tepid kind" . "He doesn't even consider her worth the price of a dinner out" . After they have sex, he falls asleep while she does the dishes and "puts on fresh lipstick" with the hopes that he will someday marry her. Mary doesn't even like the sex, but pretends to because she wants him to get used to her. One evening John complains about the food" . People from work tell Mary that John is dating someone new, Madge. She takes a collection of sleeping pills and aspirins with half a bottle of sherry thinking that John will come to her rescue. "She hopes he'll discover her and get her to the hospital in time and repent and then they can get married, but this fails to happen and she dies. Madge and John get married and continue on like in Version A.
Margaret Eleanor Atwood, (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist. She is among the most-honoured authors of fiction in recent history. She is a winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award and Prince of Asturias award for Literature, has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize five times, winning once, and has been a finalist for the Governor General's Award seven times, winning twice. She is also a founder of the Writers' Trust of Canada, a non-profit literary organization that seeks to encourage Canada's writing community. While she is best known for her work as a novelist, she is also a poet, having published fifteen books of poetry to date. Many of her poems have been inspired by myths and fairy tales, which have been interests of hers from an early age. Atwood has published short stories in Tamarack Review, Alphabet, Harper's, CBC Anthology, Ms., Saturday Night, and many other magazines. She has also published four collections of stories and three collections of unclassifiable short prose works.
Summary
In the short story "Happy Endings", by Margaret Atwood, the narrator offers six different endings for a similar situation. The similar situation is when two people, John and Mary, meet each other. "What happens next?“
Version A is the "happy ending" story. The couple falls in love and gets married. They buy a "charming house", and have a remunerative jobs which they find stimulating and challenging .The children "turn out well", and they have an excellent sex life with "worthwhile friends". Ultimately, everything leads to a happily ever after where things continue to be "stimulating and challenging".
Version B is a totally different take on them meeting. In Version B, Mary falls in love with John but he does not feel the same way. John only uses Mary for "pleasure and ego gratification of a tepid kind" . "He doesn't even consider her worth the price of a dinner out" . After they have sex, he falls asleep while she does the dishes and "puts on fresh lipstick" with the hopes that he will someday marry her. Mary doesn't even like the sex, but pretends to because she wants him to get used to her. One evening John complains about the food" . People from work tell Mary that John is dating someone new, Madge. She takes a collection of sleeping pills and aspirins with half a bottle of sherry thinking that John will come to her rescue. "She hopes he'll discover her and get her to the hospital in time and repent and then they can get married, but this fails to happen and she dies. Madge and John get married and continue on like in Version A.
C. John, a man who is old and he is having extramarital relations. Everything looks fine until Mary, the one he cheat on climb into bed with another young man, James. He shoot them both and himself. D. Madge, the woman who was John’s wife marries to a nice man, Fred. Although their house had been destroyed, their good and honest heart save their life for sure. And the life goes back to A. E. Fred has a bad heart. The rest of their life is about how kind and understanding they both are until Fred dies. Madge devotes herself to charity work. And the story goes back to the A ending. F. John is a revolutionary and Mary is a counterespionage. We can choose the ending we like, but we can’t ignore the reality.
summary: In her short story "Happy Endings", Margaret Atwood displays her feelings about not only the art of creative writing, but also the equally artistic act of living one's life to the fullest. The story, immediately breaks the wall of author/audience by a completely unique structure: that of an outline or a jumbled notebook. By asking the reader, "If you want a happy ending, try A," Atwood is seemingly giving the reader a choice. Since A must be the happy ending, it implies that there are other, more terrible endings to be discovered. Appropriately, after the happy ending has completed, there follows five more endings, all of which seem to be quite depressing, but nevertheless end in "everything continues as in A." sourse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hftp6zr2ZWA
Our cute question~ 1.If you love a guy who doesn't love you, will you do as much as Mary does? 2.Do you like Margaret Atwood's writing style which has no unique structure? 3.Which part of the story is most realistic to you? 4.Why is the story called Happy Endings? 5.Which ending do you like?
1. Why is the "story called Happy Endings"? It is an irony,and the "s" in the ending is a lie. 2. How many endings exactly are there in the story? One. 3. Why does Atwood write the story in such an unconventional manner? Because everyone has his or her own thoughts, the writer's intention reacts on the reader's response.
Margaret Atwood is my favorite writer. Her works are fascinating and significant.
ReplyDeleteYou may add "Margaret Atwood" into your friend group on facebook. To check her updates on book tours, reviews, and news.
Here is the link for you as reference:
www.margaretatwood.ca/
www.yearoftheflood.com/
Margaret Eleanor Atwood, (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist. She is among the most-honoured authors of fiction in recent history. She is a winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award and Prince of Asturias award for Literature, has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize five times, winning once, and has been a finalist for the Governor General's Award seven times, winning twice. She is also a founder of the Writers' Trust of Canada, a non-profit literary organization that seeks to encourage Canada's writing community.
ReplyDeleteWhile she is best known for her work as a novelist, she is also a poet, having published fifteen books of poetry to date. Many of her poems have been inspired by myths and fairy tales, which have been interests of hers from an early age. Atwood has published short stories in Tamarack Review, Alphabet, Harper's, CBC Anthology, Ms., Saturday Night, and many other magazines. She has also published four collections of stories and three collections of unclassifiable short prose works.
In the short story "Happy Endings", by Margaret Atwood, the narrator offers six different endings for a similar situation. The similar situation is when two people, John and Mary, meet each other. "What happens next?“
Version A is the "happy ending" story. The couple falls in love and gets married. They buy a "charming house", and have a remunerative jobs which they find stimulating and challenging .The children "turn out well", and they have an excellent sex life with "worthwhile friends". Ultimately, everything leads to a happily ever after where things continue to be "stimulating and challenging".
Version B is a totally different take on them meeting. In Version B, Mary falls in love with John but he does not feel the same way. John only uses Mary for "pleasure and ego gratification of a tepid kind" . "He doesn't even consider her worth the price of a dinner out" . After they have sex, he falls asleep while she does the dishes and "puts on fresh lipstick" with the hopes that he will someday marry her. Mary doesn't even like the sex, but pretends to because she wants him to get used to her. One evening John complains about the food" . People from work tell Mary that John is dating someone new, Madge. She takes a collection of sleeping pills and aspirins with half a bottle of sherry thinking that John will come to her rescue. "She hopes he'll discover her and get her to the hospital in time and repent and then they can get married, but this fails to happen and she dies. Madge and John get married and continue on like in Version A.
上面的混在一起了
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About the author
Margaret Eleanor Atwood, (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist. She is among the most-honoured authors of fiction in recent history. She is a winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award and Prince of Asturias award for Literature, has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize five times, winning once, and has been a finalist for the Governor General's Award seven times, winning twice. She is also a founder of the Writers' Trust of Canada, a non-profit literary organization that seeks to encourage Canada's writing community.
While she is best known for her work as a novelist, she is also a poet, having published fifteen books of poetry to date. Many of her poems have been inspired by myths and fairy tales, which have been interests of hers from an early age. Atwood has published short stories in Tamarack Review, Alphabet, Harper's, CBC Anthology, Ms., Saturday Night, and many other magazines. She has also published four collections of stories and three collections of unclassifiable short prose works.
Summary
In the short story "Happy Endings", by Margaret Atwood, the narrator offers six different endings for a similar situation. The similar situation is when two people, John and Mary, meet each other. "What happens next?“
Version A is the "happy ending" story. The couple falls in love and gets married. They buy a "charming house", and have a remunerative jobs which they find stimulating and challenging .The children "turn out well", and they have an excellent sex life with "worthwhile friends". Ultimately, everything leads to a happily ever after where things continue to be "stimulating and challenging".
Version B is a totally different take on them meeting. In Version B, Mary falls in love with John but he does not feel the same way. John only uses Mary for "pleasure and ego gratification of a tepid kind" . "He doesn't even consider her worth the price of a dinner out" . After they have sex, he falls asleep while she does the dishes and "puts on fresh lipstick" with the hopes that he will someday marry her. Mary doesn't even like the sex, but pretends to because she wants him to get used to her. One evening John complains about the food" . People from work tell Mary that John is dating someone new, Madge. She takes a collection of sleeping pills and aspirins with half a bottle of sherry thinking that John will come to her rescue. "She hopes he'll discover her and get her to the hospital in time and repent and then they can get married, but this fails to happen and she dies. Madge and John get married and continue on like in Version A.
sources from:
http://voices.yahoo.com/on-margaret-atwoods-happy-endings-2597049.html?cat=38
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
http://voices.yahoo.com/on-margaret-atwoods-happy-endings-2597049.html?cat=38
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
C. John, a man who is old and he is having extramarital relations. Everything looks fine until Mary, the one he cheat on climb into bed with another young man, James. He shoot them both and himself.
ReplyDeleteD. Madge, the woman who was John’s wife marries to a nice man, Fred. Although their house had been destroyed, their good and honest heart save their life for sure. And the life goes back to A.
E. Fred has a bad heart. The rest of their life is about how kind and understanding they both are until Fred dies. Madge devotes herself to charity work. And the story goes back to the A ending.
F. John is a revolutionary and Mary is a counterespionage. We can choose the ending we like, but we can’t ignore the reality.
summary: In her short story "Happy Endings", Margaret Atwood displays her feelings about not only the art of creative writing, but also the equally artistic act of living one's life to the fullest. The story, immediately breaks the wall of author/audience by a completely unique structure: that of an outline or a jumbled notebook. By asking the reader, "If you want a happy ending, try A," Atwood is seemingly giving the reader a choice. Since A must be the happy ending, it implies that there are other, more terrible endings to be discovered. Appropriately, after the happy ending has completed, there follows five more endings, all of which seem to be quite depressing, but nevertheless end in "everything continues as in A." sourse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hftp6zr2ZWA
ReplyDeleteOur cute question~
ReplyDelete1.If you love a guy who doesn't love you, will you do as much as Mary does?
2.Do you like Margaret Atwood's writing style which has no unique structure?
3.Which part of the story is most realistic to you?
4.Why is the story called Happy Endings?
5.Which ending do you like?
1. Why is the "story called Happy Endings"?
ReplyDeleteIt is an irony,and the "s" in the ending is a lie.
2. How many endings exactly are there in the story?
One.
3. Why does Atwood write the story in such an unconventional manner?
Because everyone has his or her own thoughts, the writer's intention reacts on the reader's response.